Gartside hails Lee as better manager than Allardyce

Sam Allardyce's departure from Bolton Wanderers descended into acrimony yesterday with the chairman Phil Gartside declaring that his successor, Sammy Lee, was a "better" manager - while adding that it was the former Liverpool midfielder who had attracted star names Nicolas Anelka and El Hadji Diouf to the club.

Gartside also said that he would "not be too pleased" if Allardyce took over at Manchester City although it appears that the chances of the 52-year-old being appointed there or at Newcastle United, the other club he has been strongly linked with, are not high. The future of City is in the balance with the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra appearing to be the favourite to take control. It is believed that he does not want Allardyce to succeed Stuart Pearce, who would probably be replaced.

At the same time the Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder has, according to sources, recently received assurances, from the club's chairman Freddy Shepherd, that he will not be removed in the summer. It remains to be seen whether those assurances hold true especially as Allardyce, after a concerted campaign, was close to moving to St James' Park when Sir Bobby Robson was sacked in 2004.

It may well mean that Allardyce does indeed take a brief sabbatical, as he has suggested, and it did not go unnoticed by the now former Bolton manager that the stock of his two friends, Martin O'Neill and Alan Curbishley, continued to rise while they were between jobs. Bolton's captain, Kevin Nolan, said he believed that Allardyce "does not have a job in the pipeline" while also confirming that he would not be following him out of the Reebok.

The appointment of Lee, 48, came as no surprise especially as the former England and Liverpool coach had made clear that he was keen to move into management. What was also clear yesterday was Gartside's irritation over Allardyce's exit after eight years. One of the key reasons for Allardyce's decision to quit was losing patience over limited transfer funds. Gartside denied this was the case, but he said: "If you look at where Bolton Wanderers are in the Premier League, which is reputedly the best league in the world, we've been top 10 for the last four years so there must have been some funds available. To move to being a top-four club from a fifth-placed club is not £10m, it's about £100m."

He also implied, uncharitably, that Allardyce may have been concerned by the demands of another possible European campaign. "We enjoyed unprecedented success with Sam and getting a place in the Uefa Cup was the pinnacle of his achievements. To carry on doing that is a big ask. Maybe that is the reason he left knowing he would probably have to build for another campaign."

Gartside paid a glowing tribute to Lee - and in doing so took another swipe at Allardyce. "You take a key man out of a team but you replace him with someone who is even better. That's where I am at. I have known Sammy a long time. He is a good coach with great contacts. If you look at his credentials to what Sam's were when he joined they are better. It is a better job today and I am not sure you would have given it to Sam Allardyce now. Sammy has a reputation beyond where Sam was in terms of his international playing career.

"If you ask why Nicolas Anelka came to Bolton, he played at Liverpool under Sammy. One of the most important things about Diouf arriving here was because he knew about Sammy."

Lee has signed an open-ended contract at Bolton promising he will be given time to succeed.

Lee way: The road to management

1959 Born 7 February in Liverpool.

1978 Liverpool debut.

1982 Scores on England debut in 3-0 win over Greece. Wins 14 caps in all, the last in 1984.

1986 Leaves Liverpool for QPR, having won three League titles, two European Cups, four League Cups. Has further spells with Osasuna in Spain, Southampton and Bolton.

1993 Becomes reserve-team coach at Liverpool.

1999 Appointed first-team coach by Gérard Houllier.

2001 Joins Sven-Goran Eriksson's England coaching staff.

2005 Becomes Sam Allardyce's assistant manager at Bolton.

30 April 2007 Appointed Bolton manager.