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Allardyce got off to the perfect start in what turned out to be a brief spell as manager of Newcastle. Soon after Glenn Roeder's departure towards the end of the 2006/07 season, Allardyce left Bolton after serving there for eight years. He helped the Trotters gain promotion to the Premier League and kept them there. Coincidentally, Allardyce's first game for Newcastle was a return to Bolton for the opening day fixture. He got off to a flying start thanks to goals from Charles

“When I was with him at Hull City, we played in a number of different formations and we were one of the first clubs in England to play regularly in a 3-5-2 formation under Bruce. He is certainly not the dinosaur he has been labelled, that is incredibly unfair. You do not last as long in management as he has done without being able to adapt, to take on new ideas and change the way you play. The game has changed a huge amount in my 26 years in the game and I’ve been fortunate t

“When you retire and you’ve done it year in, year out, you want time to reflect and look to move forward. I done my masters in Manchester and was working as a match delegate too. You can’t just retire and switch off or sit on the couch or play bad golf. You have to keep yourself busy until something came along. When this came up, this is the right time and I am pleased I did. “On the grass I am responsible from the keepers between 17 and 23. But it is my remit to over see the

Harper told the Daily Star: “It’s always a special game because of the historical significance of the fixture. We had some bad days at Old Trafford when it was almost a case of lying down, getting our bellies tickled and if we lost 2-0, then it wasn’t the end of the world. But it was a very different story on home soil and Newcastle v Manchester United has produced some of the Premier League’s iconic games. I played in a 3-0 win when big Duncan Ferguson and Alan Shearer tore

“It’s not good looking at the table at the minute, and the takeover seems to be rumbling on. Ideally it would have been done before January because regardless of a takeover or not, this is a squad or club that is in need of major investment. Their survival really does depend on what happens in January. There’s talk of some kind of an agreement between Staveley and Ashley to allow Rafa to spend some money. It just seems to have stalled a little. The uncertainty is not good. Up

“In an ideal world he sells it to some ambitious billionaire who can see the potential of the club and chucks £250m at a very good manager and they move forward. I would just hold a little bit of caution as to who it might be because we’ve seen problems at big clubs like Nottingham Forest, Leeds, the list goes on, who have had changes of hands. “If he sells it to somebody who buys it to move it forward and bring them back to the top table, then it would be great. It’ll take t