Sam making the transfer market moves
Those who believed the board were set to take over the decision-making process on incoming signings after the dramas of early summer appraisals and board meetings had it wrong.
Thus far, each of those who have arrived at the club are very much hand-picked Allardyce players.
The manager made Cheikhou Kouyaté his priority target and was in total agreement that Mauro Zarate should come to the club, receiving 100 per cent backing on both.
And Aaron Cresswell too was very much his choice of left back along with Charlton’s Diego Poyet.
A top source at the club told ClaretandHugh exclusively: “Sam is driving the bus – make no mistake about that and that’s exactly how it should be given this may be the biggest season of his career.
“Even though there was a massive hue and cry about bringing in Timothee Kolodziejczak, Sam was always swaying towards a top Brit and Aaron was his man.
“There’s a lot of pressure on him this season but that’s more about what happened last season than anything else.
“He knows that the expectations have changed – the board want success with style and it’s been made crystal clear that survival itself is no longer seen as an achievement.
“He is picking the players but that’s a double-edged sword with the board making it clear they want a top season.
“Should it not happen the pressure is going to be on big time given that Sam’s contract runs out in the summer.”