[BaggieSteve]

I fully acknowledge that SA has made us more difficult to be beat but he's done little or nothing in terms of us winning matches; his one signing up front has a scoring record the same as Karlan Grant, who has been berated by us on this board as one of Bilic's disaster signings. So, I would be extremely disappointed if Allardyce was our manager next season; I want us to reset, to appoint someone younger with fresher ideas and who values playing more front foot, positive football. I appreciate this may result in a stay in the Championship beyond one season, perhaps several but I believe we have to stop being this short term thinking club. I'd like to see some plan beyond lurching from one season to the next.

Of course, so much of our future depends upon the ownership of the club and that seems stuck in the mire at present. I think we can be pretty sure that the money we are given via parachute payments will not be allocated to building the team by signing new players; Lai does not seem interested in supporting that approach. In which case, we'll need to start using our talented youngsters who have been gaining good experience and positive reviews on loan. I'm not sure that is a situation in which Allardyce would thrive but who knows. However, a recruitment policy of mid thirties EPL has-beens looking for a last pay day just won't cut it; some experience is obviously necessary but we already have that in spades.