Ashley has failed Newcastle United.

[Mick]

 

you can disagree all you like, but I've told you how I see it, you are just using hindsight because Keegan took the job. The major mistake they have made is not reacting to the performance on the pitch and allowing their managers [old and new] more to attempt to improve the quality of the footballers at the club.

 

 

 

I'm not using hindsight at all, I'm repeating what I said a lot closer to the time of either Allardyce getting sacked or Keegan coming in, I can't remember which.

 

As for the highlighted bit, does that not mean the timing was wrong?  That's the way it reads to me, I don't know how others see it.

[NE5]

 

you can disagree all you like, but I've told you how I see it, you are just using hindsight because Keegan took the job. The major mistake they have made is not reacting to the performance on the pitch and allowing their managers [old and new] more to attempt to improve the quality of the footballers at the club.

 

 

 

I'm not using hindsight at all, I'm repeating what I said a lot closer to the time of either Allardyce getting sacked or Keegan coming in, I can't remember which.

 

As for the highlighted bit, does that not mean the timing was wrong?  That's the way it reads to me, I don't know how others see it.

 

No. Football changes, you have to evaluate the situation all the time. One month you can be flying, the next you can be on the floor. Its not a normal "business". The situation is such that we are in a relegation scrap, and they have done nothing.

 

And sacking a manager without anyone lined up is "bad timing". This has been discussed before, remember ?

[Mick]

 

Well, if anything I think he should have stayed rather than went earlier. I think this sort of stuff is pretty much one of reflective opinions. Because Keegan is here, people are saying we could have had Keegan earlier ?

 

But a month previously, we may not have got him. Its simply a complete hypothetical situation. We could have sacked him and had someone else here now. Would people still be saying then that it was bad "timing".

 

People who never wanted Allardyce will say that we should have got rid of him last August, even those who thought we had a good summer in the transfer market [which doesn't make sense at all].

 

However in truth, it is only in the last month his position became untenable, or past the point of no return.

 

 

 

I can't see the timing of Keegan coming here had anything to do with him not wanting to bring players in so I would think that he would have also came earlier if approached, I don't see any reason at all for any delay in bringing him in as being beneficial.  Why would he not come here a few weeks earlier, rather than when he eventually came?

 

I can’t see anything that would logically suggest that an earlier approach would have resulted in a knock back from him.  He either wanted to come here or he didn’t, in fact he’s said that he’d always wondered if the club would come back for him when we were looking for a manager.

 

I agree about him losing the job in the last month or so, I think the club saw the cup draw against Arsenal and realised that we were almost certainly out of the FA Cup and were struggling in the league and had a nightmare set of fixtures coming up.

 

[NE5]

 

Well, if anything I think he should have stayed rather than went earlier. I think this sort of stuff is pretty much one of reflective opinions. Because Keegan is here, people are saying we could have had Keegan earlier ?

 

But a month previously, we may not have got him. Its simply a complete hypothetical situation. We could have sacked him and had someone else here now. Would people still be saying then that it was bad "timing".

 

People who never wanted Allardyce will say that we should have got rid of him last August, even those who thought we had a good summer in the transfer market [which doesn't make sense at all].

 

However in truth, it is only in the last month his position became untenable, or past the point of no return.

 

 

 

I can't see the timing of Keegan coming here had anything to do with him not wanting to bring players in so I would think that he would have also came earlier if approached, I don't see any reason at all for any delay in bringing him in as being beneficial.  Why would he not come here a few weeks earlier, rather than when he eventually came?

 

I can’t see anything that would logically suggest that an earlier approach would have resulted in a knock back from him.  He either wanted to come here or he didn’t, in fact he’s said that he’d always wondered if the club would come back for him when we were looking for a manager.

 

I agree about him losing the job in the last month or so, I think the club saw the cup draw against Arsenal and realised that we were almost certainly out of the FA Cup and were struggling in the league and had a nightmare set of fixtures coming up.

 

 

To clarify.

 

You think the club should have sacked Allardyce, a month before the transfer window, with no idea or any solid approach having been made to someone to replace him ?

 

See, I think they should have looked at the performances and took stock of their ambitions for the club and asked themselves what the manager needed to improve, at that stage, accepting that maybe in the summer they had got it wrong.

 

Then, in the ensuing month, it became more obvious that Allardyce was losing it, and so they took the action that most football clubs would take.

