Having fixed up Blackburn Rovers with a new man last week, it's time to find their estranged lover Sam Allardyce a new club to snuggle up with this winter...
Sam Allardyce - Unemployed
Big Sam has impressed pretty much everywhere he has worked in his managerial career. He started a whole 19 years ago at Irish side Limerick and won promotion in his first and only season, impressing enough for Preston North End to bring him back to England as a coach. He had a brief spell as caretaker-manager at Deepdale, but was never offered the job permanently and so when the opportunity to manage Blackpool came up in 1994 he grabbed the opportunity. But in the 1995-96 season Allardyce was on the wrong end of one of the most bizarre sackings in history, having missed out on promotion to Division One with the Tangerines by a single point on the last game of the season, and then being unfortunate in losing in the play-offs, Big Sam was dismissed with no explanation. He was back in the game at Notts County though who were bottom of division two, and he couldn't keep them up, but then did win division three by 19 points the following season. It was the following October (1999) that he moved to Bolton, and his career from there is very well documented. He won promotion in his first full season via the playoffs and went on to establish The Trotters as a successful Premier League club and was good enough to come very close to getting the England job in 2006. He went to Newcastle, which was the only disappointment in his career and only lasted 24 games, but he was back in the game at Blackburn in 2008, saving the club from relegation and re-establishing themselves as a mid-table Premier League club. However, new owners have come in, and they arn't part of the Big Sam fan club and have made that clear straight away by getting Blackburn back into the dating scene and getting rid of our man. So, that's enough of the history lesson it's time to sort Sam out, because he's not had much action since leaving Ewood Park....
West Ham United?????
They may well have a partner at the minute, but it's far from a happy relationship as the Hammers sit at the bottom of the Premier League table and havn't really impressed anyone since Avram Grant took over in the summer. 13 points from 18 games is a pretty poor return, and the fans in East London are going to be tired of it very soon as they have only seen two wins all season so far. The Hammers are likely to be single in the near future and Sam could be the man to catch them on the rebound. He has an excellent record with Bolton and Blackburn in keeping clubs in the division against the odds and could very well do the same at Upton Park. There is one problem though as The Hammers have a very particular type they go for. They like attractive, pass and move football, not the long-ball route one nature that Big Sam brings to the table. However, their principals are getting them nowhere, and most would accept that it's better to win ugly than not win at all. Could there be Big love for Big Sam at the Boleyn Bround?????
Sheffield United?????
Sam wouldn't have to do any home-wrecking to find some love at Bramall Lane as The Blades split up with partner Gary Speed a couple of weeks ago and are looking for a new spark. It might be a step down in divisions for Big Sam, but there's no doubt that Sheffield United have the potential to be a big club in the Premier League and with a good manager in charge, they could get there fairly quickly. The Championship is a very difficult league, but Big Sam has got a team promoted from it before and could do it again. The issue is whether Sam will have the energy and motivation to drop down a league and build a club up at this stage of his career. He is a respected, successful Premier League manager, and may well look for a more attractive prospect than the one in South Yorkshire. Could the Blades tempt in this very eligible batchelor into their bosom?????
Fulham?????
Mark Hughes has made a surprisingly uninspiring start to his job at Craven Cottage. He did a great job at Blackburn, and it's roundly accepted that he was very unlucky to be removed from his post at Manchester City. However 10 draws and only 2 wins from his first 17 games in charge is a pretty terrible return compared to how impressive the Cottagers had been under Roy Hodgson. They play bottom club West Ham on boxing day, followed by tricky away games at Stoke and Spurs and three poor results could well spell the end for the Welshman in West London. This would be a very attractive prospect for Big Sam and Fulham, like West Ham would see him as a very real candidate due to his ability to keep teams in the Premier League. Could Sam be going cottaging in the near future?
So who has bagged the biggest single man in town and will be shacking up together in the near future???
Well there is no doubt that given Big Sam's record and ability to get clubs punching above their weight, he will be back in management in the near future somewhere. He has already expressed his hunger to get back involved as quick as he can, even considering a move abroard (I'm not sure how he would go down in Italy or Spain personally). So which of these three lucky ladies has bagged herself Big Sam? Unfortunately, although I don't always like to do it, it's going to have to be West Ham. Within hours of Sam leaving Blackburn he was being talked about as the obvious choice for a struggling Hammers side, and there arn't many arguments against it. If the West Ham board's sensibilities are so delicate that they couldn't possibly compromise on their ideals of tippy-tappy football, then unfortunately they will be trying to play like Barcelona in the Championship next season. Sam is much more likely to save the club from relegation than Avram Grant and it could be a loving relationship that is formed between man and club.
West Ham fans, do you want Sam in?????
Do Blades fans reckon they could tempt him to Sheffield?????
Anyone else want Sam to manage their boys?????
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