OFFICIAL: Big Sam exits Toonville

[johntheclaret]

As already posted by DA on the Movers & Shakers thread, but I thought I would start a new thread

Newcastle United have parted company with manager Sam Allardyce by mutual agreement, the club have confirmed. Allardyce has been under huge pressure all season, but he seemed to have ridden out the storm and was ready to be given time by owner Mike Ashley. Ashley only took charge at St James' Park in the summer, but he arrived just a matter of months after Allardyce was appointed by his predecessor Freddy Shepherd.

Confirmed

"Mike and I would like to place on record our thanks for Sam's efforts and wish him well for the future," said chairman Chris Mort. A new manager has not yet been appointed at Newcastle United. We will make a further announcement on the managerial position when appropriate."

Allardyce admitted he was 'disappointed' to be leaving the club. "I am disappointed to be leaving Newcastle United but I wish the club all the best for the remainder of the season and for the future," he said. First-team coach Nigel Pearson will take charge of the club at Manchester United. Magpies legend Alan Shearer is emerging as an early favourite to fill the role - although Sky Sports News understands he has not been approached. It is also claimed that the next appointment will be British rather than foreign.

[JK]

Courtesy of 4thegame.com ...

Sam Allardyce has parted company with Newcastle United, less than eight months after taking charge at St James' Park.

Allardyce started his managerial career at Blackpool and moved on to Notts County after spending two seasons at Bloomfield Road.


SAM ALLARDYCE He took charge of Bolton Wanderers in October 1999 and, in his eight years with the club, took them from the Championship to regular top-ten finishers in the Premier League.

Allardyce parted company with Bolton just before the end of last season in acrimonious circumstances but has failed to win over the Magpies faithful this term.

Chairman Chris Mort told the club's official website: "Mike and I would like to place on record our thanks for Sam's efforts and wish him well for the future.

"A new manager has not yet been appointed at Newcastle United. We will make a further announcement on the managerial position when appropriate."

Allardyce added: "I am disappointed to be leaving Newcastle United but I wish the club all the best for the remainder of the season and for the future."

First-team coach Nigel Pearson will take charge of the team for Saturday's game at Manchester United.

Allardyce leaves Newcastle in 11th place in the Premier League table, having won only two of their last 13 games in all competitions.

[Dogwatcher]

Keep plunging Mags, keep plunging!

[JK]

What options for replacement ... You would have to think Shearer, Mourinho and Klinsman were in the hunt depending maybe on whats happening at Liverpool ... Shearer would have to be the red hot favourite at this stage.

[johntheclaret]

What options for replacement ... You would have to think Shearer, Mourinho and Klinsman were in the hunt depending maybe on whats happening at Liverpool ... Shearer would have to be the red hot favourite at this stage.

Shearer, not a chance. Has already made it clear that he does not want the job and is very happy working for the BBC, and taking holidays

[JK]

What options for replacement ... You would have to think Shearer, Mourinho and Klinsman were in the hunt depending maybe on whats happening at Liverpool ... Shearer would have to be the red hot favourite at this stage.

Shearer, not a chance. Has already made it clear that he does not want the job and is very happy working for the BBC, and taking holidays

Fair dinkum?? How do you know which press to believe (or even semi-believe) over there Johnny?

I read two seperate reports prior to Sammy getting the flick, that said he was on the way out and most likely Shearer on the way in ... Once I read that Allardyce was gone I figured they must have been on the money.

[johntheclaret]

I Think most stories about Shearer taking over were just speculation because he is a Geordie hero.

I heard the story on Radio 4. R4 is the beebs flagship news radio and doesn't usually report on speculation. Shearer was apparently quote that, "he had no interest in the Toon job and that he was happy working for the Beeb as a pundit" (on the famous Match of the Day programme).

News today is Redknapp is favourite. Only question, why would Harry want to leave Pompey. They are going ok, (home form excluded), and he is a hero there.

Senario: Klinsman takes over at Anfield and Rafa gets the Toon jobs. What odds???

[devilsadvocate]

Fair dinkum?? How do you know which press to believe (or even semi-believe) over there Johnny?

I read two seperate reports prior to Sammy getting the flick, that said he was on the way out and most likely Shearer on the way in ... Once I read that Allardyce was gone I figured they must have been on the money.

