Punished for daring to dream

Iwon’t be the only one to be a tad disappointed to see the back of Sam Allardyce. Charismatic and confrontational, he’s the kind of manager England has been screaming out for in recent years and, just as quick-witted Australian Eddie Jones has done for the nation’s rugby team, he had the capability to turn the side around.

It turns out to be wishful thinking and now I feel like I’ve been punished for daring to dream, not by an underwhelming World Cup qualifying campaign but by Big Sam’s own greed.

Allardyce, on a salary of £3m a year, was so desperate for an extra £400,000 he risked his job and his integrity and then had the audacity to play the victim.

Blinded by pound signs he told fake businessmen he could help them get around his own employer’s ban on third-party ownership – where players become someone else’s property. While comparing the shady practice to slavery when the so-called slaves are multimillionaires seems laughable, it is a blight on the sport and was rightly outlawed.

It’s symptomatic of a wider issue: all sport is slowly being poisoned by lucre.

Even rugby, a game synonymous with honour, has its problems. In France clubs like Toulon have spent the last decade buying up every big name player like a over-excited child playing monopoly. The result? France’s national rugby team has struggled.

The Premier League is the best competition in world football – not for the homegrown talent but for the superstars that are jetted in for colossal amounts.

The problem with English football is not just moneygrabbing managers. It’s the lack of talent predicated by a top division which has become a billionaire’s fantasy league.