With relegation from the Premier League still a very real possibility for Leeds United, the club’s board have blinked and decided that Sam Allardyce is the man to keep them up – with just four games left to play in the 2022/23 season.
It’s a brave decision to make so late in the season though some of the last few results under Javi Gracia showed beyond doubt that confidence was at a real low.
Losing 4-1 to Bournemouth, 6-1 to Liverpool, 5-1 to Crystal Palace and 4-1 to Arsenal in four of the last seven games gave the board some licence to consider their options.
However, it’s a big ask even of Premier League survival specialist, Allardyce.
Particularly when you consider that he hasn’t managed since the end of the 2020/21 season, and the four games he has left to save the Elland Road outfit are against Man City, Newcastle, West Ham and Tottenham.
All four opponents have something to play for themselves so Leeds’ continued stay in the English top-flight is by no means an easy task.
Perhaps that’s why the Yorkshire-based club are going to pay him an astonishing £500,000 for the four games and give him a £2.5m bonus if he manages to keep Leeds up, according to the Daily Mail.
It’s a huge commitment from the club but will be money very well spent indeed if Allardyce can do the seemingly impossible.
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