It’s a new season and Behind Enemy Lines is back. With Saturday’s game against Bolton firmly in our sights, we spoke to Newcastle-Online resident Bolton fan Trotter58 who answered questions on Big Sam, his tactic’s, signings and the game this Saturday.

1. I suppose the first question has to be about Sam Allardyce - How will he be remembered at Bolton

When he first arrived, ‘Big Sam’ could do no wrong. He played for the club and we gave him his first chance to manage outside the bottom two divisions. He asked for and got, a TEN YEAR contract and was given every support to re-build the club from top to bottom. He transformed a struggling second tier side into a top six Premier League team and although we were often criticised for long-ball football, no side that contained Okocha, Djorkaeff and Campo could be that predictable. However all this seemed to change when he was interviewed for the England job and results seemed to take a back seat to his own personal ambitions. He has admitted that his head was turned at that point and it seemed that he’d lost focus on managing BWFC. The squad had improved but the tactics became increasingly negative and supporters had lost patience long before he left the club. He didn’t help matters by leaving the club the way he did.

2. And how well do you think he’ll do at Newcastle?

He will do well at Newcastle if he’s given time. His methods are not quick fix. He believes in building from the foundations up. His man-management skills are excellent. He will give the senior players licence to run the dressing room and he will run everything else and anyone who doesn’t toe the line will be out the door! He believes in thorough preparation which can sometimes result in regimented football. He’ll sort out your defence but it may be at the expense of your attack! My main concern would be that his ego may rub Mike Ashley up the wrong way. We’ll have to wait and see!

3. What about Sammy Lee at Bolton? How far do you think he can take you?

I’m amazed at the stick that Sammy Lee has been getting from the national press! The season hasn’t even started and already he’s being tipped for the sack! The journalists who write this garbage are missing several key points. Firstly Sammy Lee was identified by Sam Allardyce as the man who would take over from him when he left. As a result, Sammy Lee turned down the England Under-21 job and left Liverpool to join the coaching staff at Bolton. He wasn’t a panic appointment, he was always going to take over when Big Sam left. The supporters have been encouraged that he’s made it clear he would like to play more of a passing game this season and expects the players to be able to adapt to a number of systems. I think that he will be given the time to develop at Bolton and if he can steer us through a tricky first season, i think that he’ll go from strength to strength.

4. How much of a blow was it to lose Ben Haim?

Ben Haim was our best defender but he was never going to stay once Chelsea started sniffing around. However he saw out the season and left on good terms. Nobody begrudged him the move because he did things in the right manner. Now if he’d said that he needed some time off from football and then turned up at Chelsea the minute that the club cancelled his contract, that would have been different!

5.What about the players you’ve brought in? What are the first impressions of them?

First impressions have been very positive. People are quick to criticise the signing of Gavin McCann but the role he plays allows Kevin Nolan to get forward where he can be much more of a threat and he’s done well in pre-season. Daniel Braaten and Christian Wilhelmsson both come highly recommended (look them up on YouTube) and Gerald Cid, Allardyce’s last signing, looks like a very promising defender. Jlloyd Samuel replaces Quintin Fortune, who was seen less often than Lord Lucan during his spell with us. Unfortunately the player we were most looking forward to seeing, Blerim Dzemali, is out for a couple of months.

6. Who do you fancy for the title and relegation?

Hopefully the title will go to the most entertaining side. So that rules out Chelsea then … and Liverpool. Relegation? I think that the three promoted sides will struggle but Roy Keane and Billy Davies are two decent managers and might prove me wrong. Fulham’s transfer policy might see them dragged into it. They wouldn’t allow Lawrie Sanchez to continue to manage Northern Ireland, so he just bought the team!

7. And where do you see Bolton and Newcastle come may?

Fighting it out in mid-table! Anyone who thinks that Big Sam is going to transform Newcastle into a top six team overnight is living in cloud-cuckoo land! Anything other than a season of consolidation for us would be a real achievement for Sammy Lee.

8. If you could have had one of our new signings, who would it have been?

Alan Smith. I think he will turn out to be one the buys of the season.

9. Which Bolton player should we fear the most on Saturday?

Nicolas Anelka. Pure class. To think that we had no competition for his signature when we signed him for HALF the amount that Darren Bent cost! If any proof were needed of the utter insanity of the current transfer market, there you have it!

10. And who do you think will be the danger man out of our lot?

Big Sam.

11. Out of all of the players transferred this summer in the Premiership, who do you think will have the biggest impact?

Titus Bramble. I fully expect him to have single-handedly relegated Wigan by Xmas.

12. Finally, give us a prediction for the game Saturday?

My heart says five-nil to Bolton with old fat head slowly turning purple and furiously working his way through an entire packet of gum, but my head says 1-1.

Many thanks to Trotter 58 for his his time and opinions, hopefully we’ll get to catch up with him again later in the season.