Former Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce believes those put in charge of the club are battling against the expectations of fans – who long for a return to the days of The Entertainers. Allardyce, who was in charge of Newcastle between 2007-08, shares the common misconception that the expectation of Tyneside is a major obstacle for most managers who come to the club.
Sam Allardyce said: “I think you’re fighting against the situation at Newcastle – the expectation. When I was there I was living with the expectation of Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer – and if you didn’t quite live up to that past expectation of what they were then . . . I would have loved an Alan Shearer who scored 22 or 24 goals every year, I would have bet us to finish in Europe at least if we still had him but we didn’t. I had to rebuild Newcastle in my time.”
Allardyce believes that the way owner Mike Ashley runs Newcastle means fans will never see ‘millions and millions’ of pounds spent every summer.
Sam Allardyce added: “Steve has to give the best he can for Newcastle and the players he has got with the squad they are trying to develop, with what money is available and that makes life extremely difficult. They want millions and millions and millions to be spent on the team – and that is not always a great thing in football because if you spend it the wrong way then you put the club in great jeopardy, and we know that is not going to be the case under Mike Ashley. He runs the club by as far as I can see by putting every penny the club makes back into it and not funding it himself – and I’m not sure you can do that now with financial fair play anyway.”
Bruce was awarded manager of the month for April after guiding Newcastle to two draws and two victories to build the platform for Premier League safety.
Sam Allardyce was full of praise for Steve Bruce, saying: “Steve Bruce has turned the corner brilliantly because he has kept his best players fit and he found a little diamond in Willock, didn’t he? Six in six – he’s made a difference with the other players who have come back from injury. So he’s finished the season very strong and it looked like the fans were behind him and the team last night and hopefully they can go on from there. He’s a Newcastle fan, he’s a Newcastle man, and he deserves to be there.”
