SAM Allardyce has 64 million reasons for having a clear conscience about the way Wanderers went about knocking Liverpool out of their record-breaking stride.

That was the difference in hard cash between the two teams that went head to head at the Reebok on Monday afternoon, when the Whites, assembled at a cost of just over £8 million, matched the reigning Champions of Europe, who had more than £72 million worth of talent on view.

Wanderers actually felt they could have won it, being 2-1 up with just eight minutes left on the clock, but, on the balance of play, Big Sam was happy enough to declare the draw "a fair result", acknowledging that Liverpool showed precisely why they had rattled off 10 successive Premiership wins by twice coming from from behind in an impressive second half display.

Under the circumstances, though, it was a fantastic result - one of the many upsets Wanderers have caused and continue to cause as they punch above their weight to stay in the heady heights of the Premier League.

Yet, once again, they found themselves on the receiving end of criticism from rivals and pundits, who give them scant credit for what they do, and make no allowance for the fact that, man for man and pound for pound, they should not have had a prayer.

Rafa Benitez saw red and Alan Green, the voice of Radio Five Live, weighed in for good measure with comments that ultimately led to Allardyce boycotting the BBC station.

It was out of character for the Wanderers boss to react in such a draconian fashion, having spent his entire career as player and manager delighting in ruffling feathers.

But every man has his breaking point and Big Sam found his this week.

Ironically, although it was his rant against Green that received the most publicity, he was more annoyed by what Benitez, a fellow manager who ought to have known better and whose players - Gerrard and Momo Sissoko - were the "guilty parties, according to his assessment of their challenges on Kevin Nolan and El-Hadji Diouf.