Sam Allardyce Quotes

During the time I didn't play for England, they were losing Test matches, and the Yorkshire committee were telling me that I should be batting for my country. Then, when I decided to make myself available to play for England again in 1977, and Yorkshire lost a couple of matches in my absence, they criticised me for not being there.

If we are going to win games, we need 11 fit players. Sir Alex Ferguson does not pick half-fit players.

The most important thing is that Spain have a good team no matter who plays. It is always nice to see your name spoken but the important thing is that the national team does well. But having good players for every position is important because there are always injuries, drops of form.

If we kept all the players I liked personally, we'd be a lot worse team over the years.

We have always made sure that players who have played for CSK, even those who came from other franchises for whatever reason, have performed well.

Why does it get assumed that Zidane is a figurehead and everything Real achieve is down to the talent of the squad?

I believe that, in principle, it is easier to get into the national team if you perform well at Bayern, compared to what the benefits of playing for other clubs are.

My sole focus is producing the best team possible for England.

Fans have their own idea about who to hire; that's what makes football great.

There is a lot of crap spoken about footballers being nomads but when you get to a club and you create a spirit, there is no doubt players want to do well for their team-mates and club.

At Osasuna I had a difficult experience because of the relegation battle but I always had a place in the team. I played well all season.

Teams want the best players. If the best players come through your academy, you can play.

The last thing you want to see is your great players in the press box or in the locker room.

When you look at not just for Sixth Man but also for any award in the NBA even when it comes to the MVP, you should look at their impact to their team.

This is the Italian national team; there's no need to give caps away. If the coach calls up certain players, it's because he's convinced they can give a big hand, and that's why I'm here.

Perhaps the toughest call for a coach is weighing what is best for an individual against what is best for the team. Keeping a player on the roster just because I liked him personally, or even because of his great contributions to the team in the past, when I felt some one else could do more for the team would be a disservice to the team's goals.

As for Kaka, he is a superstar... someone who can change the tempo of the game as well as the team.

There are teams spending a lot of money and buying top players from all over the world but it is not about money - it is about your team-mates.

Us coaches love to have as many players available as possible.

You always want all good players at your team.

Of course, for the national team it is good to have Mesut Ozil in good form.

It's not always the fault of the manager when a player is not performing well, I can tell you.

As far as Sao Paulo are concerned, I've never played for a club as well-structured as this.

Who wants to go to a team that doesn't play players when they are young? You can't see yourself playing for that team.

You cannot have players come on and not make the impact because the game will slowly slip away from you. It is important you are ready.