Allardyce looking over shoulder as QPR's Redknapp is linked with West Ham return

Well talk about a rabbit out of the hat! With Allardyce still sweating on a new contract, some mischievous sods have suddenly mooted the possibility of 'Arry returning to lead us into the Olympic Stadium.

Allardyce will not like that! For as long as the rumours centred simply on his going, with no realistic alternatives being suggested, he probably felt relatively secure. But the return of 'Arry rings uncomfortably true.

Sure West Ham fans have mixed feelings about 'Arry - he has claimed to be a fan of Spurs as a child since his departure - but, at the end of the day, his record as a manager of West Ham was impressive and his record since departing has been even better.

Crucially, he plays the game the West Ham way. Put him in charge of the present squad and Joe Cole, Vaz Te, Reid, Noble, Diame, Tomkins, Potts and Jarvis would all blossom. You would back him to get the best out of Carlton, Collins and Spence too. That is eleven players, the core of a team and squad.

Some of the Bolton boys might not fit in. Redknapp praises Nolan on the box but has never tried to sign him. He managed Taylor, and once claimed he was good enough for England, but he offloaded him when Pompey were promoted, recognising his limitations as a Premiership player.  O'Brien would probably be retained as a utility defender. Jussi would be OK though; 'Arry has no objections to OAP keepers as he proved at Spurs.

O'Neil may find a home given Redknapp values a trier and Yossi would be welcomed back with open arms.

So, although replacing Allardyce brings with it huge risks - as Newcastle, Bolton and Blackburn have all discovered - Redknapp's pragmatism and imagination might just be able to polish the sow's ear into a silk purse. Give him £20m to spend and he might just produce a team capable of establishing itself in the Prem before pushing on following the move too the Olympic Stadium.

Redknapp probably has a release clause in his contract should QPR go down, and he would love the opportunity of returning as the saviour of the Academy. You can hear him now: "When I was here last we brought through Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermaine Defoe and Glen Johnson, the core of the England team for a generation..."

'Arry was replaced by Roeder so his achievements are magnified by what followed, but there's no getting away from the fact that he saved us from what looked like near certain relegation, turned us into a half decent team, brought through youngsters early, played the West Ham way, and added star names like Di Canio and Kanoute. Sure, there were loads of duff signings along the way but we can forgive him those now over a distance of time.

Would I welcome Redknapp back? With open arms! In fact, I would go so far as to say that he is the only man I can think of who would successfully replace Allardyce.

And that's why Doctor Evil may now be starting to sweat on that new contract.