Every Premier League relegation battle Sam Allardyce has been involved in
By Tom Gott
Sam Allardyce's entrance music is blaring once again.
Leeds United have drafted in Sam Allaradyce in their final bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League, ditching the glamorous appointments in favour of somebody who knows how to get his hands dirty at this point of the season.
Here's a look back at Allardyce's previous relegation battles.
2001/02 - Bolton Wanderers
Big Sam's first dance with the drop zone came with Bolton in 2001/02, just 12 months after he led the team to the Premier League.
A run of 12 games without a win between November and February had Bolton braced for an immediate return to the second tier, but big wins over top-half teams like West Ham, Charlton and Aston Villa soon calmed tensions.
A 4-1 win over fellow relegation strugglers Ipswich effectively sealed Bolton's safety, before an impressive 1-1 draw with Tottenham steered Bolton to 16th.
2002/03 - Bolton Wanderers
Another tough year for Bolton, who were 19th at Christmas in 2002 before a stunning upturn in form in 2003 led the underdogs to safety.
Boxing Day brought a huge 4-3 win over a Newcastle side who ended up in third, and Bolton would only lose a further four games across the season. That run saw eventual champions Manchester United held to a 1-1 draw and second-placed Arsenal frustrated 0-0 as well.
They needed that sort of form as West Ham ended up getting relegated on a huge 42 points, just two behind Bolton.
2008/09 - Blackburn Rovers
Allardyce's reputation as a relegation specialist began in 2008/09, when he was drafted in to save a struggling Blackburn side who were 19th in December.
A six-game unbeaten streak immediately validated Blackburn's decision and pretty much secured safety there and then.
Blackburn had a mixed end to the season but overachieved with draws against Everton and West Ham, and there was even a 2-1 win over Tottenham that removed any doubt as Rovers ended up 15th, seven points clear of the drop.
2015/16 - Sunderland
Several successful years with West Ham followed for Allardyce but the relegation battle came calling once again in 2015/16
Sunderland had just three points from an eight-game run under Dick Advocaat when they hit the panic button and dialled up Allardyce's phone. Despite a big 3-0 win over rivals Newcastle in his second game, it took a while to get the Black Cats going and they were still in the relegation zone when April arrived.
A 3-0 win over 17th-placed Norwich saw them close the gap to safety to just one point with four games to go, and an outstanding end to the campaign - victory over Chelsea and draws against Arsenal, Stoke and Watford - saw Sunderland survive at Newcastle's expense.
2016/17 - Crystal Palace
After his ill-fated England gig, Allardyce was back in the trenches when Crystal Palace brought him in in late December of 2016, replacing Alan Pardew. They weren't actually in the drop zone at that point and they did tumble down over the next few months, sitting 19th by the end of February.
A run of four wins in five games, including a 1-0 triumph over league leaders Chelsea, fixed things up for the Eagles, who also bagged victories over Arsenal and Liverpool in the weeks that followed.
Safety was secured on the penultimate day of the season with an emphatic 4-0 win over Hull City.
2017/18 - Everton
Allardyce actually retired from club management after that Palace spell came to an end, only to return in November 2017 when 13th-placed Everton came calling.
The Toffees went six unbeaten to kick off the Allardyce era and relegation was never a real worry after that. Everton would end up finishing eighth, but all was not well at Goodison Park.
Fans were thoroughly unimpressed with Everton's style of play under Allardyce as no team in the Premier League had fewer shots during his time in charge than the Toffees.
2020/21 - West Bromwich Albion
West Brom were 19th when they sacked Slaven Bilic and hired Allardyce in December 2020, and the size of the task at hand was made abundantly clear with a 3-0 defeat to rivals Aston Villa in his first game in charge.
The Baggies would win just one of Allardyce's first 12 games in charge, but there was a glimmer of hope when West Brom secured a ridiculous 5-2 win over Chelsea and a 3-0 win over Southampton in quick succession in April.
The damage was already done, however, and a run of seven games without a win ultimately handed Allardyce the first relegation of his career.