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Cruise liners, robotic barmen and neck massages - how Grandad Sam has spent his last two years... and why Allardyce's 'addiction' to the muck and nettle of the Premier League means he was never far away from a return

Related Topics: Sam Allardyce

A few weeks ago, Sam Allardyce marvelled at the wonders of the Bionic Bar aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise, where two robotic bartenders serve your drinks. They would not, you assume, pour wine into a pint glass.

But if that was a vision of the future, Allardyce knows that his own worth still exists in the past. That is not to say he is a has-been, or his methods are redundant, more so there is a body of work that makes him an appealing short-term solution for any crisis club. Even his friends call him 'Red Adair'.