Sam Allardyce believes he was in the 'wrong place' at the 'wrong time' after reflecting on his failed stint at Newcastle United. The former Bolton boss spent just eight months in the St James' Park dugout before being dismissed in January 2009.
Allardyce's spell began with a comfortable opening-day away victory against his former club, but the future England manager soon struggled to produce results despite being backed in the summer transfer market. Freddy Shepherd had appointed the Magpies boss just before Mike Ashley's takeover was concluded, and the new owner was reportedly keen to install his own candidate in the hotseat.
Allardyce won eight of his 24 matches in charge of the club, and his exit by 'mutual consent' was confirmed following a poor return of just one point from four festive fixtures. The 67-year-old is currently out of the sport after his most recent position at West Brom, and he has reflected on how the Magpies job was supposed to be the 'big one' which would take his career forward.
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Allardyce told Kammy and Ben's Proper Football Podcast: "I suppose looking back on my career, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, that was particularly Newcastle. I think people forgot the Bolton record because it's a considerable amount of time ago.
"When I took the Newcastle job, that was going to be the big one that was going to escalate my career beyond what we had achieved at Bolton which was pretty major. Unfortunately, a takeover meant that I lost my job and couldn't build Newcastle into what Freddy Shepherd wanted them to be.
"Mike bought the club out and moved me on, so it was the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever anybody says, no matter how good you were before then, that affects your credibility as a manager. You've got to go and prove yourself again, and then of course I was building Blackburn Rovers back into something and they sold that club.
"All of a sudden, the axe fell then. I was taking the club into mid to top table, and the club got sold again and I got moved on. That affects your credibility as a manager so then it just became a question of what are you going to do and how are you going to do it."
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