The appointment of Martin Allen as the new Leicester City manager was a bit of a shocker wasn’t it?

Despite rumours that Paul Ince, Nigel Worthington and Neil Warnock were in the frame, Foxes chairman Milan Mandaric decided to give the job to the relatively unproven former Barnet, Brentford and MK Dons chief.

At last Friday’s press conference the Serbian supremo gushed; "I needed someone with hunger, drive, commitment and potential to aspire to our dreams and Martin ticked the boxes. His undoubted ability is matched only by his infectious enthusiasm which will inspire the club."

With Mandaric promising heavy investment to improve the squad during the summer, hopes were high enough. However, with fans noting the similarities between the new manager and Martin O’Neill, expectations could go through the roof!

Comparisons between Martin Allen and Martin O’Neill are unfortunate but understandable. The two men wear their hearts on their sleeves; they’ve served their time in the lower leagues and both have reputations for being somewhat eccentric.

However, if Leicester fans are expecting the second coming they will end up disappointed. Martin Allen is not Martin O’Neill. So what can Leicester fans expect from their new Martin?

Well, to begin with he is likely to provide some bizarre behaviour. During his time as manager of Brentford he jumped into numerous rivers, got the players round to his house to clear up his garden and even nailed a bicycle to the wall to motivate them! Although his quirky side has its charm, he does have a tendency to drift into pseudo intellectual ramblings which can make him look like football’s answer to David Brent, rather than Brian Clough.

The press attention his quirky personality received led some to question the motives behind his actions. Was this the genuine behaviour of an eccentric or a bit of self promotion? Whatever the truth is, no Brentford manager did more to publicise our club than Allen.

On his numerous television appearances the club tie was standard dress code and he always took the opportunity to speak positively about what was going on at Griffin Park. He showed genuine passion by participating in a 25 mile sponsored bike ride in November 2005 to raise funds for Brentford. His efforts helped to raise over £17,000 for the club.

His personality and actions inspired great loyalty from the Griffin Park faithful, even though his own was often a cause for concern.

Allen’s long term commitment to the club was always an issue due to the way that he had come to Brentford. With just weeks of the 2003-04 season left, and as his Barnet side were chasing promotion, Allen jumped ship to mastermind Brentford’s “Great Escape” from the drop into League Two.

During his time at Griffin Park rumours surfaced that despite his public show of loyalty to Brentford he continued to pursue jobs at other clubs, most notably at Tranmere Rovers.

When Allen finally moved to MK Dons last summer he explained that he had done so due to the chairman of the club wanting him personally. Despite this close bond his move to Leicester City has seen this partnership last less than a year.

While he remains at the club it could well be that Leicester fans will have to get used to the long ball game. Allen’s sides at Brentford played with little finesse and his tactics during a game could be very cautious.

His approach was often far too negative and many Brentford fans believe his preference to try and defend one goal leads was the prime reason for us finishing outside the automatic promotion spots in 2005-06. Nevertheless, during his time at Brentford we won more games than we lost and his rather average sides hugely overachieved by reaching two play-offs in as many seasons.

As Allen starts his new job the biggest question mark has to be whether he has the ability to get teams past the finishing line. At Barnet he bailed out before the end of the season, whilst at Brentford he seemed to lose his nerve and stumbled two seasons running.

Although it could be argued that at both clubs he did well just to get so close, at MK Dons there can be no such excuse. He had the resources, the players and the squad to go up but he failed yet again. Defeat to Shrewsbury in the play off semi-finals confirmed what his harshest critics have suggested all along – Allen’s one major flaw is that he can’t quite get teams over that final hurdle.

So, Leicester City fans, don’t expect Martin O’Neill; if you do end up in the play offs, don’t expect to go up; if a bigger team comes calling, don’t expect Allen to stay around; and, finally, be prepared to watch some awful football and the manager employing some excruciatingly negative tactics.

However, you’ll get a team that is proud to turn out in the shirt, one that always plays with passion and commitment and a team that wins a few more games than you have been used to over the last few years.

For all his flaws, for all the concerns and questions that come up, Martin Allen has something about him that ends up winning you over. If he can learn from his mistakes he could do something very special in the next couple of seasons at Leicester City.

Who knows, perhaps the biggest surprise is still to come?