With Sam Allardyce now in charge at West Bromwich Albion, it'd take a brave observer to bet against them having a great chance of staying up.Indeed, the former England manager has famously never been relegated and, with the Baggies just two points off safety as thing stand, they do look to be in good hands right now. Things could have been different, however, according to reports from the Daily Mail. They claim that those behind the scenes at the Hawthorns were sounding out potential replacements for Slaven Bilic as far back as September. Former Brighton boss Chris Hughton was reportedly a candidate but had already agreed to join Nottingham Forest, while the out-of-work Mark Hughes is another thought to have been considered. However, they ultimately plumped for Allardyce, who was apparently called before a family holiday to Dubai and duly accepted the job. 

GIVEMESPORT's Jonathan Gorrie says... 

If those were the other options, it's barely a surprise to see why West Brom bosses went for Allardyce. 

There's certainly an argument to suggest that none of the names mentioned are particularly inspiring when it comes to long-term appointments but Allardyce does appear to be a step up from either Hughton or Hughes. 

Obviously, he boasts a wonderful track record when it comes to firefighting missions based off a much bigger sample size than either of the other two. 

Proving at Crystal Palace he can take big scalps along the way (he remains the last visiting manager to win at Anfield in the Premier League), he is surely the best option available for a job of this profile.