"Back in Bolton, the first team is a mess. The defence is a shambles, there are gaping holes in midfield, the strikers don`t pass the ball to each other and morale is on the floor. The UEFA spot that should have been sealed weeks ago is in danger of slipping away. Would you really want to appoint the man who left his previous club in such a state?"A Word Of Warning About Allardyce
"Back in Bolton, the first team is a mess. The defence is a shambles, there are gaping holes in midfield, the strikers don`t pass the ball to each other and morale is on the floor. The UEFA spot that should have been sealed weeks ago is in danger of slipping away. Would you really want to appoint the man who left his previous club in such a state?"Freddy Shepherd's must be "twitching" because he had better get this appointment right. And I honestly and sincerely mean that. Patience has run out with the Geordies and Fred is on his last chance, and 90% of them don't even believe he should be given that!
Shepherd is expected to hold talks with Sam Allardyce despite the fact that the Football Association are still investigating the bung allegations made by the BBC's Panorama programme. Something Freddy felt so strongly about he sacked Glenn Roeder's assistant Kevin Bond just after the programme had been aired, even though there was hardly a mention of the man.
Allardyce strongly denied any wrongdoing and you would have thought Shepherd would have sympathy because the Toon chairman was caught by the News of the World's 'fake sheikh' back in 1998 and was hung out to dry.
Out of the blue former Newcastle defender/midfielder Neil McDonald can see a "nice little earner" coming his way if he makes the right noises. And what better way to say "giz a job" by claiming Allardyce can turn Newcastle into a "major force".
McDonald was Allardyce's first-team coach for several years before leaving to become Carlisle boss but he has hinted he would be interested in a reunion at Newcastle.
Well knock me down with a shit-stick!
McDonald: "In terms of getting the structure right, and signing the right players, he's done it all on a shoestring budget.
"Can you imagine what he could do with a few quid to spend? There's some great players at Newcastle now anyway but with the money he should have available then he'll turn them into a major force.
"It's madness to say Bolton are a long-ball team. When you've got players like Youri Djorkaeff and Jay-Jay Okocha then you certainly can't play long ball.
"We played winning football, scored some exciting goals and certainly scored more spectacular goals from open play than from set-pieces.
"Newcastle fans demand that they play good football, so it's just finding the mix between the two."
"I speak to Sam on a regular basis for advice because I got on very well with him during my time working under him at Bolton as first-team coach. I class him as my mentor and if he gets the Newcastle job then that would be fantastic. But it's up to him to decide who he wants to get in and I can't really comment on it."