Dudley's Sam Allardyce in line for England job
Dudley-born Sam Allardyce could become the next England manager after being interviewed for the position by the Football Association.
Allardyce is currently in charge at Premier League club Sunderland, who have confirmed they have given him permission to hold talks with the FA.
The 61-year-old was originally interviewed for the England role in 2006, when he was boss at Bolton, only to be overlooked in favour of Steve McClaren.
Sunderland have called for a swift resolution to England's managerial search after accepting an approach to speak to Allardyce, at their manager's request.
He's had an initial meeting with the three-man FA panel which will appoint the next boss, after arriving back in England from his club's tour of Austria.
It is understood to be the start of the formal process to appoint Roy Hodgson's successor, following the dreadful Euro 2016 campaign.
FA vice-chairman David Gill, technical director Dan Ashworth and chief executive Martin Glenn are open-minded about the process.
They will not be rushed into an appointment, but Sunderland want the uncertainty over Allardyce to be clarified as quickly as possible.
Allardyce steered Sunderland to survival last season, but his approach and tactics have attracted criticism from some quarters in the past.
He's Black Country born and raised, having grown up in a council house on the Old Park Farm Estate of Dudley. His parents are Scottish.
He attended Dudley's Sycamore Green Primary School and the now-defunct Mons Hill School in Wren's Nest. He supported Wolves as a child.
His footballing career began at 14, with semi-professional club Dudley Town, but he trained with Wolves and West Brom, plus having a trial at Aston Villa.
His big break came when he was signed by Bolton as an apprentice just after leaving school aged 15, where he would spend the next nine years.
He also played for Sunderland, Millwall, Coventry City, Huddersfield Town and Preston, plus a second spell at Bolton and time in North America with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
He laced on the boots alongside coaching with West Brom under Brian Talbot and briefly bossed Irish side Limerick and Preston, then working with the youth set-up at the latter.
His managerial career has seen him in the hot-seat at Blackpool, Notts County, Bolton, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United and now Sunderland.
