Rovers give Allardyce a boost with win over Bolton

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce pushed former club Bolton further into the relegation mire as his side secured a 3-0 win over Wanderers at Ewood Park on Sunday.Rovers boss Allardyce spent eight years in charge of Bolton before leaving to join Newcastle in 2007, but his players showed no mercy to his struggling ex-employers as goals from Nikola Kalinic, Jason Roberts and Gael Givet left Owen Coyle's team stuck in the relegation zone.

Sam Allardyce was sacked as manager of Blackburn Rovers with immediate effect on Monday, the English Premier League club announced on their official website.Also on the way out of Ewood Park was Allardyce's assistant, Neil McDonald, with first team coach Steve Kean placed in temporary charge.

Steve Kean will remain as manager of Blackburn Rovers until the end of the season, the English Premier League club announced on Wednesday.Kean was promoted from first-team coach to caretaker manager following the surprise sacking of former boss Sam Allardyce and assistant Neil McDonald last week.Venky's, the Indian-based poultry business that took over the north-west club last month for 23 million pounds (30 million dollars), had made it clear they would not rush to appoint a successor to Allardyce.

Sam Allardyce is in line to be named as the new manager of West Ham and his appointment could be confirmed as soon as Wednesday according to several British media reports.The Hammers sacked Avram Grant last month, barely an hour after the Israeli had presided over their relegation from the lucrative English Premier League.If Allardyce does take over at the London club, it will be his first job since he was surprisingly sacked as manager of top-flight Blackburn Rovers in December.

Michael Owen scored his 200th goal in English club football as Manchester United twice came from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw against Bolton in the Premier League on Sunday.Former Liverpool and England star Owen glanced in a 74th-minute header to give United a share of the points at the Reebok Stadium after Bolton had twice taken the lead through Zat Knight and Martin Petrov.The draw saw United leapfrog Arsenal into second place in the table, three points behind league leaders Chelsea.

West Ham remained bottom of the English Premier League despite a 1-1 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers as the battle for top-flight survival intensified on Saturday.Wigan climbed out of the bottom three thanks to a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa but will return to the relegation zone if Blackpool avoid defeat in Saturday's late kick-off match against Tottenham.

Blackburn climbed to seventh place in the Premier League here Sunday after a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at Ewood Park.A first-half own goal from West Brom defender Gabriel Tamas and a superb second-half strike from Canadian youngster David Hoilett sealed a deserved win for Rovers, who are six points behind Sunderland in sixth.The defeat pushed West Brom further towards the relegation quagmire, with Roberto Di Matteo's men now having lost six of their last seven matches. The Baggies remain just three points above the drop zone in 15th place.

Michael Owen scored his 200th goal in club football as Manchester United twice came from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw against Bolton in the English Premier League on Sunday.Former Liverpool and England star Owen glanced in a 74th-minute header to give United a share of the points at the Reebok Stadium after Bolton had twice taken the lead through Zat Knight and Martin Petrov.The draw saw United leapfrog Arsenal into second place in the table, three points behind league leaders Chelsea.