Report: Allardyce agrees in principle to Crystal Palace contract
Sam Allardyce is poised for a return to football.
Ousted from his dream job as England manager following a damning newspaper sting, Allardyce is reportedly set to replace Alan Pardew at Crystal Palace.
Allardyce has agreed in principle to a contract until 2019 that has an escape clause after 18 months, according to The Guardian's Dominic Fifield. Palace pulled the trigger on Pardew in fear of losing the chance to hire a manager in Allardyce who's so adept at navigating a team out of relegation battles, Fifield adds.
Related: Crystal Palace sacks Alan Pardew
Allardyce was fired by the Three Lions only 67 days after accepting the gig, a result of The Telegraph's 10-month investigation into football corruption.
Undercover reporters masquerading as investors from a Far East firm captured the former Sunderland boss on camera negotiating a six-figure fee in exchange for tips on ways to circumvent rules prohibiting third-party ownership.
It was considered a gross conflict of interest from a person in Allardyce's position, considering both the FA and FIFA have stringent regulations in place to ban the practice of buying and selling shares in players.
Although his reputation took a massive hit, his track record as an escape artist is still intact.
And Palace needs a manager who can steer the club clear of relegation.
The Eagles are currently one point out of the drop zone after putting up disastrous numbers across the whole of 2016. They are the worst-performing outfit in all of English football, earning an average of just 0.72 points per match in the calendar year.
The south London club confirmed in a statement that it is "hoping to put someone in place as quickly as possible." Given the Christmas period is upon us and the relative shortage of candidates - Roy Hodgson, Chris Coleman, and Harry Redknapp are in the mix - Allardyce has emerged as the obvious option.
As a manager, he has never before suffered the ignominy of relegation from the Premier League, guiding Bolton, West Ham, and Sunderland away from the clutches of the Championship in previous years.