Allardyce was on the verge of becoming Man City manager, deal fell through at the last second...

[aguero93:20]

I'd have taken Pearce's cuddly toy as manager at the time!

Re-Hiring a manager you've only just sacked seems like more of a Chelsea thing to do.

 

[LongsightM13]

I reckon that, in a parallel universe where there was no Thaksin and then no Mansour, Allardyce could have done very well indeed for us in relative terms. If he'd managed something along the lines he did at Bolton - where he took them to a domestic Cup final, qualified for Europe, finished regularly in the top half, usually had a memorable game or two per season where his team bloodied the noses of the Sky Four, and signed a few players who were great to watch (in the manner of Okocha and Djorkaeff in his spell at the Reebok) - we'd have been ecstatic with that.

None of us at the time would have expected anything better than that - indeed, it would have been beyond the wildest dreams of many a City pessimist. But if he could achieve it at Bolton, why not with us as well? And if he had done it here, it would have been better than anything we Blues had seen since the seventies, and it would probably have made him something of a club legend.

Still, it wasn't to be. I suppose this bald Catalan bloke we've got now will have to do! ;)

Tbf to him, in his early days he actually signed some really fun players at Bolton, albeit most past their best - Okocha, Djorkaeff, Anelka, Campo etc
All were better than Corradi and Samaras

 

[aguero93:20]

Hughes signed Vinny

Marwood signed Vinny. We were scouting him and Zaba well before Hughes was hired.

 

[AJ71]

I am sure this was only on or the plan if Ray Ranson and SISU bought the club and not Thaksin?

 

[Stephen230]

Marwood signed Vinny. We were scouting him and Zaba well before Hughes was hired.

And then played him as a substitute defensive midfielder, occasionally brought on in the 85 minute to see out a game.

 

[Blue Theatre]

Since everything has turned out so well in the end, we wouldn't want to change anything that happened in the past 20 years or more.

Not even the slightest detail.
"Butterfly effect" and all that.

 

[Tolmie scores]

big sam "shud up" !

He was much much better manager than ever given credit for..he revolutionised tge game using sports science and data...so much more to him and his very good team at Bolton

 

[SamTheGuru]

View attachment 70813

https://www.sportbible.com/football/man-city-sam-allardyce-548731-20230301

"Allardyce was well in the frame to take over from Stuart Pearce back in 2007, having just ended a superb nine-year spell in charge of Bolton Wanderers.

'Big Sam' had guided Bolton into Europe and had the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro and Jay-Jay Okocha in his talented squad.

John Wardle and David Makin, who founded JD Sports, owned City at the time and had an agreement with Allardyce, according to the man himself."

Just imagine how different things could've been! Phew!

View attachment 70812

I hear it fell through because the bungs we were willing to pay were not big enough.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

To be fair at the time that would have been decent. Bolton were a good side

 

[MCFC Wirral]

Was Big Sam Bolton manager when we hit the bar six times and they won 1-0 courtesy of a last minute penalty?