No happy return for Big Sam as Palace are held
HE may have fond memories of his time at Bolton but Sam Allardyce will not be relishing the prospect of seeing them again as his return ended in FA Cup stalemate.
After complaining of fatigue in his squad, a replay was not what the new, relegation-fighting Crystal Palace manager wanted.
But that is what he has after a game of many chances somehow ended goalless.
He was lucky to get that. Bolton’s Josh Vela hit the woodwork while his luckless team-mate James Henry could not convert any of the five opportunities which came his way as the League One side came close to dumping the injury-hit Eagles, last year’s beaten finalists, out.
Palace had their chances in an even first half — with impressive debutant Loic Remy hitting a post — but after earlier reminiscing on the time he promised to eat sheep’s testicles to build morale at Bolton, this was a dog’s dinner of a second-half performance from the visitors which left Allardyce frustrated as he continues to seek his first win as Eagles boss.
‘We should have had enough to beat Bolton, if I have to be honest,’ Allardyce, who made seven changes, said. ‘We would have done if we were clinical.’
He did, however, find positives. ‘We haven’t had a clean sheet for a long time and at least we got that. I’ve seen a lot of players for the first time today so that gives me an indication when I speak to the chairman next week about what we need. We’re still in the hat.’
Remy’s 45-minute cameo also won him praise. ‘That is his first 45 minutes this season,’ said Allardyce. ‘He hasn’t played a single competitive game because of two injuries. It’s a pre-season in the middle of a season.
‘We can’t afford him to get injured again. We want to see his pace and goalscoring ability again.’
Wanderers manager Phil Parkinson said: ‘Don’t think we’re out of it. Today will give us a lift and we’ll give a good account of ourselves.’
Allardyce had previously cited a lack of investment as the reason behind Bolton’s fall from grace from Premier League to third tier.
He sent a similar message to his current employers.
‘We’ll have some money to spend but it will have to be more than a bit because the prices of players are astronomically high,’ he said.