England Annouces New Manager

Sam Allardyce has been appointed England manager.

The 61-year-old signed an initial two-year deal after compensation was agreed with Sunderland, whom he steered to Premier League safety last season.

He succeeds Roy Hodgson, who quit after England were knocked out of Euro 2016 in the last 16 by Iceland.

Allardyce's first game in charge will be a friendly at Wembley on Thursday, 1 September against as yet unnamed opponents.

His first competitive match will be in Slovakia on 4 September as England begin their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.

He leaves Sunderland after nine months, having helped them avoid relegation last season.

The Black Cats are now looking for their ninth manager in eight years.

A statement from the club read: "The focus of everyone at Sunderland AFC is on moving forward quickly and decisively, with the appointment of the club's new manager to be confirmed at the earliest opportunity."

Allardyce, a former Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham boss, becomes the 14th permanent England manager.

He has never won a major trophy but did win promotion to the Premier League with Bolton and Newcastle.

As the appointment was approved by the Football Association board, Allardyce was also endorsed by his fellow managers, including Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, former England manager Sven Goran-Eriksson and ex-Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

Mourinho said Allardyce was "more than ready" to lead the national side, while Redknapp said he would bring "a Premier League style and pace" to the national side.

Former FA director David Davies told BBC Radio 5 live: "This is a challenge for English football. This is the person the League Managers' Association probably would have wanted. Now will the clubs actually go out of their way to help the national team because they've got the person they wanted - one of their own?"

The process

Allardyce was first interviewed for the England job following Eriksson's departure after the 2006 World Cup, but Steve McClaren was appointed. He has been vocal about his disappointment in not being selected then.

But this time he was the early favourite, chosen by a three-man FA panel of chief executive Martin Glenn, technical director Dan Ashworth and vice-chairman David Gill, after a three-week process, ahead of Hull's Steve Bruce.

Bournemouth's Eddie Howe and USA manager Jurgen Klinsmann were reported as potential candidates, but it is not known how many other interviews were conducted.

Why has he got the job?

The FA panel said it wanted a strong-minded, tactically savvy manager who could build a clear team identity.

Glenn told BBC sports editor Dan Roan the new manager would need to "build resilience" in players so they are able to deal with criticism on social media and the pressures of an "intensely passionate" English media.

Neil McDonald, who has worked alongside Allardyce at three Premier League clubs, said: "He gives the players everything they need to perform to the highest level and lets them express themselves as much as they possibly can.

"He's been in the game a long time, he's won a lot of games and a lot of respect off everybody and it's well deserved to be given the England job.

"He should have had one of the big four, big six jobs in the past. But the clubs he's gone to he's always improved them and improved the players."

The Allardyce effect

Allardyce is known for having an immediate impact on sides when he joins them - shown below after he arrived at Blackburn Rovers (2008-09) and Sunderland (2015-16).

The graph also shows the dip in form immediately after Allardyce has left (Newcastle 2007-08) and Blackburn (2010-11).

England have had a near-perfect qualifying record for recent tournaments, but have won just one of their past seven games in the finals.