Sam Allardyce’s tenure as England manager has been terminated after only 67 days with the Football Association deeming his comments made to undercover reporters to be inappropriate and constituting “a significant error of judgement”.
Allardyce, 61, who had suggested the role as national manager was his dream job upon his appointment in July as Roy Hodgson’s successor, departs by mutual agreement having issued a “wholehearted apology” for his actions after he was filmed appearing to offer advice on how to circumvent the FA’s rules on player transfers. His brief spell in charge incorporated a solitary match, the 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory in Slovakia this month. He leaves with his reputation in tatters and the national team, once again, in a state of shock.
Gareth Southgate, the under-21s manager, will oversee the senior side in the qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia next month, as well as that against Scotland and the friendly with Spain in November, despite having been deeply reluctant to fill the void over the summer after Hodgson’s departure. But he recognises the FA has been placed in a dire position with so little time to find a replacement – Allardyce was due to name his squad on Sunday – and has agreed to fill the void. That effectively gives the FA until March to identify and appoint a long-term successor or, if the former Middlesbrough manager impresses and can be persuaded to stay on, promote him on a permanent basis.
Confirmation of the change at the top came after a day of frantic discussions at the FA, who had eventually been provided with the relevant transcripts by the Daily Telegraph. Allardyce, who had left his home in Bolton at around 7am, travelled to Wembley with his agent, Mark Curtis, to meet the FA’s recently appointed chairman, Greg Clarke, and the chief executive, Martin Glenn, with the hierarchy having made clear overnight its dismay at the allegations laid bare in the sting.
The England manager, who was earning around £3m a year plus bonuses and was contracted through to the 2018 World Cup finals, had been filmed at two meetings, in a Mayfair hotel in August and a Manchester restaurant last week, appearing to offer advice to the undercover reporters on how to circumvent the FA’s rules on player transfers. He was under the impression he was speaking to a group of businessmen prepared to offer him £400,000 to address investors in a Far East firm. He had made clear in the films that he would need to run any potential role with the group past his employers at the FA.
“It’s been a very difficult 24 hours,” Glenn said. “In the light of the media allegations we’ve seen, we’ve concluded – and Sam’s agreed – that his behaviour has been inappropriate and, frankly, not what is expected of an England manager, discussing a range of issues from potential contraventions of FA rules through to personal comments that frankly just don’t work when you are the manager of England.” He said that the decision to remove him from his post after a little over two months had been “painful” but correct. “We are the guardians of the game.”
Allardyce, who intends to apologise in person to Hodgson about the comments he had directed at his predecessor in the role, conceded in the talks with the hierarchy that he had been foolish, and duly released his own statement admitting regret for his actions. “It was a great honour for me to be appointed back in July and I am deeply disappointed at this outcome,” he said. “This afternoon, I met with Greg Clarke and Martin Glenn and offered a sincere and wholehearted apology for my actions. Although it was made clear during the recorded conversations that any proposed arrangements would need the FA’s full approval, I recognise I made some comments which have caused embarrassment. As part of today’s meeting, I was asked to clarify what I said and the context in which the conversations took place. I have co-operated fully in this regard. I also regret my comments with regard to other individuals.”
“I don’t think it’s embarrassing. I think it’s rather sad,” Clarke said. “All the things that came out were after he joined us, so we couldn’t have found them during due diligence. The issue for us was to make sure we discussed it with him, reviewed the facts, treated him fairly and honourably as an employee of the FA, came to a joint decision and then acted upon it. Sam admitted his behaviour was foolish and put his position in jeopardy. The allegations will be investigated by the arm’s length disciplinary department at the FA. “Gareth Southgate will do a good job. He knows the people, he knows the team, he knows the setup at St George’s Park and he’ll take over pretty seamlessly and get us organised for Malta. It wasn’t the plan we had, but we now have to make the new plan work.”
The former Sunderland, Bolton and West Ham manager, accompanied by Curtis and his financial adviser Shane Moloney, had been recorded commenting on a variety of subjects from England players to regulations, Hodgson and Gary Neville, and the FA’s decision to redevelop Wembley stadium. But it was his comments on third-party ownership, and whether he was offering advice on bypassing “ridiculous” FA and Fifa rules, which caused real alarm. He is filmed telling the undercover reporters that it was “not a problem” to get around FA rules, imposed in 2008, which prevent parties “owning” football players’ economic rights. Fifa have since adopted a similar stance. He stated an unnamed group had been “doing it for years” and “you can still get around it”, suggesting they employ the player’s agents to compensate for the fact they are no longer allowed to profit from each transfer directly. The FA, in its own statement, stressed Allardyce had accepted “he made a significant error of judgement and has apologised”.
“The FA’s priority is to protect the wider interests of the game and maintain the highest standards of conduct in football,” added the governing body.
“The manager of the England men’s senior team is a position which must demonstrate strong leadership and show respect for the integrity of the game at all times.”
The FA, which had apparently undertaken a “comprehensive and structured process” in choosing Allardyce ahead of alternatives such as Steve Bruce this summer, must now start the process all over again, with his 67-day tenure the briefest of any permanent appointment as England manager.
