IN THEIR PAST THREE matches, Bolton Wanderers have beaten Liverpool, come within seconds of defeating Manchester United and drawn with Arsenal, becoming the first team to take points from the champions this season. They occupied third place in the Barclays Premiership table on Saturday evening, and although that will probably be their high-water mark this season, it is further proof that Sam Allardyce is a manager to be reckoned with.
Newcastle United inquired about his services after dismissing Sir Bobby Robson, but Allardyce decided that the job he has done at the Reebok Stadium, while impressing potential new employers, was worth carrying on — for now. “If you want to be the best, then you have to have a bigger club in the end than Bolton, I suppose,” he said. “But we are breaking new ground that has not been broken for many years. The club can go farther than it has ever been, and perhaps this squad can take it there — and then who knows after that? Perhaps we might get to get to a Cup Final and win one, which we’ve not done since ‘58, and without getting too confident or speaking too early, the club has never been in Europe before, and for me that would be one hell of an achievement as a manager.
“We’ve turned over 48 players in the last four years, staying in the Premiership, and the quality has got better, but in the end that becomes very difficult with no real money to spend, so eventually, if the directors have as much ambition as I have, they will go and find some money and we’ll get better that way. But I’m more than happy with what I’m doing at the moment.”
Where would he go? The jobs at Liverpool and Newcastle have come and gone this summer, while Arsenal and Chelsea have long-term incumbents. In any case Allardyce does not fit the urbane profile required at those two concerns, although he has proved his ability to blend foreign imports with homegrown talent.
Manchester United may have a vacancy eventually, and although a Bolton man would have qualms about moving to Old Trafford, United might do well to put Allardyce on their shortlist. For one thing, Big Sam knows how to take important points from Arsenal. He would also maintain the touchline mood, showing a Ferguson-like irascibility when Ricardo Gardner was cautioned for a challenge on Freddie Ljungberg. And his ability to unearth free-transfer gems such as Radhi Jaidi, the Tunisia central defender, would please United’s plc.
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On the other hand, he might like a chance to splash some cash. His main frustration at Bolton is that he cannot afford players such as Thierry Henry, who was largely kept quiet by Jaidi and Bruno N’Gotty, but still found a sliver of space to put Arsenal ahead after 31 minutes. However, Bolton’s expertise at set-pieces paid off when Jaidi met Okocha’s corner with a bludgeoning header in front of an uncertain Jens Lehmann.
Robert Pires restored Arsenal’s lead with a fluke finish from Ljungberg’s low cross, but again Arsenal were found wanting from a dead ball as Les Ferdinand nodded on N’Gotty’s free kick and Henrik Pedersen squeezed home the goal Bolton’s hustling display had merited.
With Lehmann unsteady throughout and Pascal Cygan slow to react to the danger for Bolton’s second goal, it is scarcely an exaggeration to suggest that one of Arsenal’s most important fixtures of the season is the reserve game tonight at home to Coventry City, when Sol Campbell is scheduled to make his return after an Achilles’ tendon injury.