Mate, Ive learned real quick not to believe 99% of what's printed on the toilet paper they seem to call the sports pages over here. Doesn't matter which sport, it's just journos lining up to shed blood at anyones expense. Quotes are recycled and cut and pasted together to make up stories, some stories are just out of thin air fabrications.

Sky Sports seems to be semi reliable some of the time, but best bet (pardon the pun) is to look at what the bookies are saying. The quid is king! (Unless you are looking to transfer some back to God's country in which case it's PANTS!)

[Punk Rooster]

Hmmm, Mourihno... yeah, I'd love to buy a title
What about poaching Roy Keane from Sunderland?
or Sir Alex from the filth?

[johntheclaret]

Or Warnock from Palace ?
Or McCarthy

Two very experienced managers outside the EPL. Warnock has got Palace on fire ATM.

[MST]

First and foremost, I have seen Klinsmann's name mentioned as a possible replacement for Rafa at Liverpool and I have two comments to make regarding that.

Why would Liverpool put their faith in a manager who has never managed at Club level before?

Liverpool would want to think very carefully about dispensing with Benitez because for my mind, yes he has made some curious decisions, but the reality is unless the American owners release some more funds both in January and the off-season Liverpool will be third or fourth best no matter who the manager is. Give Benitez two more world class signings, preferably a winger and another centre forward, and then they will truly push on towards a realistic title challenge.

As for NUFC, they can only dream of having the success LFC have had over the last few years but until they get rid of the 'quick fix' attitude and decide to stick with a manager, they will always be just an average, mid-table club that are lucky enough to have a big stadium and passionate supporters.

End of rant.

[JK]

News today is Redknapp is favourite. Only question, why would Harry want to leave Pompey. They are going ok, (home form excluded), and he is a hero there.

Probably for the same reason Sam moved from Bolton .. It must be very difficult for these managers to turn down offers to move to a club which has much heftier financial resources in the player market behind them.

[Punk Rooster]

As for NUFC, they can only dream of having the success LFC have had over the last few years but until they get rid of the 'quick fix' attitude and decide to stick with a manager, they will always be just an average, mid-table club that are lucky enough to have a big stadium and passionate supporters.

100% true

[Strawb]

back to Bolton for Big Sam

[johntheclaret]

Big Sam can buy Bolton if he wants to..... Just picked up $8.8m severence pay. That works out at $1.1m per month or $275k per week or $54k per day or $6,700 per hour for an eight hour day, not including his normal salary.

Not bad work if you can get it.

[devilsadvocate]

$6,700 per hour would be fine with me.

Bugger it, I'd coach the Geordies for $6,500 - I'm not greedy.

Money has cocked sport up in such a massive way.

[johntheclaret]

Portsmouth tell Harry Redknapp to give answer by lunchtime

Harry Redknapp is expected to accept the challenge of revitalising Newcastle United today after being asked to made a quick decision by his present employers.
While Portsmouth yesterday rebuffed an initial approach from St James’ Park for permission to open negotiations with their veteran manager, their decision to allow the 60-year-old to sleep on his future represents a significant softening of their position.

Associates of Redknapp expect a positive response to Newcastle’s overtures after Mike Ashley, the club’s owner, identified him as his first-choice target to replace Sam Allardyce, although the pull of his family ties to the South Coast, as well as the support of Portsmouth fans, have been strong. While Sandra, Redknapp’s wife, will have significant sway, Newcastle officials remain optimistic.

Redknapp cancelled his regular press conference at Portsmouth’s training ground, fuelling suggestions that a move to Tyneside was imminent. He travelled to London for a shopping excursion with his wife and his sister, when he intended to finalise his plans. There is also a suggestion that he met Chris Mort, the Newcastle chairman.

With Portsmouth due to fly to the North East this lunchtime for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League fixture against Sunderland, Peter Storrie, their chief executive, has requested that Redknapp makes his intentions known, thereby minimising disruption to team affairs. While Portsmouth do not wish to lose their “valued” manager, there is a recognition that they cannot retain his services against his will.

Compensation of around £8 million – Redknapp signed an extended contract, which stretches until 2011, as recently as October – will soften the blow, although Redknapp is also understood to be eager to take his backroom staff of Joe Jordan and Tony Adams, who will be a candidate to succeed him at Fratton Park, to Tyneside. He is also keen to receive assurances directly from Ashley about the owner’s ambitions for Newcastle.

