Sam Allardyce had a rather torrid time as manager of Newcastle United.
The former Magpies boss had a short stint at the club between 2007 and 2008, winning just eight of his 24 games.
Sam Allardyce left Newcastle United in January 2008 after just six months in charge, leaving with a 33.3% win rate. Coincidentally, Allardyce was appointed head coach just eight days before Mike Ashley completed a £134m takeover of the club, and was one of 11 managers to take the reins at the club in his 14 years of ownership.
Allardyce held a grudge about his Newcastle sacking, admitting he felt as if he was “shoved out” by Ashley. The former Newcastle owner later admitted that Allardyce’s sacking was too sudden.
During his time at the club, Allardyce signed players who went on to have notable careers at the club. The likes of Jose Enrique and Joey Barton were brought in by Allardyce, but he had to sell some young prospects to fund those deals.
In a recent interview, Allardyce admitted there was one particular player that he never got to see before departing for a Premier League rival.
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Why Scott Parker left Newcastle United
Scott Parker joined Newcastle as a young prospect from Chelsea in 2005 under Graeme Souness for £6.5m. However, he did not get off to the best of starts, only scoring his first goal in March 2006.
After Souness left the club, Parker was named captain by the late Glenn Roeder, succeeding Alan Shearer, who retired at the end of the previous campaign. His good form that season earned him a call-up to the England squad, and he was recognised as one of the best players in the country for some time.
However, Parker would leave Newcastle before the start of the 2007/08 season. Joining West Ham United for £7m. Fans were understandably disappointed to lose a young prospect like Parker, but Allardyce recently admitted that he never even got to see him before he left Newcastle.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast about Parker’s rise as a manager, Allardyce recalled the story of how the midfielder left Newcastle.
“This is unusual with Scott. When I went to West Ham, we were a bit at loggerheads,” Allardyce said.
“I had him at Newcastle, but we never saw him. We sold him to West Ham because he didn’t want to stay at Newcastle.
“I had no choice, before I even got into Newcastle, we sold him back to West Ham because he had not settled, which was fine.”
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Scott Parker could return to Newcastle United next season
Now 44 and retired from professional football, Parker has made the move into management. However, he has not proved to be a success yet.
Parker has been sacked by every club he has managed so far, including Fulham and Bournemouth. Now at Burnley, Parker looks to be heading back up to the Premier League, meaning he is likely to manage against Newcastle at St James’ Park next season.
Newcastle could be dealing with Parker in the transfer window this summer as well. Newcastle want Burnley’s James Trafford this summer in a deal that could be worth around £30m.
The Magpies are looking for a younger shot-stopper to take over from Nick Pope next season and believe that Trafford is the right fit for the job.
Trafford wants to play Premier League football next season. Whether it is for Newcastle or Burnley remains to be seen.
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