 

If they weren't happy, they should have got rid of him when they came in.

 

 

[Mick]

 

No. Football changes, you have to evaluate the situation all the time. One month you can be flying, the next you can be on the floor. Its not a normal "business". The situation is such that we are in a relegation scrap, and they have done nothing.

 

And sacking a manager without anyone lined up is "bad timing". This has been discussed before, remember ?

 

To be fair, we were never flying under Allardyce once he picked that shit formation to play away at Derby, the team that is still looking for its second win in the league, a team who have taken 50% of the points they have won at home and 33% of the points that they have won away, off us.

 

We are in a relegation scrap, a scrap I still think we'll survive if Keegan gets his team right and uses the pace of Martins and the defensive capabilities of Enrique, Faye and Baye.  He also needs to build on some of our first half performances under him and get the players performing for 90 minutes.

 

[NE5]

 

No. Football changes, you have to evaluate the situation all the time. One month you can be flying, the next you can be on the floor. Its not a normal "business". The situation is such that we are in a relegation scrap, and they have done nothing.

 

And sacking a manager without anyone lined up is "bad timing". This has been discussed before, remember ?

 

To be fair, we were never flying under Allardyce once he picked that shit formation to play away at Derby, the team that is still looking for its second win in the league, a team who have taken 50% of the points they have won at home and 33% of the points that they have won away, off us.

 

We are in a relegation scrap, a scrap I still think we'll survive if Keegan gets his team right and uses the pace of Martins and the defensive capabilities of Enrique, Faye and Baye.  He also needs to build on some of our first half performances under him and get the players performing for 90 minutes.

 

 

with my optimistic head on, I think we can beat the teams at home that are below us, or 2 of the 3 games [so long as we don't lost one] and because of Keegans approach win an away game against somebody.

 

Which along with a couple of draws would be enough.

 

You have to admit that this season is nothing like you expected and the lack of action by the club is too.

 

You know what I think. I think Mort is too conservative and doesn't understand football. Only because Keegan has came to the club, do I think they might have serious ambition.

 

For me, if they don't, the sooner they are off the better, because Keegan won't be here either if they go back on their word, don't show ambition, or allow their new scouts to undermine him.

 

 

 

 

[Mick]

 

To clarify.

 

You think the club should have sacked Allardyce, a month before the transfer window, with no idea or any solid approach having been made to someone to replace him ?

 

See, I think they should have looked at the performances and took stock of their ambitions for the club and asked themselves what the manager needed to improve, at that stage, accepting that maybe in the summer they had got it wrong.

 

Then, in the ensuing month, it became more obvious that Allardyce was losing it, and so they took the action that most football clubs would take.

 

If they weren't happy, they should have got rid of him when they came in.

 

 

 

Sacking Allardyce a month before the window would have been my preference, at least rather than when they did, delaying until they did makes no sense as we were in the same position regarding having no manager lined up but effectively tied the hands of whoever eventually did come in.

 

The players we needed were not the same as those needed by other clubs so bringing any manager in, not just Keegan, was done at the wrong time as a manager of a different club would have had different priorities and targets.

 

I think the timing of the Allardyce arrival was spot on as he had time to look at his players during competitive games before going out to strengthen what he had inherited.  Obviously I have no idea if Roeder was pushed or jumped but if he was pushed it was spot on.

 

[Mick]

 

with my optimistic head on, I think we can beat the teams at home that are below us, or 2 of the 3 games [so long as we don't lost one] and because of Keegans approach win an away game against somebody.

 

Which along with a couple of draws would be enough.

 

You have to admit that this season is nothing like you expected and the lack of action by the club is too.

 

You know what I think. I think Mort is too conservative and doesn't understand football. Only because Keegan has came to the club, do I think they might have serious ambition.

 

For me, if they don't, the sooner they are off the better, because Keegan won't be here either if they go back on their word, don't show ambition, or allow their new scouts to undermine him.

 

 

 

 

 

I do agree that this season has been nothing like I or we expected.  I thought Allardyce was perfect for the job when he was first appointed but that changed the day we looked as if money wouldn't be a problem, I'm not having a go at anybody with that remark, it's just the way I see it.

 

Even then, I thought the bloke deserved a chance to show what he could do, none of us could have known how he would do and I had a feeling that he could raise his game while also being worried that we would become a bigger version of Bolton, I said that at the time but can't be bothered looking for my post.  I'm not worried about the long ball because if you have the right personnel then it can be deadly and it's a valid part of the game.

