Newcastle United fans on the whole cannot stand Sam Allardyce - and, for the now West Ham United boss, the feeling is seemingly mutual. Having left his position at Bolton Wanderers, Allardyce took up the reins at St James' Park in the summer of 2007 - just before Mike Ashley acquired the club. Destined to fail from that moment on what with Allardyce not being Ashley's man, the former Sunderland defender could not lead his talented squad to the expected heights in the Premier League table. The likes of David Rozhenal, Geremi, Caçapa and Mark Viduka failed to perform for Allardyce and proved to be poor signings for Newcastle - and, when results starting going downhill around the festive period with a draw against Wigan Athletic and a loss to bottom-of-the-table Derby County, Allardyce was sacked following an away FA Cup draw at Championship side Stoke City. Allardyce's supposed long-ball football was never accepted on the St James' Park terraces, and an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at home to Portsmouth proved to be a particular low-point of a disastrous period in charge of Newcastle. The bitterness by which Allardyce holds his period in charge at Newcastle also grates on Toon fans, making his position on this list merited.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
