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Sam Allardyce reckons Wanderers could have ‘done a Leicester City’ if they had shown more ambition whilst he was in charge.
Almost a decade has passed since Big Sam announced he was leaving Bolton, as the club prepared to qualify for the UEFA Cup for the second time in three years.
Now in charge of the Crystal Palace, the 62-year-old says he would be happy to stay at Selhurst Park beyond this season if the club shows they will invest in players in the future.
He claims Wanderers’ refusal to fund transfers in his final year in charge, 2006/7, taught him a lesson about management. And citing Leicester’s fairytale rise to be Premier League champions last season, he said the same could have been possible during his time at the Reebok.
“My greatest club I managed was Bolton Wanderers because it was the club that gave me everything,” he told The Croydon Advertiser. “But when it told me it had no ambition I left. I did not want to leave but there was no point me doing anything else at that club because they did not want me to get in the Champions League, win any cup competitions.
“They just wanted to stay in the Premier League. That is no good for me. You do not do this job to achieve mediocrity, you do it for success and winning things and getting as high as you can.
“Look at Leicester. In my time, that could have been Bolton, but they said they did not want to buy any more players or spend any more money. What business does not invest and is successful? I do not know one.
“I learned my lesson there. If they have not got the same ambition of you, there is no point putting yourself through what you have to as a manager.”
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Almost a decade has passed since Big Sam announced he was leaving Bolton, as the club prepared to qualify for the UEFA Cup for the second time in three years.
Now in charge of the Crystal Palace, the 62-year-old says he would be happy to stay at Selhurst Park beyond this season if the club shows they will invest in players in the future.
He claims Wanderers’ refusal to fund transfers in his final year in charge, 2006/7, taught him a lesson about management. And citing Leicester’s fairytale rise to be Premier League champions last season, he said the same could have been possible during his time at the Reebok.
“My greatest club I managed was Bolton Wanderers because it was the club that gave me everything,” he told The Croydon Advertiser. “But when it told me it had no ambition I left. I did not want to leave but there was no point me doing anything else at that club because they did not want me to get in the Champions League, win any cup competitions.
“They just wanted to stay in the Premier League. That is no good for me. You do not do this job to achieve mediocrity, you do it for success and winning things and getting as high as you can.
“Look at Leicester. In my time, that could have been Bolton, but they said they did not want to buy any more players or spend any more money. What business does not invest and is successful? I do not know one.
“I learned my lesson there. If they have not got the same ambition of you, there is no point putting yourself through what you have to as a manager.”
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