 

It's awful though when you do what we do and play kick and rush.  To play the long ball right you need somebody who can play a ball over the opposition defence when you're drawing them onto you, then you need a forward or midfielder with pace to get beyond the last man and into space between him and the keeper, we were really good at that both under Keegan and Robson for a while.

 

I think you're right about Mort being cautious, that isn't always a problem and I think Keegan can get around it, he's also the choice of those in charge so they must have faith in what he's going to try to do, we'll soon see.

 

I also think they do have ambition but were unsure about Allerdyce so they were never fully behind him the way they will be with Keegan.  We’ll only know in time, you should give them a chance because we’ll all benefit if they do get it right, if they get it wrong then they’ll deserve all the flack that they’ll get but  I’m not giving them that flack until it’s justified.

 

[garth]

I think for Sam it was bad timing that Ashley took over when he did, I'm sure if Freddy was there in the beginning with him he would have been given the money he really wanted to buy the players that was his first choice, unlucky for him Ashley got control and was never going to give him the funds that he was promised as Sam wasn't his choice, that's why I think most of Sam's signings were not his first choice.

[merlin]

Yes, the timing of Allardyce's sacking was poor - he should have gone before Christmas because as we all know, the team is just not good enough and negotiations should have been under way LONG BEFORE the Jan deadline so we had signings in the pipeline - NOT scrambling around after players who have virtually already agreed to sign for another club.

 

To this extent, it was not wise to appoint someone who had no idea how bad the players were  because he had had no chance to see them in action until we were right in the middle of the Transfer window...if Ashley wanted KK, he should have made the change when it was going to be easier for Keegan to get new players in rather than a mad scramble which resulted in nothing.

 

Only time will tell whether this decision will have serious consequences for the club - right at this point in time, I just don't know where the next points are coming from watching this team ; they are in dire need of new blood in the squad and if we get heavily beaten by Man U and L/pool morale will drop even further so that games against the Mackems & Blackburn become real hurdles.

[Parky]

Yes, the timing of Allardyce's sacking was poor - he should have gone before Christmas because as we all know, the team is just not good enough and negotiations should have been under way LONG BEFORE the Jan deadline so we had signings in the pipeline - NOT scrambling around after players who have virtually already agreed to sign for another club.

 

To this extent, it was not wise to appoint someone who had no idea how bad the players were  because he had had no chance to see them in action until we were right in the middle of the Transfer window...if Ashley wanted KK, he should have made the change when it was going to be easier for Keegan to get new players in rather than a mad scramble which resulted in nothing.

 

Only time will tell whether this decision will have serious consequences for the club - right at this point in time, I just don't know where the next points are coming from watching this team ; they are in dire need of new blood in the squad and if we get heavily beaten by Man U and L/pool morale will drop even further so that games against the Mackems & Blackburn become real hurdles.

 

If they were so unsure about SA as it seems the case now, this should have been the plan. I still have a feeling that they didn't plan to sack him in the Jan window till the 11th hour and that they were almost forced to due to some disagreement between them and SA.

 

 

[steve_69]

It was going to come to a point where Allardyce would ask for more money for players. The board obviously didn't want to give him any more because they didn't want him as manager so i don't see what option they had. Give Allardyce another £10m for players in the knowledge that you are going to sack him, Tell him there's no money available and watch him have a tantrum or get rid now and bring someone else in who can lift the players and maybe bring in a couple of new faces.

The fact that there wasn't anyone available of the standard we need is not Ashley's fault or Keegan's. It's just a consequence of the shit January transfer window.

 

Even if we had offered way over the odds for Bentley - say £20m they'd probably still have turned the offer down because they're on the verge of qualifying for Europe, and even if they had have accepted Bentley would probably have turned us down because we're fighting relegation. Perhaps we could have brought Giles Barnes in but he's hardly Rivaldo is he. He'd just be another reserve player come the summer when we make a few decent signings.

 

It's infuriating for everyone that we're still stuck with the same useless bunch after the January transfer window, but blaming the new board for that is foolish. They made money available for Keegan but there was no-one available who would've improved the first team. End of!

[TRon]

It was going to come to a point where Allardyce would ask for more money for players. The board obviously didn't want to give him any more because they didn't want him as manager so i don't see what option they had. Give Allardyce another £10m for players in the knowledge that you are going to sack him, Tell him there's no money available and watch him have a tantrum or get rid now and bring someone else in who can lift the players and maybe bring in a couple of new faces.

