William takes tea at Palace with England boss Big Sam
AS ENGLAND’S football team try to recover some pride after their woeful performance in this summer’s European Championships, Prince William is taking a very close interest.
I learn the Duke of Cambridge held private talks at Kensington Palace this week with Sam Allardyce, the colourful figure who has been appointed as England’s new manager.
‘His Royal Highness is President of the Football Association and takes the role very seriously,’ a courtier tells me. ‘He was keen to meet Mr Allardyce.’ A royal watcher jokes: ‘It’s Big Sam meets Little Wills.’
Kensington Palace refuses to disclose what is discussed at private meetings held by the Royal Family, but how fascinating it would have been to be a fly on the wall.
Outspoken Allardyce is one of the most colourful characters in football. While William grew up in a palace before attending £37,000-per-year Eton College, police sergeant’s son Sam was raised in a council house in the West Midlands and went to a comprehensive school after failing his
11-plus. Known for his bluff manner, Allardyce was accused of having a huge chip on his shoulder because of his complaints that he was being overlooked for big managerial jobs in favour of foreign coaches who were seen as more sophisticated.
Big Sam’s habit of chewing gum is unlikely to have left Wills discombobulated. After all, the Prince’s motherin-law, Carole Middleton, was criticised for masticating throughout his passing out ceremony at Sandhurst. Her friends insisted it was nicotine gum.
Past controversies — such as the 2006 BBC Panorama documentary in which Allardyce and his son, Craig, were accused by the BBC documentary of taking ‘bungs’, or bribes — will have been overlooked. The Allardyces vehemently denied the claims and have never been charged.
The decision to use William as the spearhead for England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid came under scrutiny after a controversial inquiry ruled that the FA used corrupt tactics.
He was reported to have objected to having to fawn to FIFA officials who had assembled in Zurich to decide which countries should host the World Cup finals of 2018 and 2022. The Prince was quoted as having said: ‘I don’t see why we have to suck up to these people.’