The two bosses have now shown a similar taste in enemies

Those who have noted similarities between Alan Pardew and Phil Brown were provided with even more ammunition last night when the Hull boss followed in Pardew’s footsteps by falling out with Arsene Wenger.

Obvious comparisons between the two include that both enjoyed an initial period of fantastic overachievement after winning promotion to the Premier League and went on strong FA Cup runs. Both managers made their clubs’ record signing in their first January in the top-flight (Dean Ashton and Jimmy Bullard) and both men suffered long-term injuries at a crucial time.

Negatively, both managers have received criticism for some of their methods: Pardew for his sloganed T-shirts and training complex revamps and Brown for

Former England contenders left begging for job with strugglers

Gordon Strachan, Avram Grant, Peter Reid and Co Adriaanse have all been thrust into contention to succeed Roy Keane at various points over the past week, before quickly fading away again. However, Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley have been constants, starting as the frontrunners in the betting last Thursday and remaining so up to now, which indicates that one of them will be the next manager of Sunderland. Both men have in common a track record for getting the best out of average players while being criticised for a dull brand of football, but beyond that, here’s what we consider both men’s pros and cons:

Sam Allardyce
+ Favours modern methods such as Prozone a lot more than Curbishley does
+ Has qualified for Europe with an unfancied team
+ Boasts a pretty impressive record in the transfer market

- His team’s direct physical approach hasn’t won over many neutrals
- Was sacked by Newcastle after a run of two wins in twelve games
- Do Sunderland really want somebody who flopped at their biggest rivals?

Alan Curbishley
+ Has never been sacked as a manager
+ Kept West Ham up from a far worse position than Sunderland are in now