By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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| Sam Allardyce and the FA have parted company after just 67 days. |
It was billed as his dream job when appointed in July. Now
as autumn arrives, Sam Allardyce (pictured) is out of work and the FA are looking for a
third permanent manager of the senior men’s team within the last 12 months.
Allardyce’s 67-day reign as England manager came to an
abrupt end on Tuesday evening after the FA confirmed that they had parted
company with the 61-year-old. This followed a damming newspaper sting which has
left Allardyce red-faced and the FA completely embarrassed.
It is understood that the former West Ham United and
Sunderland manager offered to step down, with the prospect of him being sacked
looming large.
Allardyce spent all of Tuesday at Wembley Stadium in
emergency meetings with chief executive Martin Glenn and FA chairman Greg
Clarke. This was following confirmation of an investigation into his conduct
after he was filmed by undercover people who claimed to be agents but were
actually working for the Daily Telegraph.
In the video, Mr. Allardyce was happy to
discuss the issue of third-party ownership of players in a London hotel. He
states categorically that it wouldn’t be a problem to get involved in third-party
ownership – something which the FA banned back in 2008.
So, did the national governing body have any other choice
but to part ways with Big Sam?
What is
third-party ownership?
Traditionally, a football transfer in regards to ownership
involves just three parties – the player involved in the move, the club selling
a player and the club buying a player. Whilst agent fees are often used in negotiating
a player’s contract, they should have no claim to the actual ownership of their
clients whilst at an active club.
Third-party ownership puts a different twist on this. It
involves an agent or even an investment company owning part of the financial
rights to a player. This means transfer fees would be paid partially to them
rather than just between the two clubs involved in a simple transfer transaction.
This became highly controversial in 2006 when West Ham
United signed Argentine stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano on-loan. They
were owned by investment groups, rather than by an actual club.
West Ham were found guilty of breaching transfer rules but
were only given a hefty fine and no points deduction. Ultimately, Tevez’s
end-of-season form was so deadly; it means the Hammers stayed in the Premier
League with seven wins from their final nine matches in the 2006/2007 campaign.
Sheffield United were relegated on the final day of the season, which still
leaves a bitter taste around the Yorkshire club today.
The FA outlawed the process in 2008 and has always shown a
determination to keep the game in a clean light. It is a practice that is often
frowned upon in football. Clearly in the video, Allardyce has used his powerful
position and has made a silly error of judgement.
As the England manager, he had to be much more careful, even
if you took into account that he could have been unfortunate to be caught out
by undercover journalists.
The allegations surfaced late on Monday evening and it made
his position look very rocky when he left his Bolton home for the showdown
talks on Tuesday morning. Once there hadn’t been an early statement from the FA
in the day, a parting of the ways looked like the inevitable outcome.
A statement on the FA’s website read:
“The FA can confirm that Sam Allardyce has left his position as England
manager.
Allardyce's conduct, as reported today, was inappropriate of the
England manager. He accepts he made a significant error of judgement and has
apologised. However, due to the serious nature of his actions, The FA and
Allardyce have mutually agreed to terminate his contract with immediate effect.
This is not a decision that was taken lightly but The FA's priority is
to protect the wider interests of the game and maintain the highest standards
of conduct in football. The manager of the England men's senior team is a
position which must demonstrate strong leadership and show respect for the
integrity of the game at all times.”
Allardyce isn’t the first England manager to show poor
judgement in these situations. Glenn Hoddle lost the job in 1999 after making
some offensive comments in an interview in relation to disabled people. In
January 2006, Sven-Goran Eriksson was filmed in discussions about leaving the
post to become manager of Aston Villa if a Far East takeover went through. He
resigned shortly afterwards.
More recently, Fabio Capello parted company with
the FA in February 2012 after going on Italian television to criticise the
decision of taking the England captaincy off John Terry for the second time.
Allardyce is experienced enough to know better and he must
have remembered these instances. The FA does not like their name being dragged
through the mud. Once the story broke, this was the inevitable outcome.
However, it wasn’t just about third-party ownership.
Other
damming comments
The video sting might have been dominated by the third-party
ownership issue but Allardyce made some other amazing revelations which would
have left his now former employers looking rather sheepish. Some of the other
comments he made included;
- Mocking his predecessor Roy Hodgson and accusing him of having no personality.
- Slamming Hodgson’s assistant Gary Neville for his lack of influence on proceedings during EURO 2016 – making reference to an argument he had with Hodgson about when to bring Marcus Rashford off the bench during the dismal defeat to Iceland.
- Whilst he blames the players for letting the manager down this summer, he claimed that Hodgson was too indecisive and lacked any ‘Plan B.’
- Claimed that players who don’t play for their clubs shouldn’t get anywhere near the international squad because of a lack of match practice. He highlighted Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere as prime examples.
- Called the FA “stupid” for spending £870m on the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium and still having to pay the debt off.
- Criticised the Duke of Cambridge for not appearing at the EURO 2020 launch event, despite being the FA’s ambassador.
- Called Prince Harry a very naughty boy.
Some of these sentiments could be classed as fair points –
especially the players who don’t play regularly for their clubs but still
seemed to be picked on their reputation. However, other comments were unwise
and shouldn’t have been made.
It is another miserable chapter in a year the England
national team will want to forget in a hurry.
What’s
next?
The FA has quickly confirmed that Gareth Southgate will step
up from his Under-21 position to manage the team for the rest of the calendar
year.
This covers the upcoming World Cup 2018 qualifiers against
Malta and Slovenia, plus November’s Battle of Britain with Scotland and an
international friendly with Spain.
This gives the FA time to make the right choice and they
will need time too. Barring a complete collapse of form, England are clear
favourites to qualify for the World Cup in Russia and already have three points
on the board in their group thanks to Adam Lallana’s late winner earlier in
September against Slovakia.
The bookies’ favourites are Steve Bruce and Alan Pardew. Bruce
was interviewed for the job in the summer before losing out to Allardyce.
Pardew is the current manager of Crystal Palace but his off-the-field incidents
have seen him fined and banned in the past. If he was to be appointed, it
wouldn’t be a universally popular choice.
If England went down the foreign avenue again – then Louis
van Gaal has to be considered a prime candidate. Out of work since parting with
Manchester United in May, the Dutchman’s football style has been questioned but
his approach could be just what England need. Van Gaal took Netherlands to an
excellent 3rd place finish at the 2014 World Cup finals. He has been
linked with the vacant position at Bundesliga side SV Werder Bremen – although that
would be a surprise appointment.
Either way, the FA has a lot of soul-searching and thinking
to do after what can only be described as another embarrassing and humiliating episode.
2016 will not be a fond one to look back on.
As for Sam Allardyce, he will reflect on a daft lapse of
judgement which has cost him the job that he always wanted. His reign as
permanent manager is the shortest in the history of the Three Lions.
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