But I have to say, eyebrows have been raised when he said "Sam Allardyce was brought in by Newcastle to try to do a job similar to what he did at Bolton Wanderers, and you have got to give the man a chance."I'm all for giving him a chance, but do we seriously want Newcastle United to be happy copying Bolton Wanderers?
Allardyce won nothing in eight years at Bolton, doing the best he could with a Micky Mouse club that - in rights - shouldn't even be in the Premiership.
But getting into Europe, as Sam regards as his biggest achievement in football (as player or manager), should be seen as the FIRST STEP on the ladder.
We qualified for Europe under Kenny Dalglish, Ruud Gullitt, Sir Bobby Robson and Graeme Souness ... and it was not thought good enough.