SAM Allardyce today described football as "a namby pamby game full of a bunch of pansies".

The Reebok boss laments the gradual eradication of tackling which he argues is changing the game for the worse.

Allardyce was renowned for his physical approach as a player and says there are few better sights in the game than a hard tackle.

Unfortunately play-acting players and increasingly stringent rules are gradually driving out one of the game's major skills.

He said: "Tackling is a magnificent skill, a great art which is being taken out of the game.

"Sadly we are in the game with a punch of pansies.

"It is a namby pamby game now. If you blow on players these days they fall on the ground.

"Tackling is a big part of the game but unfortunately these days we are talking about players staying on their feet, intercepting passes and filling holes rather than tackling.

"When I used to play here 30,000 people used to sing about my tackling. They had a special song about it.

"A good tackle is a great sight and it will get people up on their feet and cheering as much as anything else in the game does."