He gets results
Former player Davies explains how Allardyce guarantees 'winning football'
Love him or loathe him, you cannot ignore him.
Sam Allardyce has spent much of his career having to defend his methods, lambasted by critics bemoaning the style of football his teams play, and railing against the influx of foreign coaches in British football and their supposed superior approaches to the game.
But the facts are plain and simple: Allardyce gets results.
As his former charge Kevin Davies explains, his former Bolton Wanderers boss delivers "winning football".
He told Sky Sports: "Sam calls it 'winning football'. He goes into clubs and organises the players and staff and that's important to him, he will get the best people in there with expertise to help him."
But, even by the 61-year-old's own admission, the former Sunderland defender took on the toughest challenge of his managerial career in October last year when he returned to Wearside having been handed a mission to drag the club out of yet another scrap for Premier League survival.
He said at the time: "It's a big challenge. Even at this early stage of the season, it's clear that we are in trouble."
Sunderland were languishing at the foot of the table, level on points with rivals Newcastle United - who would eventually succumb to relegation - when Allardyce walked through the door to do what he does best.
Slowly but surely - and by no means as quickly as he had hoped - the wily veteran turned to his tried and tested methods, first making his team difficult to beat and then harnessing the enduring potency of striker Jermain Defoe to ease the club over the finishing line with a game to spare.
However, Allardyce's success at the Stadium of Light should have come as no surprise to anyone.
PROSPERED
The man who calls a spade a spade has prospered almost everywhere he has been since launching his managerial career in Ireland with Limerick back in 1991, with his spells at Blackpool, Notts County, Bolton, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United and now Sunderland bringing varying degrees of success.
Only at Newcastle United, where he was appointe
Freddy Shepherd in April 2007 and then discarded by new owner Mike Ashley within eight months, did his stock fall with the Toon Army less than impressed by both the football on offer and the results it brought, a theme which was reprised during his time at Upton Park.
Allardyce's philosophy is straightforward: if you do not concede goals, you do not need to score too many to win football matches, and he is no fan of the "tiki-taka" possession game.
He said: "All this tippy-tappy stuff - everybody keeps on going about the right way to play football - is all a load of b******s sometimes."
However, the way in which he implements his beliefs is significantly more complex with his attention to detail, meticulous planning and reliance on sports science and psychology all key elements.
It is an approach Allardyce is desperate to test on the international stage, and one which could ruffle as many feathers off the pitch as it does on it. - Wire Services.
BY THE NUMBERS
467 matches
Sam Allardyce has presided over 467 Premier League matches. Harry Redknapp is the only Englishman with a better record.
7 clubs
The 61-year-old has taken permanent charge of seven clubs, including Newcastle United, West Ham United, Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland.
3 promotions
Allardyce has overseen three promotions, with Notts County, Bolton and West Ham.
6 position
His highest Premier League is sixth, with unfancied Bolton in 2004/05.
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