I can help us dodge the drop, says Whites striker Doidge

T.R.O.Y wrote:He left us with Diouf, Davies, Anelka, Dzemaili, Faye, Ben Haim, Jaaskelainaen and Faye - all great players and all under 30 (poss exception of Jaasekelainaen?).

We also had European football to attract players with. Let’s not pretend he left us in anything other than a good state.

You only come on Nuts to argue.

Dzemaili never even played a league match for us in the two years he was with us for God's sake!  Allardyce took Faye with him to Newcastle when he left. Ben Haim also left on a Bosman to Chelsea when Allardyce left too - so you can hardly say he 'left' us with those players really can you?

Anelka was always going to be sold on - we all knew that - we only signed him because no one else wanted to take a chance on 'Le Sulk' until he proved his commitment again after having stropped out of City and doing a spell in Turkey.  He left us in the January transfer window following Sam going as we all knew he would.

Davies had turned 30 years old by the time Sam left and Jussi 32 - so much for being under 30 then!

Diouf is the only player to possibly be able to fulfil your criteria of being a 'great' player under the age of 30 that Allardyce left behind that you listed - I'd hardly call him 'great' myself nor would I say Kevin Nolan who you didn't list 'great' either - certainly they aren't in the same class as Hierro, Djorkaeff or Okocha imo.

Christ you were so eager to argue that you even clutched at the straws so much to make your argument that you even listed Faye twice!!!

As for the UEFA League being such a massive draw to attract players - what a load of bollocks - Gavin McCann, Gerald Cid and Dzemaili were our only three permanent signings for the start of that season and look how they turned out!

For your information this link shows the Bolton squad for the season following Allardyce's departure - after reading it (and bearing in mind Stelios was 32 at the time and Speed even older) are you still honestly trying to tell me that Allardyce left us in a good position for our future???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007–08_Bolton_Wanderers_F.C._season

Allardyce is no fool, he could see what was coming and 'jumped ship' at precisely the right time to spend time with his family take advantage of his growing reputation.

Fair play to him too, it takes a wise man to know when the right time is to leave before the shit starts to hit the fan.

I’m not getting dragged into your nonsense Sluffy. Allardyce left us in a good state, not perfect at all - but a world class striker, goalkeeper and some very good premier league defenders and midfielders in Speed, Nolan and Faye (we may have convinced him to stay with a better appointment) say it all. Only you would argue otherwise.
.

Sluffy wrote:You only come on Nuts to argue.

What other reason is there?

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Sluffy wrote:You only come on Nuts to argue.

What other reason is there?

He needs somewhere to post his wikipedia findings.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Sluffy wrote:You only come on Nuts to argue.

What other reason is there?

To share a laugh with everyone else - as we originally set out to be like.

Most posters give to the site but just a few come here to take from it.

Seems those few have won though and that's why hardly anyone posts here any more.

Why bother getting into pointless, endless and deliberately engineered arguments and/or read constant negativity about everything - just because a few people seek to get their amusement that way - when you can with a click of the mouse be some place else on the internet that is much more fun and enjoyable to be?

You don't really have to be Einstein to work that out do you!

Wonder if it’s too early to call Doidge ‘hitman’.

Sluffy wrote:Most posters give to the site but just a few come here to take from it.

I'm not sure how someone can take from the site. But if you PM me your pin number I'm happy to give it a go.

Another young player  Sam left us with was Andranik the lad who scored 2 at Wigan in the last few weeks of Sam's reign.Let's relive the good times of that day

Allardyce left us with arguably our most talented squad in 30 years.

But left us in a bad state apparently.

Any arguing with that can only possibly be ‘for the sake of it’.

T.R.O.Y wrote:Allardyce left us with arguably our most talented squad in 30 years.

But left us in a bad state apparently.

Any arguing with that can only possibly be ‘for the sake of it’.

You're no better than a troll.

This 'most talented squad in 30 years' you are talking about finished the season with just 37 points having lost 19 games and thus just one point clear of relegated Reading.  Nineteen points and nine places less than just the season before!