The fact that there wasn't anyone available of the standard we need is not Ashley's fault or Keegan's. It's just a consequence of the shit January transfer window.

 

Even if we had offered way over the odds for Bentley - say £20m they'd probably still have turned the offer down because they're on the verge of qualifying for Europe, and even if they had have accepted Bentley would probably have turned us down because we're fighting relegation. Perhaps we could have brought Giles Barnes in but he's hardly Rivaldo is he. He'd just be another reserve player come the summer when we make a few decent signings.

 

It's infuriating for everyone that we're still stuck with the same useless bunch after the January transfer window, but blaming the new board for that is foolish. They made money available for Keegan but there was no-one available who would've improved the first team. End of!

 

Exactly. I'm just glad Ashley timed the sacking of Big Sam so perfectly. Now Keegan will know exactly which players need replacing by the summer instead of finding out next season. Great work by our board.

[Parky]

It was going to come to a point where Allardyce would ask for more money for players. The board obviously didn't want to give him any more because they didn't want him as manager so i don't see what option they had. Give Allardyce another £10m for players in the knowledge that you are going to sack him, Tell him there's no money available and watch him have a tantrum or get rid now and bring someone else in who can lift the players and maybe bring in a couple of new faces.

The fact that there wasn't anyone available of the standard we need is not Ashley's fault or Keegan's. It's just a consequence of the shit January transfer window.

 

Even if we had offered way over the odds for Bentley - say £20m they'd probably still have turned the offer down because they're on the verge of qualifying for Europe, and even if they had have accepted Bentley would probably have turned us down because we're fighting relegation. Perhaps we could have brought Giles Barnes in but he's hardly Rivaldo is he. He'd just be another reserve player come the summer when we make a few decent signings.

 

It's infuriating for everyone that we're still stuck with the same useless bunch after the January transfer window, but blaming the new board for that is foolish. They made money available for Keegan but there was no-one available who would've improved the first team. End of!

 

Exactly. I'm just glad Ashley timed the sacking of Big Sam so perfectly. Now Keegan will know exactly which players need replacing by the summer instead of finding out next season. Great work by our board.

 

 

That's got to be the dumbest statement in this thread. 

[TRon]

It was going to come to a point where Allardyce would ask for more money for players. The board obviously didn't want to give him any more because they didn't want him as manager so i don't see what option they had. Give Allardyce another £10m for players in the knowledge that you are going to sack him, Tell him there's no money available and watch him have a tantrum or get rid now and bring someone else in who can lift the players and maybe bring in a couple of new faces.

The fact that there wasn't anyone available of the standard we need is not Ashley's fault or Keegan's. It's just a consequence of the shit January transfer window.

 

Even if we had offered way over the odds for Bentley - say £20m they'd probably still have turned the offer down because they're on the verge of qualifying for Europe, and even if they had have accepted Bentley would probably have turned us down because we're fighting relegation. Perhaps we could have brought Giles Barnes in but he's hardly Rivaldo is he. He'd just be another reserve player come the summer when we make a few decent signings.

 

It's infuriating for everyone that we're still stuck with the same useless bunch after the January transfer window, but blaming the new board for that is foolish. They made money available for Keegan but there was no-one available who would've improved the first team. End of!

 

Exactly. I'm just glad Ashley timed the sacking of Big Sam so perfectly. Now Keegan will know exactly which players need replacing by the summer instead of finding out next season. Great work by our board.

 

 

That's got to be the dumbest statement in this thread. 

No I think he got it just right for the reasons mentioned. You could always put an alternative view to enlighten me though.

 

 

 

 

[Parky]

It was going to come to a point where Allardyce would ask for more money for players. The board obviously didn't want to give him any more because they didn't want him as manager so i don't see what option they had. Give Allardyce another £10m for players in the knowledge that you are going to sack him, Tell him there's no money available and watch him have a tantrum or get rid now and bring someone else in who can lift the players and maybe bring in a couple of new faces.

The fact that there wasn't anyone available of the standard we need is not Ashley's fault or Keegan's. It's just a consequence of the shit January transfer window.

