By Mark Heys
May 10 2007

Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside has questioned whether or not Newcastle United are bigger than his club and says that a consistently strong supporter base does not neccesarily mean that the Magpies can be considered to be bigger in footballing terms.

Gartside was responding to suggestions that former Trotters manager Sam Allardyce would be moving onto bigger and better things if he took over from Glenn Roeder at St James Park.

 Wanderers currently get around 23,000 for their home crowd in a catchment area that includes seven Premiership teams whilst Newcastle get on average around 50,000 in an area which includes only Middlesbrough and Sunderland from the top flight.

"I think you have to be careful how you define a bigger club, Newcastle have under-achieved for some time. I agree they have a bigger fan base. But history shows Bolton and Newcastle are similar in some respects." said Gartside 

"It's a long time since we won anything. But I think it's the same for them. If you define a club as bigger because they get 50,000 every game, I can't argue with that. But there aren't many alternatives around.

"We have seven Premiership clubs round our necks, one of which, Manchester United, is the biggest in the country, if not the world."