Sam Allardyce has jumped to the defence of Newcastle United amid accusations of timewasting.
While Eddie Howe’s Newcastle have been one of the best sides in the Premier League this season, outsiders have continued to describe them as timewasters.
It is a hot topic of conversation after the Magpies’ 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, when the Gunners ensured that the ball was not in play for a whopping 17 minutes. Their gamesmanship went unpunished, while the response from fans and pundits is that it is what Newcastle deserved for the way they have played this season.
It has been an ongoing narrative ever since Liverpool’s last second win against the Magpies back in August. Jurgen Klopp kicked it all off, then proved himself to be a hypocrite when his team slowed the game down at St James’ Park back in February.
There have also been accusations from Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, who is an even bigger hypocrite. Howe actually took issue with the Red Devils boss last month, and exchanged words with him during the Magpies’ 2-0 win.
Now Leeds boss Sam Allardyce has weighed in on the debate, and does not believe that Newcastle are doing anything that every other team isn’t.
Sam Allardyce takes aim at Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag
Ahead of Saturday’s game at Elland Road, Allardyce has spoke to the media. He was asked about other Premier League manager’s complaining about Newcastle wasting time.
“Who doesn’t do it? Who complained?” he said.
“He time wastes [Jurgen Klopp]. He time wastes [Erik ten Hag].
“They all time waste when they get to the last five minutes when they’re winning 2-1. Don’t be daft, that’s rubbish.”
Allardyce’s Newcastle defence is refreshing
Allardyce is absolutely spot on. Every team does it. Whether you call it timewasting or gamesmanship, every team does whatever they can to dictate the speed of the game depending on the result they want.
The accusations that have been levelled at Newcastle are incredibly disrespectful, and discredit what a fantastic team they have been this season.
It obviously is frustrating to play against, but that is the point. We felt that way on Sunday when Arsenal did it to us. They were well within their rights to do it, but it is up to the referee to draw the line somewhere. He did not do that at the weekend, which was incredibly frustrating.
But as Allardyce says, who doesn’t time waste? The so called big boys need to get down off their high horse and stop expecting teams to roll over and let them win. In the words of Howe, we are not here to be popular, we are here to compete.
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