Musical about me 'better not be rubbish' warns Allardyce

The writer of a new musical about one of football's most colourful characters has revealed that he has been warned in no uncertain terms that it had "better not be rubbish".

Lifelong Bolton Wanderers fan Jamie Walsh is telling the story of his club's legendary manager Sam Allardyce, who led The Trotters from 1999 until 2007.

His hugely successful Wanderers side even defied the odds to finish sixth in the Premier League in the 2004-05 season and qualify for European football.

Walsh said developing his idea for a musical had been a real labour of love.

"I grew up in the Big Sam era - it was amazing," explained the 32-year-old writer and producer.

Walsh said Allardyce - who went on to have a short, ill-fated spell as England boss -had recently visited the cast and production team at a workshop to help hone the show.

Walsh, who was born in Cockermouth, Cumbria, comes from a Bolton-mad family.

While some critics have derided Allardyce's "old school, long ball" tactical approach, Walsh said he remembered his side playing "really exciting football, beating top teams" in the Premier League.

The musical takes inspiration from Allardyce's most famous quote about being a plain-speaking manager from England - that he "won't ever go to a top-four club because I'm not called Sam Allardici - just Sam Allardyce."

Walsh said the show "begins with a big opening number which sets the scene at Allardici's - a fictional lounge bar on the Costa Blanca in Spain where he has gone into hiding after losing the England job".

He added: "Some Bolton fans make their way over and they try and make him remember the good times."

Allardyce left his post as England manager by mutual agreement with the Football Association (FA) in 2016 after only one match and 67 days in charge.

It followed a newspaper investigation claiming he had offered advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers.

The FA said Allardyce's conduct had been "inappropriate".

Sam Allardyce was the epitome of a journeyman professional footballer turned manager.

After a spell coaching Preston North End's youth team, the former centre-half moved to Blackpool where he narrowly missed out on leading the The Tangerines to the second tier of English football.

It was Bolton, however, where his reputation was sealed.

Allardyce secured promotion to the Premier League, a place in the old Uefa Cup, and the final of the League Cup.

Perhaps in contrast to his gruff, no-nonsense public persona, Allardyce was a real pioneer in the use of data, diet and hi-tech training facilities.

He was shrewd in the transfer business, with skilful stars like Jay Jay Okocha and Ivan Campo idolised by Wanderers fans.

After less successful spells at Newcastle and Blackburn, Allardyce returned West Ham to the Premier League and saved his old club Sunderland from relegation before he accepted the role of England manager.

The musical, which will feature fans in the house band, will also depict former players as well as Allardyce's Premier League nemesis, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

"Sam is a natural figure to portray," said Walsh. "He is such a larger than life character."

Walsh, who founded the Small Talk Productions theatre group, leans a lot on community engagement through workshop sessions to give a ring of authenticity to the more surreal elements of a show he has described as part fact/part fiction.

Talking about his time with Allardyce, Walsh said: "We spent the first part of the week exploring the fictional version and later in the week the real Sam came in [and] we realised we weren't too far away.

"He laughed a lot when he saw what we were doing but in true Sam fashion he said: 'It better not be rubbish', only he didn't use the word rubbish!"

Walsh said Bolton Wanderers were invited to participate in sessions at the club's stadium.

It is hoped the show will premiere in 2028.

• Professional football's main connection with the world of musicals is Liverpool FC's fan anthem You'll Never Walk Alone, which comes from the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Carousel
• Footballers Wives The Musical - the hit TV series of the early 2000s was brought to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2025
• I Keano - Roy Keane's training camp bust-up with the former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy before the 2002 World Cup was reimagined as a Roman epic. It ran for a year in Dublin
• The Beautiful Game - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton's award-winning football-inspired love story set against the troubles in Northern Ireland made the West End in 2001

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.