Sam Allardyce saved Sunderland in 2016 but can he do so again after losing his job at Premier League club Everton?
For the second year in a row, the manager who has finished eighth in the Premier League has lost his job almost as soon as the season has come to an end.
And, like Claude Puel at Southampton 12 months ago, there was a sense of inevitability surrounding the sacking of Sam Allardyce.
The 63-year-old did manage to guide Everton away from the relegation zone and into a top-half finish in his six months in charge, but supporters never took to his pragmatic style of football or, for that matter, his casual dismissiveness of the fans’ concerns.
But while Everton fans are all too happy to see Allardyce’s reign come to an end, it seems that one of the most divisive managers in English football would be welcomed back with open arms at one of his former clubs.
Then again, a cash-strapped Sunderland side preparing for life in League One after successive relegations cannot afford to be picky.
TEAMtalk stated last week that Chris Wilder, Paul Cook and Michael Appleton were under consideration from Sunderland’s prospective new owner Stuart Donald but, if you ask the fans, there is one man who should be right at the top of the wish list.
Big Sam saved Sunderland from relegation back in 2016, but the chances of him managing in the third tier next season appear slim.
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