Gulf News

Allardyce out as England manager

HE SERVED AS ENGLAND MANAGER FOR 67 DAYS

-

Leaves job just after 67 days following controvers­ial comments in newspaper sting

Sam Allardyce has left his position as England manager after 67 days in the job, Sky Sports reported yesterday. Allardyce, 61, was caught up in a newspaper sting in which he is alleged to have met a bogus consortium of Far East businessme­n seeking advice on the Premier League’s billionpou­nd transfer market.

During meetings with undercover reporters from The

Daily Telegraph, Allardyce is reported to have criticised his predecesso­r Roy Hodgson, referring to him as “Woy” and saying he “hasn’t got the personalit­y” for public speaking.

Former Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United and Sunderland boss Allardyce replaced Hodgson as England manager in July.

Allardyce, known as “Big Sam”, was secretly filmed by the Telegraph giving advice on how to circumnavi­gate transfer rules and mocking the speech impediment of predecesso­r Roy Hodgson.

The 61-year-old Allardyce is now the subject of a Football Associatio­n investigat­ion, casting serious doubt over the future of a man who has always made a virtue of doing things his own way. “This is Sam Allardyce, it’s not anybody else,” he told reporters in August. “I wouldn’t have got here by doing it any other way.”

Allardyce’s blunt manner has already created its fair share of newsprint in his fledgling England tenure. He said he would consider a recall for former captain John Terry, who retired from internatio­nal football after racism allegation­s in 2012, and raised eyebrows by talking up the prospects of foreign-born players.

His reign began with a lastgasp win away to Slovakia in 2018 World Cup qualifying, but Allardyce inadverten­tly stole the headlines by saying he could not tell captain Wayne Rooney where to play.

Legal action

The Telegraph sting includes the allegation that Allardyce told undercover reporters it was possible to “get around” rules banning third-party ownership of players, saying some agents were “doing it all the time”.

He was previously accused of sharp practice in transfer dealings in a 2006 BBC Panorama documentar­y. The programme alleged Allardyce and his son Craig had received illegal “bung” payments from agents for signing certain players.

Allardyce was not found guilty of wrongdoing, but a British government inquiry into corruption in English football voiced concerns over the “conflict of interest” between him and his son. Allardyce, then manager of Bolton Wanderers, threatened legal action against the BBC but did not go through with his threat.

Should he succeed in holding onto the England job, it will be the latest in a long list of triumphs against adversity.

Allardyce has struggled with dyslexia for most of his life, was snubbed by the England schoolboys team as a teenager and endured coaching rejections from lowly Doncaster Rovers and York City.

The former defender was 36 and working behind the bar at two social clubs he owned when he was given the opportunit­y to become player-manager of Irish club Limerick in 1992.

He had no managerial experience, but a playing career spent at sides like Millwall, Huddersfie­ld Town and the Tampa Bay Rowdies had steeled him for the rigours of football below elite level. He quickly establishe­d the motivation­al skills that would serve him so well throughout his career and led Limerick to promotion in his only season with the club.

 ?? Reuters ?? Burnley’s Michael Keane (left) celebrates scoring their second goal with George Boyd and teammates against Watford in Turf Moor.
Reuters Burnley’s Michael Keane (left) celebrates scoring their second goal with George Boyd and teammates against Watford in Turf Moor.
 ?? AP ?? Sam Allardyce
AP Sam Allardyce

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Arab Emirates