Allardyce Learns What It's Like To Be At Big Club

Sam Allardyce has made his managerial career with a small club like Bolton. His teams have been the model of 'anti-football' as Lionel Messi would claim - tight defensive units with long balls pumped forward to unsettle any defence with terrier-like strikers that aim more to irritate than to entertain.

When he was dismissed from England reckoning due to his link with transfer dealing scandals, the big Englishman was indignant on his treatment. In truth, he realised that being at an unfancied club like Bolton would never look good on his resume. When the chance at Newcastle came, he jumped on it, hoping that it'd bring him more recognition of his abilities.

Little did he realise that choosing the right 'big club' to be at would matter more than just going to any, especially one that is clearly riding on past glories. And with results not going his way, he now faces an uphill task to build on his achievements at Bolton. He has also realised that decisions do not often go the way of bigger clubs just because they are... well, bigger.

Allardyce would complain no end at Bolton - cursing their lack of luck at big decisions. Bolton was a small unfancied club that no one liked, he said. Who would give them a penalty? Instead, they often get penalised for fouls that big clubs get away with, according to him.

So moving to Newcastle should help with that. Those thousands of decisions that went against him should disappear right now.

Well, Newcastle went down to Reading last night in the EPL, and Allardyce bemoaned his club's luckless attempt to get a penalty when Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann collided with Michael Owen.

Unfortunately, being at a club like Newcastle, big while it might be (in a certain part of England), it is also mighty unpopular.

How about joining Manchester United's backroom staff, Allardyce?