Barton For Blackburn?
Rumours from Blackburn suggest Allardyce was hoping to sign Joey Barton, should he get the manager's job.
That in itself must have been off-putting for the Rovers chairman, as I'm sure the club could do without the hassle.
Barton is in jail following a number of incidents, and has the "big one" (court case) still to come, his alleged attack on a team-mate when he was a Man City player.
That case could see him jailed for a further five years, should it go against him.
Newcastle are on the verge of sacking the midfielder. They allegedly want him to take a £30,000 a-week pay cut while his is locked up ... but he has refused.
Allardyce as another problem ... overcoming long-standing hostility among Ewood Park fans to his tactics.
Rovers supporters regard their club as adopting a more cultured approach than they feel was on offer during Allardyce's time at Bolton, and the junk he produced at Newcastle.
Allardyce: "It's very nice to be linked with the job, of course.
"But at the moment, it's just speculation."
I'm sure Allardyce had many a football fan laughing last night when (as a TV pundit on ITV) he said "the defending in this competition is very poor, and I know because I am a former defender".
Defender? He made Davey Barton (Toon player in the late 1970s who scored a boat-load of own goals) look world class!