Five questions for Allardyce

Sam Allardyce’s appointment as England manager will inevitably have players wondering where they fit into his plans.

But some have already had a clue given Allardyce’s vocal views on English football.

Here we pick out five questions facing the new England boss in relation to his plans for the team…

Keen to work with Stones?

Allardyce likes his defenders to defend but that need not be bad news for those who like the ball at their feet. In fact, the new England boss already appeared to have plans for Everton centre-back John Stones even before his appointment – expressing a desire to take him to Sunderland. “I’d like to sign Stones,” he said recently.

“I’d teach him how to defend. It would be a simple job for me. That’s my area of expertise in many ways. I can coach in all departments, especially team-play but when it comes to defending, you name it, I’ll tell you about it. It wouldn’t be too difficult to show him, a player of his intelligence, when and where to do things.”

Good news for old pals?

Stones might not be the only defender to get a chance to disrupt the established pairings. It’s only last year that Allardyce was urging Roy Hodgson to take a look at James Tomkins. “When I look at opponents like Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill,” said Allardyce, “I don’t see a huge amount of difference when I watch them playing against each other.”

As well as Tomkins, there’s a feeling that West Ham left-back Aaron Cresswell has been a …

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