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At Bolton Wanderers, Sam Allardyce led a struggling club, used to moving up and down the leagues over the past two decades, to no less than four successive top ten finishes in the top flight, getting the best out of players considered past their peak - people like Ivan Campo and Gary Speed - and upsetting the so-called bigger clubs with their uncompromising brand of direct, long ball football.

In contrast, Newcastle are perennial underachievers. Their style of play is free flowing compared to Bolton, but they have gone 40 years without major silverware and in the last three seasons have recorded finishes of 14th, 7th and 13th in the league.

With a capacity of 52,000, Newcastle get crowds often twice the size of Bolton's, bringing increased fan expectation, and have been recently taken over by billionaire Mike Ashley.

So the pressure is on Allardyce to deliver, from the boardroom to the supporters.

His managerial C.V., taking in West Bromwich Albion, Limerick, Blackpool and Notts County, will not excite the fans either, who have been used to seeing the likes of Keegan, Dalglish and Robson sitting in the home dugout, all of whom are arguably of a higher calibre than the man they call "Big Sam".

What will also be of concern is Allardyce's response to criticism. His response to long ball accusations at Bolton manager was hysterical, refusing to speak to BBC Five Live when commentator Alan Green referred to their style as "ugly". This no doubt stuck in the mind of the Football Association, who interviewed Allardyce for the job of England manager.

But success comes as a result of action on the pitch, not off it, and in this respect Allardyce will have to get the best out of the likes of Owen, Viduka and Barton and, more to the point, keep them on the pitch and out of the treatment room.

The injury list at the Toon has reached unacceptable levels, and is a fundamental aspect of the club Allardyce will need to sort out. But focus on fitness and utilising the latest methods in sports science were key traits of Bolton under Allardyce, so if anyone can sort that out, then it is him.

He will also need to reinforce a defence which has been the closest thing to decent BBC1 sitcom over the past few years. Getting rid of the likes of Titus Bramble, with Lyon captain Cacapa and David Rozenhal coming in, looks like a step in the right direction.

The tools seem to be in place for Allardyce to achieve a top half finish at worst this season - if he can put in place the same kind of backup support at Newcastle as he did at Bolton, then the top five, and possibly the F.A. or League Cup, could follow in the long term.

His record at Bolton suggests he can succeed, but I feel there are question marks over his ability to handle the pressure. Only time will tell if that is the case.

Learn more about this author, Sam Todd.
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