The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Bonfire of vanities as Allardyce takes leave
Reality check needed in wake of manager scandal
“Entrapment has won on this occasion and I have to accept that.”
Among the final words uttered by former England manager Sam Allardyce on his way to Manchester airport yesterday following his departure from h is dream job aft e r j u s t 67 days.
A bizarre claim by the 61-year-old who walked before he was sacked by the Football Association after discussing ways to circumvent his employer’s rules about third party ownership of players and agreeing a £400,000 deal to talk to foreign investors about how best to get around those rules.
Throw in witheringcomment about everything from the cost of rebuilding Wembley stadium, former England manager Roy Hodgson’s charisma and the behaviour of members of the Royal family and all bridges were burned when hewasfilmedbyDailyTelegraph reporters who were posing as businessmen wanting an ‘in’ to the gravy train of the Premier League.
Not entrapment at all. Instead, this was a glimpse into the world of modern football.
A world where a £3million salary was not enough. Aworldwheredeals involving hundreds of thousands of pounds could be casually discussed.
An error judgment? Hardly. More adetachment from reality caused by living in thepamperedbubble of privilege.
The reaction was perhaps predictable.
Another former England manager, Steve McClaren, said: “It’s been ahugely disappointing couple of days for English football and I’m very sad for what has happened to Sam.
“It could have happened toanyofus ina high-profile position andSamhas innocently paid the price.”
Innocently paid the price? The Telegraph alleges it has details of 10 managers took who bribes in player transfers – eight from the Premier League and two in the Championship – and there have been warnings change is needed at the FA.
Critics believes the problems are self-inflicted.
The University of Warwick’s Dr David Webber, an expert on football governance, said the FA was “pathologically unable to make good decisions”.
Referring to this summer’s appointment of Allardcye, who had already been the subject of several media investigations, Webber said the FA’s lack of accountability and long-term thinking meant it was doomed to keep repeating its mistakes.
“Serious questions need to be asked about who really runs the game,” said Webber.
The University of Salford’s Professor Simon Chadwick said the FA will “continue to lurch from catastrophe to catastrophe” until it starts to think more like a modern business.
“It’s basic HR stuff – Allardyce should have known exactly what he could and couldn’t do, just as anybody else does when they start a new job,” said Chadwick.
The criticism has not just come from outsiders, though, as former FAchairman David Bernstein said Allardyce should not receive any compensation.
The 61-year-old former Bolton, Newcastle, Sunderland and West Ham manager left his job after just 67 days when FA chairman Greg Clarke and chief executive Martin Glenn told him he could not continue.
“I wonder whether there’s a pay-off or not – I hope not, because I don’t think 50 or 60 days’ work merits apay-off,” said Bernstein.
Former FA chairman Greg Dyke says Sam Allardyce was stupid. “He has got a job that is worth £3million a year, sowhat is he doing groping around to pick up a few more hundred thousand pounds?.
“I think the things he said to comparative strangers were very unwise. If you are going to say to strangers, these are ways to get around the FA’s rules on player transfers, as the England manager you’re in trouble.”
Asked whether he felt any sympathy for Allardyce, Dyke added: “I think he has been stupid. It’s justaridiculous thing to do.
“He just got the job he dreamed of and he got £ 3million a year plus bonuses if they did well. So why on earth does he go and have a meeting where they are offering him £400,000? And why on earth does he start telling them about these things which are irrelevant?
“But it tells you something about the man, that just after getting the England job, he is prepared to go to a meeting to get another £400,000. What is he doing that for? As an England manager you have to be whiter than white.”
“It’s just a ridiculous thing to do. He just got the job he dreamed of”