Not so great expectations

May 20 2007 By Neil Farrington, The Sunday Sun

Neil Farrington - Taking Issue

To the untrained eye, the thin knot of fans who welcomed Sam Allardyce to Newcastle on Tuesday may have looked a bit sad.

Where several thousand greeted messrs Robson, Gullit and Dalglish at St James's, several dozen turned up for Big Sam.

Yet another measure of the Magpies' decline these last few years, it appeared.

Even the man himself, though not unused to small crowds, may have appeared a little underwhelmed.

But Allardyce should have been encouraged.

Yes, the distinct drop in charva numbers at his coronation said something about the downbeat mood surrounding a once-vibrant club.

But at the same time, it proved that expectations of Allardyce are lower than of any other modern-day Magpie manager bar, arguably, Glenn Roeder.

Where Bobby, Ruud and Kenny were under pressure to carry the torch lit by Kevin Keegan, there is no burning demand of Allardyce save for restoring Newcastle's pride.

And considering his predecessors have buckled under the heat of that pressure like tarmac in a heatwave, that can't be a bad thing.

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Play ball with Auntie Beeb

Sam Allardyce has made a good impression this week, but I'm still troubled that his appointment at Newcastle coincides with them being sued by his fellow Panorama "victim" Kevin Bond.

The word I'm hearing from within United is that the two cases do not compare because Bond - sacked by the Magpies following the programme - was caught talking on tape by the BBC and Big Sam wasn't.

But if they really want the issue put to bed, why don't Newcastle persuade Allardyce to end his boycott of the Beeb?

It's not as if the Magpies are in much of a position to short-change anybody at present, let alone licence payers.