So, football’s answer to Winston Wolf is back in business.
In ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce, West Bromwich Albion have not only parachuted in a survival specialist who specialises in solving problems, they have put their Premier League status in the hands of a man whose direct approach is at odds with the the pass-and-move principles of his successor.
The likes of Romaine Sawyers and Matheus Pereira were key players under Slaven Bilic.
But will two of West Brom’s most technically gifted players have a role to play under a coach who, in his most recent job at Everton, bombed out Davy Klaassen but got the best out of the industrious Idrissa Gueye and Tom Davies?
Allardyce’s reputation as a long-ball merchant has been exaggerated over the years – becoming a grating caricature. But the 66-year-old certainly values aggression over aesthetics.
And it wouldn’t be a ‘Big Sam’ team without a classic, old-school number nine a la Christian Benteke, Kevin Davies or Carlton Cole.
The future looks bright, then, for 6ft 2in Charlie Austin.
The former Southampton, Burnley and QPR ace has played little more than an hour of Premier League football this season and, in truth, looked worryingly short of intensity or match fitness against Newcastle and Manchester City.
But if anyone can get the best out of Austin, a robust centre-forward who can lead the line on his own or as part of a front two, it’s Allardyce.
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