Can Big Sam end the 50 years of hurt for England?
Andy Carroll and Jermaine Defoe can score more goals than Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge, fine.
He could bring Kevin Nolan out of semi-retirement and make him captain if it helps!
What Ramsey had back in 1966 was a team, not a bunch of individuals. That’s what Allardyce must create.
The Boys of 66 had bottle. They needed it when the media pilloried them after the opening goalless draw against Uruguay, when Argentina tried to kick them off the park, when they faced the tournament’s star Eusebio in the semifinal and when West Germany equalised in the 89th minute of the Final itself.
The boys of 2016 don’t have bottle. In more than 40 years of watching England, I’ve never seen a collective nervous breakdown like the one suffered by Hodgson’s players in the second half against Iceland.
The current players shrink inside an England shirt. Ramsey’s players grew. And much of that was down to how they were handled by the manager.
Fifty years ago, Ramsey had what Sir Alex Ferguson would later have at Manchester United.
He engendered fierce loyalty from his players because he was loyal to them. He criticised them in private, never in public. He ruled part by fear, part by respect, part by paternal concern.
Few England managers have come close to reproducing that formula.
Sir Bobby Robson was loved by his players, but didn’t possess Alf’s ruthless streak.
Terry Venables was hugely respected as a coach but carried too much baggage for the FA.
Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan were playing legends, but Hoddle lacked man-management skills and Keegan was tactically weak.
Eriksson allowed the Golden Generation to manage themselves and Fabio Capello found that young millionaires don’t respond to a sergeant major.
The FA have employed every conceivable type of manager since sacking Ramsey for failing to reach the 1974 World Cup Finals.
Don Revie was England’s most-successful club boss, Ron Greenwood the archetypal FA man, Steve McClaren the promotion-from-within that German football favours, Hodgson the Englishman with the overseas CV.
The appointment that most closely resembles Allardyce’s was Graham Taylor’s and looked what happened there – a flop at Euro 92 and failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup!
Whether the FA’s 12th attempt to replace Ramsey is any more successful than the previous 11 we’ll see in Russia.
In the meantime, next Saturday there’s a live show at Wembley Arena to commemorate the 50th anniversary. Hobbit star Martin Freeman plays the role of Bobby Moore.
In the evening, surviving members of Ramsey’s team will be entertained at a gala dinner by 60s icon, Lulu.
Winning the World Cup is still obviously something to shout about.
And so it should be. The last 50 years tell you why.