Allardyce piece in the London Evening Standard

[BWFC_Insane]

No-ones bowing at his feet. Theres very little in that article to argue with. It was up to the club, not an employee, to build a lasting legacy. We failed. Spectacularly. But then I'm sure those in football would know that all too well.

The bit to argue with is that he seemed upset that people didn't talk him up after leaving.

He didn't talk Bolton Wanderers up. In fact he said we didn't match his ambition, inspite of all the money he'd been given that season, the backing through the panorama incident, and the year before the backing he got announcing time and time and time again his desire for the England job.

He got massive support from all here, fans, chairman and owner alike.

When he left and went back on an agreement to raid the staff. What did he expects? He showed the club zero respect, which is his choice and right. Why should he expect any back?

Simple question....

But that was the point- he was not given the money that season.
Indeed it was the tipping point
£10m that January for 2 PL standard players, and a real tilt at the Champs League and he would have stayed, been totally motivated, and who knows what may have happened?

We may still have slipped back that season, but Allardyce would not have been deflated and demoralised.

The irony is that ED has had to put up ten times as much in a vain effort just to keep us up.

Like I said, the tipping point

It does not excuse the method of his departure and after.

It looked a stupid decision to me then, and it has not improved in the meantime.

Allardyce had just spent 10M in the summer, breaking our transfer record on Anelka and singing Meite.

He wanted another 10M. Then what? We had some ageing players in midfield? If we didn't make the champions league would he have wanted more?

But that aside, he'd been given the money to sign Anelka in order to keep him after he didn't get the England job.

We couldn't keep giving him money every year he said he wanted out.

Eddie Davies felt the team needed rebuilding which is why he gave Megson the money to keep us in the premiership. Very different circumstances. Bottom line, Eddie's money and he gives it out when he likes. Certainly can't argue with that!

[plymouth wanderer]

No-ones bowing at his feet. Theres very little in that article to argue with. It was up to the club, not an employee, to build a lasting legacy. We failed. Spectacularly. But then I'm sure those in football would know that all too well.

The bit to argue with is that he seemed upset that people didn't talk him up after leaving.

He didn't talk Bolton Wanderers up. In fact he said we didn't match his ambition, inspite of all the money he'd been given that season, the backing through the panorama incident, and the year before the backing he got announcing time and time and time again his desire for the England job.

He got massive support from all here, fans, chairman and owner alike.

When he left and went back on an agreement to raid the staff. What did he expects? He showed the club zero respect, which is his choice and right. Why should he expect any back?

Simple question....

But that was the point- he was not given the money that season.
Indeed it was the tipping point
£10m that January for 2 PL standard players, and a real tilt at the Champs League and he would have stayed, been totally motivated, and who knows what may have happened?

We may still have slipped back that season, but Allardyce would not have been deflated and demoralised.

The irony is that ED has had to put up ten times as much in a vain effort just to keep us up.

Like I said, the tipping point

It does not excuse the method of his departure and after.

It looked a stupid decision to me then, and it has not improved in the meantime.

Allardyce had just spent 10M in the summer, breaking our transfer record on Anelka and singing Meite.

He wanted another 10M. Then what? We had some ageing players in midfield? If we didn't make the champions league would he have wanted more?

But that aside, he'd been given the money to sign Anelka in order to keep him after he didn't get the England job.

We couldn't keep giving him money every year he said he wanted out.

Eddie Davies felt the team needed rebuilding which is why he gave Megson the money to keep us in the premiership. Very different circumstances. Bottom line, Eddie's money and he gives it out when he likes. Certainly can't argue with that!

Eddie out then

[H. Pedersen]

I was very angry at the way Allardyce left us. The events of the subsequent years have softened my anger somewhat. I still haven’t exactly forgiven him for the way in which he left. It betrayed a distinct lack of class that I think we always suspected in the man. But when I look at the incompetence and short-sightedness with which Gartside has run the club since then, I can see why Sam wanted out. At West Ham and Blackburn he has shown that he’s still a very competent manager, while Gartside has just steered us ever downwards. It shows who the real brains of the outfit was.

[midlands exile]

Allardyce had just spent 10M in the summer, breaking our transfer record on Anelka and singing Meite.

He wanted another 10M. Then what? We had some ageing players in midfield?
>>>>
Eddie Davies felt the team needed rebuilding which is why he gave Megson the money to keep us in the premiership. Very different circumstances.

So it was ok to allow Meggo to spend money to improve the squad, but big Sam was out of order for wanting to do similar? Even though the club's finances have nosedived harder and faster than ever since Allardyce left, with performances dropping in similar fashion (apart from maybe the Holden honeymoon for OC)?

The only difference in circumstances is that instead of our best manager in half a century spending big money to consolidate a strong position, instead we gave it to Mr Mediocre to scrape to survival and give two fingers to the fans.

[BWFC_Insane]

Allardyce had just spent 10M in the summer, breaking our transfer record on Anelka and singing Meite.

He wanted another 10M. Then what? We had some ageing players in midfield?
>>>>
Eddie Davies felt the team needed rebuilding which is why he gave Megson the money to keep us in the premiership. Very different circumstances.

So it was ok to allow Meggo to spend money to improve the squad, but big Sam was out of order for wanting to do similar? Even though the club's finances have nosedived harder and faster than ever since Allardyce left, with performances dropping in similar fashion (apart from maybe the Holden honeymoon for OC)?

The only difference in circumstances is that instead of our best manager in half a century spending big money to consolidate a strong position, instead we gave it to Mr Mediocre to scrape to survival and give two fingers to the fans.

Ultimately the answer is, it's Eddies money so it's absolutely right for him to do what he likes.

But let's not forget the season after Sam left, Lee and Megson essentially spent nowt between them after taking the sales of Anelka and Faye out of the equation.

