In what was the never ending managerial merry go-round of the noughties for Sunderland AFC, Big Sam Allardyce was the next through the door to have a stab at consolidating us as a Premier League team without having to battle relegation every season.
Allardyce had been linked with the job on multiple occasions but was finally joining as manager after Dick Advocaat rather unsurprisingly left the job after our 2-2 draw with West Ham. In all honesty, Advocaat looked like a spouse trapped in a loveless
marriage and appeared force to stay against his wishes.
Big Sam’s arrival instilled instant confidence into the fanbase due to the fact that the manager simply never gets relegated. Whilst many would have had concerns about his style of football in general, it could never be questioned that he was capable of getting results – and that was exactly what Sunderland needed.
Upon his appointment, Allardyce wrote on Twitter – which was common back then – that he had ‘fond memories of the Roker Roar’ and ‘wanted to make positive memories at the Stadium of Light now’.
Of course, Allardyce was a former player of Sunderland too playing for the club in the early eighties and this doubtless helped him make the decision to join the club.
In the official press release from the club, Big Sam spoke of his delight with getting the Sunderland job and further reinforced the importance of the Stadium of Light and it’s fans.
“Of course it’s a challenging job. But I hope to be able to help to bring the stability and success that everyone wants,”
“I’m looking forward to working with the players and of course I will be relying on the help of the Sunderland supporters.”
In fairness to the crowd, they played their part during his reign with notable wins against Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton playing a huge role in our survival.
In many ways, it felt like something eventually was happening that we had waited so long for, but as we all in typical Sunderland fashion, it was more a flirtation than a full blown romance as the gaffer didn’t even last another season with England National Team on the horizion.