Your 'most talented squad in 30 years' managed to gain just four points more in the following season and this fell by two points the season after!

The facts simply don't back up your trolling - but I'm sure you probably knew that anyway.

You moonman.

Allardyce left us before the end of the 06/07 season, when we finished 7th. You’re talking about Sammy Lee then Megson in 07/08.

The fact that you can't have a discussion without accusing people of being WUMS or trolls may be the real reason the post count is down Sluffy.

'The biggest mistake was giving the job to Sammy Lee' may be true enough but the reality was that crowds at the Reebok were dwindling with supporters getting bored with the Allardyce brand of football.

Allardyce's replacement was a decision for the board to make but chairman Phil Gartside had been under stress for two or three  years particularly with Sam Allardyce. It showed in the things Garty said at the time, most memorably in his unfavourably comparing the coaching qualifications of Big Sam with those of Little Sam.

The experiment was short-lived with Lee being replaced by the unpopular Megson. Meggo did what was asked of him but holding on to Premier League status ultimately proved beyond his successor, Owen Coyle, despite the huge amounts spent by Eddie Davies.

My view is that Sam Allardyce did well for BWFC but it also did well for him.  I don't believe he respected that in the manner of his leaving or in the comments he made in his book published when Garty was dying and the club was struggling to survive.

I didn't have any issues with Little Sam taking over at the time, he deserved a chance. The problem was that he tried to completely change the way we played overnight and the players couldn't cope with it.

Norpig wrote:I didn't have any issues with Little Sam taking over at the time, he deserved a chance. The problem was that he tried to completely change the way we played overnight and the players couldn't cope with it.

There was a logic to the appointment of Little Sam. He was well-qualified and experienced at a high level and it offered some continuity with the prospect of an easier on the eye style of football. But all the qualifications in the world are not going to make you a good man-manager if it isn't within your personality. I think that was the main problem.

We needed an experienced old head, not a rookie. The moment I saw him on the touchline, in what looked like his dad's suit, my heart sank.

T.R.O.Y wrote:You moonman.

Allardyce left us before the end of the 06/07 season, when we finished 7th. You’re talking about Sammy Lee then Megson in 07/08.

Correct, and when Sam resigned after game 36, a 2-2 draw at Chelsea we were in 5th position.Sammy Lee's one point from the final two games dropped us to 7th.

Ten Bobsworth wrote:

The experiment was short-lived with Lee being replaced by the unpopular Megson. Meggo did what was asked of him but holding on to Premier League status ultimately proved beyond his successor, Owen Coyle, despite the huge amounts spent by Eddie Davies.

Megson and Coyle both spent roughly £10 million net in the transfer market i believe.Megson probably a bit more, Coyle a bit less.

boltonbonce wrote:We needed an experienced old head, not a rookie. The moment I saw him on the touchline, in what looked like his dad's suit, my heart sank.

I know what you mean but Sammy Lee was 48 when briefly put in charge of BWFC. A year later he was briefly put in charge of Liverpool.

In the same year, 2008, Barcelona appointed 37-year old Pep Guardiola to manage their first team and in his first season he led them to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the EUFA Champions League.

Experience counts but talent counts more.

Growler wrote:

Ten Bobsworth wrote:

The experiment was short-lived with Lee being replaced by the unpopular Megson. Meggo did what was asked of him but holding on to Premier League status ultimately proved beyond his successor, Owen Coyle, despite the huge amounts spent by Eddie Davies.

Megson and Coyle both spent roughly £10 million net in the transfer market i believe.Megson probably a bit more, Coyle a bit less.

The cost of player contracts peaked at an aggregated amount of 59million in 2011 and whilst you can debate how much the net spend was under each manager it was in any event only part of the equation and the amounts spent by Eddie Davies. Players wages were the big issue.

When we were relegated in 2012 the loans of Eddie Davies amounted to 125million on which 16.8million of interest had accrued over a five-year period. Whether any of it was actually paid over is a moot point because there simply wasn't the money to pay it. We also know that 9.5million of accrued interest was written off in 2014/15.