Everton Name Sam Allardyce as Manager, Reportedly Agree to £9M Contract

Everton have appointed Sam Allardyce as their new manager on a contract until June 2019.

According to the Daily Express' Bruce Archer on Wednesday, Allardyce has agreed a deal worth £6 million per year. He stands to make £9 million over the course of the contract.

News that the 63-year-old will make the move to Goodison Park came via the club's official Twitter account:

Allardyce will take over from temporary boss David Unsworth, who had, in turn, stepped in to replace Ronald Koeman after he was sacked in October.

The new manager finds the Toffees in a perilous predicament in the bottom half of the Premier League, as they sit in 13th place and just five points clear of the relegation zone.

Allardyce has previously been revered for his work with struggling sides, and Henry Winter of the Times believes he's the right man for the Merseyside club, for now at least:

"

Allardyce makes sense for Everton. Sort out defence, instil belief, keep them up. #efc can then go back for Marco Silva in the summer.

— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) November 27, 2017"

Indeed, the coach has previously done excellent jobs in the Premier League. In his last two domestic roles, he came in at Sunderland and Crystal Palace midseason with both sides in serious danger of being relegated; in the end, both sides preserved their top-flight status.

Allardyce also did strong jobs at Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers earlier in his career.

Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Things haven't always gone well for the veteran, though. At Newcastle United, he was sacked seven months into the job in 2008. Meanwhile, his stint as England manager lasted for just one game, as he left by mutual consent after being the target of a sting by the Daily Telegraph.

The appointment of Allardyce represents a significant shift in ambition for a team that spent heavily in the summer on players such as Gylfi Sigurdsson, Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford and Davy Klaassen.

The Everton supporters would have hoped to see the team build on the seventh-place finish they achieved last season, although a place in European football next season looks beyond this side at this point. For now, with so much spent and a new stadium potentially on the horizon, the sum of their aims must be to stay in the top flight.

Allardyce may not play the most stylish football, nor will he be a popular appointment at Goodison Park. But there's a sense among Evertonians that stability is needed, and the manager they've appointed has proved time after time he can bring that.