Allardyce Losing The Battle
Last Updated : 01-Aug-2007 by"There was the lad at Lyon (Eric Abidal) that went to Barcelona who is probably the best one around, but you look for the rest and say to yourself: 'Where are they?'
"A lot of them are converted left-wingers, so they're attacking-minded, whereas I've got the opposite slant on that.
"We're attacking-minded as a squad. I need defensive solidarity and players who think defensively; natural defenders. They're not easy to find.
"The choice is more limited here (in England). They are fewer and farther between than they were.
"If I had been quick enough or had been in place as Newcastle manager sooner, I'd have looked at more Premiership free transfers.
"I tried for one — Tal Ben Haim — and if Sylvain Distin had still been available when I'd been here, he'd have been here.
"If you put Ben Haim and Distin here now, it would make a huge difference. You'd already have secured the problems with your defence, basically.
"You'd probably just look for a left-back of the right sort of experience and, perhaps, a right-back and you'd be looking forward to August 11.
"But that centre-back we need may not be in this country now."
