Long-ball label unfair says Newcastle's Sam

And it was not the threat of pneumonia. The Newcastle manager was urged by his doctor to stay in bed and give this important game a miss, but he slipped on a warm coat and hat, and fought against the elements.

It is the stick which is making Sam sick.

Allardyce insists his side are not dependant on long balls, although new signing David Rozehnal bucked the trend with his unusual passing. And against Arsenal and Birmingham, they have played football.

They have also rolled their sleeves up and even Obafemi Martins won a tackle or two, although Joey Barton took it to the absolute extreme with a crude trip on Cameron Jerome. He was fortunate referee Rob Styles only graded it a cautionable offence.

Not that Jerome had any complaints. "I'd have kicked him," said the Birmingham striker.

Allardyce said: "Everyone keeps going on about this Bolton style but we've never played it. Some of it is just because I've come from Bolton but we don't play like that because we haven't got those sort of players.

"We played four up front at one stage. Some people might say that's not Sam Allardyce football but only I know who Sam Allardyce is.

"I've never been able to go out and buy players to play a certain system. I've always had to pick a system to suit the players. If I wasn't flexible, with less money than everyone else for most of my career, I wouldn't be where I am today.

"It does rankle that I'm labelled the way I am and people continually go on about it. You get nailed with that tag and it comes from other managers because we beat them at Bolton on a regular basis, but we played with (Youri) Djorkaeff, (Jay Jay) Okocha, (Fernando) Hierro, (Bruno) N'Gotty, (Ivan) Campo — world class players.

"The perception of how we playedwas only there when we beat big teams like Liverpool or Chelsea. But Chelsea played exactly the same way we did. That wasn't deemed long ball. It was deemed long passing.

"Liverpool and Arsenal have said Newcastle are a direct team. They've only used it as an excuse because they're more people aren't clever enough to see that.

People listen too much to the managers and it becomes clouded.

'The perception is that Liverpool and Arsenal play all this pretty stuff because that's what's generally put around the world of football.

There's all this conflict about long ball but everyone has to play long passes behind a defence to get the opportunities to score.'

Allardyce actually decided on an unusual form of relaxation to convince his GP that he could fight off illness.

Having ignored the advice, Allardyce could have watched Newcastle win their first game in seven from the relative comfort of the directors' box. It was where he spent the first half after all, watching his team gift Jerome an early opener before they bossed the rest of it and Martins finally slammed a very fortunate penalty past Maik Taylor.

But when the second half started, Allardyce went back to his usual spot by the Newcastle dugout, complete with a woolly beanie to protect him from a wild Tyneside evening.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish's side took control and threatened to pull off another shock reverse at St James' Park.

Relief for the home side came in the unlikely form of full back Habib Beye. He guided Emre's teasing corner past defiant Taylor, who had earlier pulled off three vital saves.

Allardyce was engulfed by tracksuits and then emerged from the sea of arms and legs and ordered defender Jose Enrique to get stripped.

Only Styles and his fourth official were oblivious to the significance of the Newcastle substitution, aimed at wasting valuable seconds.

Allardyce lost the plot, screaming and shouting at the bemused pair, before the Spanish defender finally jogged on to replace Martins.

And this is Allardyce relaxing. The Newcastle manager is still planning to strengthen his side. He said: 'I came here to get more money, to buy more quality players, make a better team and play a better way.'

But Allardyce may be disappointed. Newcastle chairman Chris Mort has conceded that there will be little money available.

Mort has also admitted he held discussions with owner Mike Ashley when they took over the club to discuss Allardyce's future because he was not their appointment.

For McLeish, it is one win, one defeat and now he is looking forward to Reading's visit for his first home game at St Andrew's.

He said: "We have had two games and it should have been four points but it was a peach of a delivery from Emre and we will look at it again but sometimes things like that are undefendable."