I REMEMBER the moment Wanderers became a "long-ball" team.

It was after an interview given by then Newcastle manager Graeme Souness.

He derided the long throws employed by Jay Jay Okocha and all of a sudden the eyes of the footballing world were opened.

In many respects it was a back-handed compliment, announcing Bolton’s graduation from plucky triers to a genuine threat to the natural order.

Souness was lashing out after an embarrassing defeat, moving the attention of the Geordie masses away from the fact they were being usurped by the lowly Trotters.

But the fiery Scot is also a schemer and will have known only to well the corrosive effect his slur would have on a club that was fast becoming a serious rival for a Europa League place.

In the past, when Bolton were winning plaudits in their first couple of seasons in the top tier for beating teams like Liverpool and Arsenal at the Reebok, reaction was largely favourable.

Opposing fans would call radio phone-ins to shower compliments on Big Sam and the silky skills of maverick players like Jay Jay, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo, before laying into their own managers for failing to get the better of them.

The love-in started to fade when Wanderers dumped media darlings West Ham out of the Promised Land of the Premier League.

And when Allardyce added steely competitors like Kevin Davies, El-Hadji Diouf and Gary Speed to his side, pushing them up the table above “real” football clubs like Newcastle, the tide really started to turn.

As soon as Souness branded Wanderers long-ball merchants on national television the die was cast.

The club’s image changed overnight from a brave, Goliath-slaying David to the Wicked Witch of the North West.

Successive managers have tried to wipe the slate clean, but that guilt by association has lingered, while Big Sam’s talents as a top boss were tarnished.

The long-ball tag followed him wherever he went. It made his task almost impossible at Newcastle – whose fans were the first to see the light – and while it didn’t seem to matter at Blackburn, Hammers supporters were not about to forgive and forget in a hurry.

However, Allardyce finally looks to be on the road to redemption following the revival of West Ham’s fortunes this season, even if the stats show the east London club are still one of the league’s most prevalent purveyors of the long pass.

That’s why Sam's long-ball jibe, aimed at Manchester United last weekend, was so funny.

It seems Louis van Gaal was the only one not in on the mischievous joke. I guess British irony does not translate too well.

But maybe the stigma is universal, which would explain the Dutchman’s vociferous statistical defence.

He only had to look towards the opposing dugout for the perfect case in point.