Sam Allardyce left a huge void at Bolton Wanderers after opting to join Newcastle last year. The Bolton fans were not happy at first but wished him well for what he had done to the club.

Allardyce's assistant Sammy Lee took over at Bolton, yet results did not go well for him and in mid-October he was sacked. Gary Megson left Leicester (at end of season the Foxes were relegated to League One) to take over at the Reebok Stadium.

The fans wanted someone 'bigger' and did not give Megson the backing Allardyce used to enjoy.

Megson had the last laugh though when he managed to steer Bolton to safe waters as the relegation fight went to the wire. Megson, who has given more than a 100 per cent whenever he went, deserved this break.

Last season, Chelsea also had a managerial change after Jose Mourinho left Stamford Bridge as he was at loggerheads with club owner Roman Abramovich. This occurred when Chelsea had just played six Premier League games from which they had won three. Avram Grant, who was a Director of Football at the club, took over with his baptism coming at Old Trafford, where the Blues lost 0-2.

This choice was a major shock for the world of football, as the Israeli did not have the credentials to follow in the footsteps of Mourinho and the move was seen as a rushed job.

But, Grant had other ideas and pushed Arsenal and Manchester United all the way.

The finish was tight and it was only decided on the last day of the campaign.

Chelsea had also begun to progress in the League Cup and the Champions League, even if the critics kept hammering that there was something missing at Stamford Bridge.

Anelka at the Bridge

When Didier Drogba left for the African Cup, Grant replaced him by signing Nicolas Anelka from Bolton.

The League Cup final defeat did hurt Chelsea since it came against rivals Tottenham but the team relentlessly pushed further up the table mostly in second or third place. The fine results in the Premier League and in Europe persisted and the fans were glad that their favourites were still involved in the most important competitions.

Grant was so glad to go one better than his predecessor Mourinho did in the Champions League and reached the Moscow final, an all-English affair against Manchester United.

Following their win in the title race United started as the favourites against Chelsea, but the Londoners matched them all the way and the showdown had to be decided in a penalty shoot-out.

Chelsea hit the posts twice during the match and they felt it was not their day when captain John Terry slid on the slippery turf on his way to taking the penalty.

Megson's Wanderers had also fared well in the UEFA Cup even if deep inside they knew that their main task was to escape relegation.

In the continent, Bolton had also reached the group phase of the competition and were knocked out by Sporting Lisbon in the last 32 of the competition.

In the League Cup they went down at home to Manchester City in the fourth round and in the FA Cup, Bolton also bowed out in front of their own fans in round three against Sheffield United.

Yet Megson's mission was accomplished and come next August his side will be rubbing shoulders with the Premier League members once more.