It was the next season. And perhaps Eddie Davies felt he had to back Megson at that point.

Maybe he was prepared to pay to keep us in the division but not to chase what he may have seen as a risky champions league dream.

Whatever the reasons unless you have hundreds of millions to invest in Bolton, you have to respect Eddies choice!

[Lord Kangana]

He spent fecking a truckload on Elmander the end of that season. Which we got the square root of naff all to reinvest.

Don't talk twaddle.

[H. Pedersen]

Allardyce knew our squad needed investment in January 2007. Davies and Gartside didn't realize it until a year later.

[Prufrock]

AGAIN?! This is getting f*cking ridiculous now.

Gartside is ace/shit*.

Allardyce was ace/shit/a bastard*.

Can Dan do a poll once and for all and then we can talk about something else...

*Delete as applicable

[boltonboris]

Allardyce knew our squad needed investment in January 2007. Davies and Gartside didn't realize it until a year later.

[BWFC_Insane]

He spent fecking a truckload on Elmander the end of that season. Which we got the square root of naff all to reinvest.

Don't talk twaddle.

Aye in the summer after that season he bought Elmander and Muamba.

But that was after a season of battling relegation when at points we looked truly doomed and after a lot of the players were leaving/had for one reason or another. So Eddie probably felt we needed a rebuild.

My point was its not like Eddie started chucking loads of cash around the minute Allardyce left.

By the time he did, he probably had to in order to keep us in the premiership. Very different situation by then, than it was in January the season before.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

The problem the Allardyce lovers have is that they can't see you can think he's the best manager we've had in 50 years, but still think he's a fat headed, egotistical, arrogant cock

Ah but that would be something other than one-dimensional, Caps. The internet might start to bulge out of your screen.

[Lord Kangana]

I think it wouldn't stick in the craw (or indeed be such a one-dimensional argument) if the same cabal of posters who consistently berate Allardyce simultaneously defend Megson (for they are one and the same, and we are expanding the argument).

After all, its surely a better thing to be a fat headed egotistical arrogant cock and be good at football management, than be a fat headed, egotistical, arrogant cock, and be shit at football management. Especially, and for me this is a crucial, central point, when you're in football management. No?

[BWFC_Insane]

I think it wouldn't stick in the craw (or indeed be such a one-dimensional argument) if the same cabal of posters who consistently berate Allardyce simultaneously defend Megson (for they are one and the same, and we are expanding the argument).

After all, its surely a better thing to be a fat headed egotistical arrogant cock and be good at football management, than be a fat headed, egotistical, arrogant cock, and be shit at football management. Especially, and for me this is a crucial, central point, when you're in football management. No?

But again, its not that anybody thinks Megson is anywhere close to Allardyce in terms of ability as a manager.

I don't think you'll find ANYONE to say they'd rather have Megson than Allardyce. NOT ONE.

I think you'll find when Caps and others including myself "defended" Megson to use your words it was to merely point out that he had kept us in the premiership and that the likelihood is that there wasn't another man capable of repeating what Allardyce did.

We can go back and forth over Megson etc and probably get nowhere, mainly because your position became so entrenched that you don't want to apply any reason to it. I certainly could see his massive faults, but also his good points. Which perhaps you didn't or wouldn't let yourself.

Perhaps I did the same with Coyle.

End result is that nowt is as black or as white in reality as it is portrayed on here.

[Barefoot Wanderer]

1.Nat Lofthouse
2.Sam Allardyce


The most important men in Bolton's post war history

One won us a major trophy, the other got us into the top 6 and Europe after 40 years of mediocrity.

Anybody else is a distant 3rd

Enough said.

at last, someone with a gram of sense!

don't understand anyones grievances towards Allardyce - thebest era our club has had. (and man u friendly )

some fans have very short memories and forget what he did for BWFC and in trying circumstances - what does he get in return? - petty name calling on the most part. Get real.

[boltonboris]

Nobody forgets what he did.. But some of us have moved on. Sam certainly has.

[thebish]

Nobody forgets what he did.. But some of us have moved on. Sam certainly has.

he has in some ways - but I think he still bears a hefty grudge and a sizeable chip!

[boltonboris]

He does... But some fans are criticising others for being the same the other way around

[jaffka]

I think it wouldn't stick in the craw (or indeed be such a one-dimensional argument) if the same cabal of posters who consistently berate Allardyce simultaneously defend Megson (for they are one and the same, and we are expanding the argument).

After all, its surely a better thing to be a fat headed egotistical arrogant cock and be good at football management, than be a fat headed, egotistical, arrogant cock, and be shit at football management. Especially, and for me this is a crucial, central point, when you're in football management. No?

But again, its not that anybody thinks Megson is anywhere close to Allardyce in terms of ability as a manager.

I don't think you'll find ANYONE to say they'd rather have Megson than Allardyce. NOT ONE.

I think you'll find when Caps and others including myself "defended" Megson to use your words it was to merely point out that he had kept us in the premiership and that the likelihood is that there wasn't another man capable of repeating what Allardyce did.

We can go back and forth over Megson etc and probably get nowhere, mainly because your position became so entrenched that you don't want to apply any reason to it. I certainly could see his massive faults, but also his good points. Which perhaps you didn't or wouldn't let yourself.

Perhaps I did the same with Coyle.

End result is that nowt is as black or as white in reality as it is portrayed on here.

Looks like I have forgotten, so remind me then please, what were his good points?

[thebish]

Looks like I have forgotten, so remind me then please, what were his good points?

are you overlooking his rugged good looks??

[jaffka]

Looks like I have forgotten, so remind me then please, what were his good points?

are you overlooking his rugged good looks??

I remember how good he was at making friends...