Sam Allardyce is a pragmatic man, he has made his career in the game as a sensible centre-back and he has continued his rise to the top by talking endless amounts of sense. He values the common sensical approach to the game as he values his data sheets and his ice-fridge. He has sensibly started building from the back, he talks a good game and he understands the motivational and communicative needs of the players, after all he has proper coaching badges - he even brings a glint to the eye of the FA when the England job is mulled. So as Toon supports we are just beginning to ask ourselves how and why he continues to mis-read the teams needs on the pitch away from home?

How a team that has just brushed aside a goodish Spurs side can flounder so haplessly against the mighty Reading is frankly mind boggling. But there are clues and perhaps also a rising awareness that Derby wasn’t just a blip. Perhaps the signs that the orchestra is missing some creative direction has gone unheeded by the conductor himself. What did he see from his screens and his computer printouts from the Derby game that told him to start without wingers with no chance to spread play or relieve pressure on the defence? There is the beginnings of a common theme here and it is a storyline that will not be tolerated and should not be tolerated. Allardyce needs to look seriously at his motivation away from home and he needs to stop this ridiculos mantra about clean sheets, clean sheets don’t win games goals do. Neither does pr mumblings about “being happy with 0-0″. After all what kind of signal does that give the opposition? It is dawning on some that we are misfiring away form home because the team is slavishly being set up to contain, to play safe and as the old saying goes ‘to nick something’. I didn’t realise we were away at Anfield or the Camp Nou.

Teams have been scoring against Reading at leisure, even Bolton and Sunderland. They have conceded fifteen goals in their previous four games, surely we should have had at least one of Milner or N’Zogbia on from the start to go through their full repetoire of torments against a defence lacking in confidence. How many more games are we to watch in bemusement the lack of service for the best finisher in this league? What is the need to line up with four central midfielders and one (Geremi) who has been woeful of late, adding to Nicky Butt’s on/off performances. We can live with your trials with Smith on the wing and Zoggy at left back those were periods of ‘as needs must’, we also console ourselves that you are working through various formulae. What we aren’t able to stomach are these lacklustre, percentage - hugging, cowardly away performances.

In many ways this is the right time for Sam Allardyce and Newcastle United, the supporters are ready to build and be patient after the false dawns, we respect the thorough approach to the game and a manager who understands what the word preperation means for a change. But is it part of our preperation these days to go to places like Reading talking demurely about draws and clean sheets? Unnacceptable. This is not the postive approach you speak of, this is not the guile and ‘cleverness’ and strength of mind that you talk of when you talk about players you want to work with. In plain words you seem to be quite meek and guarded for a big man.
Stop playing games with formations and positions and set up a side equipped to win matches who go onto the pitch without mixed signals, because that is what the supporters are beginning to hear.