Sound of Football Podcast 268 - Bigger Sam

A largely unimpressed viewing nation still held its breath as Adam Lallana's desperate shot squirmed between the freshly-moistened thighs of the Slovakian goalkeeper. Big Sam Allardyce's debut as England manager saw a performance that was dour, frustrating and largely uninspiring. While the 95th minute winner took away the smoking gun, the amount of circumstantial evidence against Sam still kept his critics satisfied.

All that said, a win is a win and for England it marked their 13th consecutive in tournament qualification, and stretched an unbeaten run of qualifiers that goes back to when this podcast had episodes numbering in a single digit.

Graham, Terry and the returning Jan, fresh from his holiday, discuss the often-maligned English coach and take the opportunity to put on some rose-tinted spectacles to look at the future.

Can we go half an hour without using the words "passion" or "belief"? You'll just have to listen to find out.

For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog.