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Revision as of 16:12, 6 September 2005 by Rje (talk | contribs) (add cats)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)"Big Sam" Allardyce was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, on 19th October 1954. He grew up on the town's Old Park Farm estate and is best remembered as a player for being part of the Bolton Wanderers side which won the Second Division title in 1978 and secured promotion to the First Division.
After retiring as a player, Allardyce was named as assistant manager to Brian Talbot at West Bromwich Albion in February 1989 - ironic as he was a Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter. His spell at the Hawthorns lasted just two years before he and Talbot were sacked as the club slid towards the Second Division trap door for the first time.
Allardyce was not out of work for long. He was recruited by Blackpool as assistant to manager Billy Ayre, and helped the club win the Fourth Division promotion playoffs in 1992. When Ayre quit two seasons later, Allardyce was promoted to the manager's seat. He guided them to third place in Division Two at the end of the 1995-96 season, but was sacked after they lost to Bradford City in the playoffs.
In January 1997, Sam Allardyce made his return to football as manager of Division Two basement club Notts County. He arrived too late to save them from relegation, but they won promotion at the first attempt by finishing top of Division Three at the end of the 1997-98 season. Notts County broke several club and nation records, winning the title by 19 points and becoming the post war side to win promotion by mid-March. He remained in charge at Meadow Lane until September 1999 when he returned to Bolton Wanderers in Division One and became their new manager.
Bolton lost to Ipswich Town in the 1999-2000 Division One playoffs, but had an eventuful run to the F.A Cup semi-finals. They went one better in 2000-01 by reaching the playoff final where they beat Preston North End 3-0 to achieve promotion to the Premiership after a three-year absence.
Bolton went top of the Premiership after gaining ten points from the first four games of the 2001-02 campaign, and Sam Allardyce was even hopeful that the club could challenge for their first-ever league title. But the Bolton squad was not strong enough to mount anything like a serious challenge, and their safety was not ensured until the penultimate game of the season. In 2002-03 they avoided relegation by just two points and one place.
2003-04 saw Sam Allardyce and his squad firmly establish Bolton as a Premiership club. They finished eighth in the final table and reached the Carling Cup final, losing 2-1 to Middlesbrough - who had never won a major trophy before. 2004-05 saw Sam Allardyce and Bolton finish 6th in The Barclay's Premiership, claiming their place in the next season's UEFA Cup, equal on points with 2005's UEFA Champions League victors Liverpool. At this rate of progress, Sam Allardyce could be just a few seasons away from turning Bolton Wanderers into a European force.
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