FACTBOX-Former England manager Sam Allardyce

Born: Oct. 19, 1954 in Dudley, England

Playing career: * Defender Allardyce began his playing career at Bolton Wanderers where he spent nine years and made more than 200 appearances before joining Sunderland in 1980. * He spent the next 12 years as a journeyman professional, with stints at clubs including Millwall, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Coventry City, Huddersfield Town, a second spell at Bolton, Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion.

Coaching career: * Allardyce's first step into management came as a player-coach at West Bromwich Albion and after various different coaching roles his first permanent job as a manager came at Blackpool in 1994. * After a spell at Notts County -- in which he failed to save the club from relegation before immediately guiding them to promotion -- he joined second-tier Bolton in 1999 and led them to the League and FA Cup semi-finals in 2000. * He was given a 10-year contract by Bolton and led them to promotion to the Premier League in 2001. After keeping them clear of relegation, he led them to sixth place in the top-flight in 2005, taking them into the UEFA Cup. * He joined Newcastle United in May 2007, but left in January 2008 after a poor run of results. * Allardyce joined Blackburn Rovers in December 2008 and led them to the League Cup semi-final in 2010 but, following the sale of the club to new owners, he was sacked later that year with the team 13th in the Premier League. * He joined West Ham United in 2011 and took them up to the Premier League at the end of his first season in charge. * Allardyce secured three mid-table top-flight finishes with West Ham, but some fans were unhappy with his direct style of football and he left in 2015 when his contract expired. * He joined Sunderland in October 2015 with the club 19th in the Premier League, steering them to safety and a 17th-place finish. * The club guaranteed their top-flight status with a 3-0 win over Everton that also ensured rivals Newcastle were relegated.

* Allardyce was appointed England manager on July 22, 2016 after the resignation of Roy Hodgson following England's poor Euro 2016 campaign.

* Allardyce selected his first England squad a month later, including uncapped West Ham player Michail Antonio but not Everton's Ross Barkley or Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, for the first 2018 World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Sept. 4.

* England won their first -- and only -- international under Allardyce, thanks to a goal from Adam Lallana in the fifth minute of added time.

* Allardyce was caught by a newspaper sting in which he met a bogus consortium of Far East businessmen seeking advice on the Premier League's transfer market. The details, published by the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, included Allardyce giving advice to undercover reporters on how to get around player transfer rules. * After being summoned to urgent talks with the FA, Allardyce was sacked later on Tuesday. The FA said his conduct was "inappropriate" and that Allardyce accepted he had made "a significant error of judgement" for which he had apologised. (Compiled by Neville Dalton and Toby Davis; editing by Ken Ferris)