LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Sunderland have appointed Sam Allardyce as their new manager on a two-year deal, the Premier League club said on Friday. Allardyce, whose former clubs include Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United, replaces Dick Advocaat, who stepped down on Sunday. “I am very pleased to welcome Sam to our football club,” chairman Ellis Short said in a statement. “Sunderland is a club he knows well and he was the obvious best choice for …