Former Premier League manager Sam Allardyce has shared who he thinks has the most passionate fan base.
The 70-year-old is considered a legend in the Premier League for helping clubs like Bolton Wanderers and West Ham in their times of need, but his managerial stints towards the end of his career were far from positive.
Sam Allardyce suffered relegation with West Brom and Leeds United in his last two managerial jobs, failing to keep them in the Premier League after coming in with the task of keeping them up.
Allardyce also had a spell with Newcastle United, where he became the first manager to work under Mike Ashley after he bought the club in 2007.
After being sacked in 2008, despite going into the meeting expecting to learn that Newcastle had signed a player, Allardyce held a grudge with Ashley, stating that he was ‘shoved’ out the door at Newcastle to make way for club legend Kevin Keegan’s return for a second stint on Tyneside.
Having managed some top teams with passionate fan bases in his career, Allardyce has now named who he thinks has the best fans out of the clubs he has taken charge of.
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Sam Allardyce names the most passionate fan base after his Newcastle United stint
Despite not being a big success on Tyneside, Allardyce still regularly shares his opinions on Newcastle.
Most recently, Allardyce said Newcastle’s owners are under pressure this summer. He believes Toon boss Eddie Howe needs more players next season to help with their upcoming European campaign.
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Additionally, Allardyce was shocked by Jacob Murphy’s Newcastle form this season. The 30-year-old has 20 Premier League goal involvements and is even believed to be in the thinking of England boss Thomas Tuchel ahead of his next set of international games.
Now, in a conversation with some promising young footballers through TAG Sports, Allardyce was asked to pick who has the most passionate fans.
While he has managed clubs with some of the best fan bases in England, Allardyce seemed to lean towards West Ham more than any other club.
“I think all fans are passionate, but Newcastle, Everton, West Ham because they’ve got the biggest support. When you’ve got the biggest support you’ve got the loudest noise,” he said.
“I managed West Ham at Wembley in the play-off final against Blackpool and there must’ve been 65,000 West Ham fans and only 20,000 Blackpool fans, but the noise was deafening.”
Sam Allardyce was forced to sell promising Newcastle United star
During his time at Newcastle, Allardyce signed notable names like Alan Smith, Jose Enrique and Mark Viduka. However, the 70-year-old also said goodbye to two players who looked set for bright futures in the game.
Kieron Dyer left Newcastle upon Allardyce’s arrival, joining West Ham for a fee of £6m. His exit looked inevitable and was not one that many were shocked at. It was Scott Parker’s exit from Newcastle that frustrated Allardyce more than any other.
In a recent interview, Allardyce shared that Parker was desperate to leave Newcastle, and that he never even got to meet him before Parker also signed for West Ham.
Now manager of Burnley, Parker is set to reunite with Newcastle next season after achieving promotion back to the Premier League with the Clarets.