[johntheclaret]

10 Reasons not to become Manager of Newcastle

1. Location, location, location

Just as St James’ Park looms over Newcastle upon Tyne, so Newcastle United are the essence of the city. Count the replica shirts, listen to the bar-room gossip; everyone has a rumour. A “goldfish bowl” is the description attributed to Jermaine Jenas (he has denied it) and there is an intensity about football that can be suffocating as well as exhilarating.

2. Yearning

Some call it expectation, but most Newcastle supporters expect torment. After all, this is a club who have not won a domestic trophy for 53 years, who are defined by underachievement. It is a desperate, aching pressure. “For too long people have talked about this being an unlucky place,” Kevin Keegan, the former manager, once said. “They even added a second magpie outside the ground to stop people thinking ‘one for sorrow’.”

3. History

Not many fans can remember Newcastle winning the FA Cup in 1955, but every Geordie knows the name of Jackie Milburn, the totemic stature of the No 9 shirt.

And then there is more recent glory. In 1996 and 1997, the club finished second in the top flight. In 2003 they were third. The swashbuckling style of Keegan’s “entertainers”, the twinkle-eyed passion of Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer’s legend are difficult acts to live up to.

4. Quicksand foundations

Since the departure of Freddy Shepherd, Chris Mort, his successor as chairman, has done much to rebuild neglected infrastructure, as well as relationships with supporters, but the continued high turnover of managers does nothing to encourage stability. This is a club of figureheads and overheads. Where are the young players coming through? Restocking the Academy will take years.

5. Bad boys stick together

Right, so we have got rid of Lee Bowyer, Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy and Titus Bramble, players who attracted destabilising front-page headlines as readily as Amy Winehouse does. So, who shall we sign now? What about Joey Barton? He seems a decent lad. Robson once likened his job to “firefighting”. On Tyneside, respite is a rare and delicate thing.

6. Stupidity

Away from the hysteria that has surrounded Allardyce, Mort and Mike Ashley insist that they are doing things differently, but the past decade has been littered with crass decisions. Qualify for the Champions League and sign only Bowyer on a free transfer. Dispense with Robson in August (and Ruud Gullit and Kenny Dalglish). Pay a fortune to a reluctant Michael Owen and then give him a get-out clause. Jean-Alain Boumsong, Albert Luque, Barton, ad infinitum.

7. Read all about it

Does any other club attract so much media attention on such a regular basis, particularly in relation to their league position? Why are Everton not in the newspapers so much? Some supporters rail against a constant diet of stories and speculation, but it remains a fact. The ferocity mystified seasoned professionals such as Allardyce and Graeme Souness.

8. We are all billionaires now

Just as the “Big Four” has become a closed shop — remember when Shepherd crowed about Chelsea and Liverpool being “put in their place?” — so Newcastle’s largesse has been diluted. Takeovers at Manchester City, West Ham United and Aston Villa mean that Newcastle can no longer expect players to join them on the promise of ambition and better wages.

9. Mike, your leg is twitching

Why has Ashley bought Newcastle? Is it to ship more units in his Sports Direct shops? Is it a rich man’s play-thing? While Ashley has been visible, sitting with fans on away trips, he has not been audible. How involved is he? More than Shepherd? “One man and one man alone decided what player came to the club and what player left – and it wasn’t the manager,” Souness said recently. “It was the chairman.” Are the old knee-jerk days really over?

10. Shearer, Shearer

It has often been said that he looms above the incumbent manager and while there is an element of truth to that, it is his loss as a player that has been more keenly felt. How many points did Newcastle’s record scorer win by shielding the ball in the corner, with a sly foul, by gaining a free kick, through the sheer force of his personality? He leaves a long shadow.

[devilsadvocate]

That's a pretty accurate summary there JTC. And I doubt many Toon fans would argue really.

RE: 7 and 9 though, Spurs cop a fair beating in the media too (this season they have anyway), and Mike Ashley is a Spurs fan, so why the hell did he buy the Geordies?!!!!!

Oh and maybe big Sam would have lasted if he played the Duke!!!!!!

[smithy]

If they wait 2 weeks they might be able to have Rafa Benitez...
Rumours are rife that Bayern Munich quickly appointed Jurgen Klinsmann for next season because he had an official offer on the table from Liverpool which the club has so far refused to deny.
Whilst the Moores dynasty of 50 years was successful and lacking cash towards the end, the americans haven't really brought much more cash in and definitely less stability to the club since taking over..
Liverpool haven't sacked a coach since 1953, if they do it to Rafa they'll have a riot on their hands.