England manager Sam Allardyce set to make his mark by granting players more freedom
The 61-year-old will scrap the lengthy tactical meetings used by predecessor Roy Hodgson
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Your support makes all the difference.Sam Allardyce will launch his reign as England manager this week by handing his players greater freedom and ending Roy Hodgson’s policy of lengthy tactical meetings at St George’s Park.
Allardyce is set to name his first squad on Sunday evening ahead of next week’s opening World Cup qualifier against Slovakia in Trnava.
But while the 61-year-old’s pool of players is unlikely to differ greatly from the 23-man squad selected by Hodgson for the disastrous Euro 2016 campaign – the retired James Milner and Marcus Rashford, selected instead for the U-21s, will not figure – Allardyce is determined to make his mark behind the scenes after canvassing the opinion of senior players about their experience of time spent with England.
And after being told that players grew frustrated with ‘endless’ tactics meetings under Hodgson, Allardyce is determined to cut such requirements to a bare minimum in order to avoid over-loading the squad with information before and after training sessions.
Allardyce will also offer his players, who report for duty on Monday morning, the opportunity of a day off during the week-long get-together in an effort to prevent international duty becoming a monotonous experience.
From his conversations with players, Allardyce has learned that the squad finds lengthy stints at St George’s Park as boring and lacking in stimulation away from the pitch.
Former England captain Steven Gerrard, who described life in the international set-up as being like a ‘five-star prison,’ complained about the lack of amenities for the players at St George’s Park, which is set deep in the Staffordshire countryside.
Gerrard was keen for golfing facilities to included close by to the National Football Centre, but with little beyond football pitches and gymnasiums, Allardyce has accepted the need for his players to escape the claustrophobic atmosphere of St George’s Park in the build-up to fixtures.
Luke Shaw, who has returned to action for Manchester United this season following a broken leg sustained last September, is expected to be in Allardyce’s squad.
West Ham midfielder Mark Noble, who is set to return to Slaven Bilic’s team against Manchester City on Sunday, is under consideration for a call-up.
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