Big Sam's Real Baptism of Fire

The appointment of Sam Allardyce has had more negative than positive reactions from the Blackburn faithful but this isn't about his appointment or even Paul Ince's departure. This is about the writer's chance of a paper selling headline. The first game!

Now this headline always includes the phrase "Baptism of Fire". However, the team the new gaffer needs to be playing against needs to be one of the big four or an old team of his looking to show how good it’s been with out him.

Big Sam got this last time when he took over at Newcastle he went straight back to Bolton and took all three points in a convincing win. He must have wished time stood still then, but we won't mention the rest of his Newcastle career. However, this time he is playing Stoke at Ewood Park so no baptism of fire, or is it?

If you play one of the big four then you are expected to lose. Therefore, if it all goes Pete Tong no one will bat an eyelid and just laud praise on the superstars of the opposition. If you get a result you have got a whirlwind of support heading in your direction to help you push on.

So with those first games it really is everything to gain. If you play one of your former clubs it really is between the boss and his old club. The new club still just cares about the result and the performance and doesn’t care if the new boss has any ties with them at the moment. The only thing they get the chance to do is invent chants to brag about the situation.

So do these games really deserve the phrase "Baptism Of Fire"?

Big Sam’s first game against Stoke, I believe, does deserve that tag for many reasons. The first reason is the way Stoke play; it is remarkably similar to the way Bolton used to play under Big Sam, but with a bit of pretty football thrown in for good measure.

Stoke look like Bolton 2.0 and who should be more able to deal with them and their not so secret weapon, Rory Delap, than Big Sam.

The Blackburn fans will wonder if he cannot deal with tactics he knows well being used against him how will he deal with tactics he isn’t so familiar with? This brings me on to another reason for my claim, the fact Blackburn have a really good chance of beating Stoke.

Stoke haven’t won away from home all season and with Blackburn badly needing a result to avoid being cut off at the bottom of the table, they can’t afford to lose. Unlike when you play one of the big four a good performance will not be enough on Saturday, they need a result.

This fixture maybe there best chance to grab three points all season. No game is easy but apart from a match with the floundering West Brom who would you consider easier?

A loss here will not only be seen as three points to a relegation rival, but as a good chance wasted. This really could be one of those games known as a six pointer come the end of the season if Stoke can’t keep up there good home form and the away form remains poor.

Stoke may not be the best team but because of the implications of a bad result could mean to Blackburn’s chances of staying in the top flight, this game truly deserve the title "Baptism Of Fire".