Sam Allardyce’s appointment as England’s new manager is "set to be ratified by a meeting of the Football Association board on Thursday after which Sunderland will aim to accelerate already advanced talks with David Moyes," according to Louise Taylor of the London GUARDIAN. With the ruling body able to better Allardyce’s £2M ($2.6M)-a-year Sunderland salary and "the fact he had only one year left on his club contract meaning that agreeing compensation is not a major hurdle, things are predicted to run smoothly before his formal unveiling." It seems the 61-year-old, "who saved Sunderland from relegation last season," convinced the FA of his ability to rediscover England’s missing “identity” while it was also "drawn to his knowledge and deployment of psychology." FA CEO Martin Glenn said that he and his fellow headhunters, FA Technical Dir Dan Ashworth and Vice-Chair David Gill, who have a mandate to appoint the new manager but "want to follow protocol by receiving ratification from the full FA board" -- had "consulted widely in the game and spoken to a handful of people" (GUARDIAN, 7/20). In London, Ian Herbert reported Allardyce has "easily seen off competition" from U.S. Manager Jurgen Klinsmann and Hull City’s Steve Bruce, and is "thought to have struck a chord by telling the FA that England are not lacking top quality talent, which simply needs to be managed better." It was thought on Wednesday night that the FA "was some distance away from putting a contract in front of Allardyce." The FA felt the need "to move quickly to confirm Allardyce’s appointment, with Sunderland declaring publicly that the uncertainty created by the search for a successor has affected their attempts to prepare for the new Premier League season" (INDEPENDENT, 7/20).
