It was under this premise that Big Sam was hired to manage Blackburn Rovers in 2009, as Blackburn were facing the need to get more out of a declining wage and transfer spend (see graph TTV below).
Allardyce would coax a 10th place finish and a League Cup semifinal appearance out of a squad that was predicted to finish in the bottom third of the table based upon TTV expectations and had been relegation fodder the season prior.