Silly Season

'Big Sam Slammed' read one of the tabloids as the news of the former Newcastle manager's demise was splashed across the nations back pages. There was an almost glee to the tone which couldn't help but hide a triumphant air about their prediction.

Now I'm no particular fan of Sam Allardyce but surely a man who guided modest Bolton to 5 consecutive top eight finishes is worthy of a little more respect from the red tops.

The problem for Sam Allardyce is that he found himself losing his job in the middle of the silly season where the newspapers seem to be reporting every whispered word every leaked document, every tip off as they try to trump each other for exclusives in the transfer window.

The transfer window, love it or loathe it is a fascinating time not only for the media but also managers and most particularly agents. Couple this with the sheer dread of relegation that premier league strugglers are having to cope with and the whole business becomes a powder keg.

Inflated prices, unheard of Carlos Kickaball's , shady representatives and the insatiable thirst for tittle tattle means that virtually anything goes in this wild 31 day period. Did Sam go because he was doing a poor job or is it because Billionaire Newcastle owner Mike Ashley wanted to bestow huge funds upon the new incumbent before the window clangs shut in less than 3 weeks time? Perhaps this we'll never know but one thing you can be sure of as a football fan we are definitely slap bang in the middle of 'silly season'.