 

Even if we had offered way over the odds for Bentley - say £20m they'd probably still have turned the offer down because they're on the verge of qualifying for Europe, and even if they had have accepted Bentley would probably have turned us down because we're fighting relegation. Perhaps we could have brought Giles Barnes in but he's hardly Rivaldo is he. He'd just be another reserve player come the summer when we make a few decent signings.

 

It's infuriating for everyone that we're still stuck with the same useless bunch after the January transfer window, but blaming the new board for that is foolish. They made money available for Keegan but there was no-one available who would've improved the first team. End of!

 

Exactly. I'm just glad Ashley timed the sacking of Big Sam so perfectly. Now Keegan will know exactly which players need replacing by the summer instead of finding out next season. Great work by our board.

 

 

That's got to be the dumbest statement in this thread. 

No I think he got it just right for the reasons mentioned. You could always put an alternative view to enlighten me though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try reading the thread.

[TRon]

It was going to come to a point where Allardyce would ask for more money for players. The board obviously didn't want to give him any more because they didn't want him as manager so i don't see what option they had. Give Allardyce another £10m for players in the knowledge that you are going to sack him, Tell him there's no money available and watch him have a tantrum or get rid now and bring someone else in who can lift the players and maybe bring in a couple of new faces.

The fact that there wasn't anyone available of the standard we need is not Ashley's fault or Keegan's. It's just a consequence of the shit January transfer window.

 

Even if we had offered way over the odds for Bentley - say £20m they'd probably still have turned the offer down because they're on the verge of qualifying for Europe, and even if they had have accepted Bentley would probably have turned us down because we're fighting relegation. Perhaps we could have brought Giles Barnes in but he's hardly Rivaldo is he. He'd just be another reserve player come the summer when we make a few decent signings.

 

It's infuriating for everyone that we're still stuck with the same useless bunch after the January transfer window, but blaming the new board for that is foolish. They made money available for Keegan but there was no-one available who would've improved the first team. End of!

 

Exactly. I'm just glad Ashley timed the sacking of Big Sam so perfectly. Now Keegan will know exactly which players need replacing by the summer instead of finding out next season. Great work by our board.

 

 

That's got to be the dumbest statement in this thread. 

No I think he got it just right for the reasons mentioned. You could always put an alternative view to enlighten me though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try reading the thread.

 

It was in light of the thread I put the view it was perfect timing.

[Northern Monkey]

I think for Sam it was bad timing that Ashley took over when he did, I'm sure if Freddy was there in the beginning with him he would have been given the money he really wanted to buy the players that was his first choice, unlucky for him Ashley got control and was never going to give him the funds that he was promised as Sam wasn't his choice, that's why I think most of Sam's signings were not his first choice.

You don't think Faye was his choice?

 

Or any of the other 8 he brought in?

[NE5]

It was going to come to a point where Allardyce would ask for more money for players. The board obviously didn't want to give him any more because they didn't want him as manager so i don't see what option they had. Give Allardyce another £10m for players in the knowledge that you are going to sack him, Tell him there's no money available and watch him have a tantrum or get rid now and bring someone else in who can lift the players and maybe bring in a couple of new faces.

The fact that there wasn't anyone available of the standard we need is not Ashley's fault or Keegan's. It's just a consequence of the shit January transfer window.

 

Even if we had offered way over the odds for Bentley - say £20m they'd probably still have turned the offer down because they're on the verge of qualifying for Europe, and even if they had have accepted Bentley would probably have turned us down because we're fighting relegation. Perhaps we could have brought Giles Barnes in but he's hardly Rivaldo is he. He'd just be another reserve player come the summer when we make a few decent signings.

 

It's infuriating for everyone that we're still stuck with the same useless bunch after the January transfer window, but blaming the new board for that is foolish. They made money available for Keegan but there was no-one available who would've improved the first team. End of!

 

I wrote before Xmas that the time was coming where they needed to sit down and ask him what he thought was the way forward because improvement was obviously needed. I said that if he wanted to buy more defenders then they should show him the door.

 

That assumes the fact that Ashley and/or Mort has understanding of football.

 

Maybe this is what happened. I don't accept the fact that they should have sacked him a month before the window or earlier, because as with most of us at the time, we were hoping he would see where he was going wrong and get the right answers.

 

Only when it became obvious he was going to continue down the wrong path does it become the solution to change the manager.

 

This obviously happened over the Xmas period, it did with most of the fans, so why should Ashley and Mort be any different ?

 

They reacted to a worsening position when they saw it wasn't going to change.

 

I bet that 10m quid would have got Bentley by the way, but now it would cost more. So much for waiting until the summer for a better deal.

 

We also don't know how much money was made available to Keegan. Don't think we will build a top team for between 10 and 20m quid, because we won't.

 

 

[Baggio]

If we offered Blackburn £10 million for Bentley they would have put the phone down in a fit of laughter.

 

 

[fredbob]

Alot of what occured can be contrived either way, it was either an irrational decision on one hand, with no back up plan, or was something that needed to happen under the circumstances. For me i think the timing of the sacking was about as close to the best they could of done. We have to remember that the club had an extremely busy fixture list which i imagine was being met with intense training my Allardyce. In my opiinion, the board would of been in no position to sack Allardyce with such pressure of imporatant fixture. Games were coming up days after day and to get another manager to assess the squad, assess the target and assess the strategic review of the club and get the team prepared for all these big fixturewould of been impossible.

 

This is why Allardyce stayed to when the fixtures started to die down, maybe he should of gone a week earlier in the transfer period, but to me there was no doubt that he had to go then and not in the summer, what would of been the point of backinga manager you know you dont want?

 

As it stands, Keegan did have a bit of time to look for targets and he made an attempt (that we know of) to get one of only a handful of players that could of improved our squad. To me that shows that there board do have good intent and ambition, within the fist 2 weeks of a new mans appointment they were willing to spend a decent amount very soon. 

[garth]

I think for Sam it was bad timing that Ashley took over when he did, I'm sure if Freddy was there in the beginning with him he would have been given the money he really wanted to buy the players that was his first choice, unlucky for him Ashley got control and was never going to give him the funds that he was promised as Sam wasn't his choice, that's why I think most of Sam's signings were not his first choice.

You don't think Faye was his choice?

 

Or any of the other 8 he brought in?

 

Yes they were his choice, but probably not his first, out of all the players he brought in though most definitely Faye, Beye and Enrique you could class as a success but then again I don't think Sam is the only Manager who has bought in players and they turned out to be shit, this is nothing unique.

[Guest alex]

How could you class Enrique as a definite succes by the way? He might turn out to be one but he's been ok on the odd occasion he's actually played.

[Baggio]

I think for Sam it was bad timing that Ashley took over when he did, I'm sure if Freddy was there in the beginning with him he would have been given the money he really wanted to buy the players that was his first choice, unlucky for him Ashley got control and was never going to give him the funds that he was promised as Sam wasn't his choice, that's why I think most of Sam's signings were not his first choice.

You don't think Faye was his choice?

 

Or any of the other 8 he brought in?

 

Yes they were his choice, but probably not his first, out of all the players he brought in though most definitely Faye, Beye and Enrique you could class as a success but then again I don't think Sam is the only Manager who has bought in players and they turned out to be shit, this is nothing unique.

 

His first choice players were Distin and Ben Haim, he also went for Silvestre, Wes Brown and Heinze who but got turned down for one reason or another, that's according to his interview in the Mag anyway.

 

You could say the same about any manager that they would do better if they had more money, the fact is though that Allardyce spent around £18 million on Joey Barton with his well known baggage, Enrique who he left out of the first team more often than not and Alan Smith who's shite.

 

[Northern Monkey]

I think for Sam it was bad timing that Ashley took over when he did, I'm sure if Freddy was there in the beginning with him he would have been given the money he really wanted to buy the players that was his first choice, unlucky for him Ashley got control and was never going to give him the funds that he was promised as Sam wasn't his choice, that's why I think most of Sam's signings were not his first choice.

You don't think Faye was his choice?

 

Or any of the other 8 he brought in?

 

Yes they were his choice, but probably not his first, out of all the players he brought in though most definitely Faye, Beye and Enrique you could class as a success but then again I don't think Sam is the only Manager who has bought in players and they turned out to be shit, this is nothing unique.

 

His first choice players were Distin and Ben Haim, he also went for Silvestre, Wes Brown and Heinze who but got turned down for one reason or another, that's according to his interview in the Mag anyway.

 

You could say the same about any manager that they would do better if they had more money, the fact is though that Allardyce spent around £18 million on Joey Barton with his well known baggage, Enrique who he left out of the first team more often than not and Alan Smith who's shite.

 

 

We don't know who his first choices were, it was all media talk - i.e. bullshit.