Sam Allardyce’s tenure as the England manager "has been terminated after 67 days in charge" following allegations he had offered advice on "how to circumvent" the FA’s rules on player transfers, according to Dominic Fifield of the London GUARDIAN. Allardyce, who had suggested the national manager’s role was his "dream job" on his appointment as Roy Hodgson’s successor in July, "has left his position by mutual consent after two months and one game, the World Cup qualifying win over Slovakia." He and his agent, Mark Curtis, attended a meeting with FA Chair Greg Clarke and CEO Martin Glenn at Wembley stadium on Tuesday with the hierarchy "having been left dismayed by comments the 61-year-old had made to undercover reporters from the Daily Telegraph." Allardyce on Tuesday confirmed he had offered a "sincere and wholehearted apology for my actions" before his departure. An FA statement said, "The FA can confirm Sam Allardyce has left his position as England manager. Allardyce’s conduct, as reported today, was inappropriate of the England manager" (GUARDIAN, 9/27). In London, Odell & Murray Brown reported Gareth Southgate, manager of the U21 national side, will take charge of the senior team for the next four matches against Malta, Slovenia, Scotland and Spain, while the FA looks for a new manager. The Telegraph report said that Allardyce "was ready to accept a fee" of £400,000 ($521,000) to speak at events organized by the Asian company. But he "made repeatedly clear he would need to seek FA approval for any such move, the paper reported." An FA official said on Tuesday that its top execs would meet and seek "to ascertain the full facts." The Telegraph said late on Tuesday that it would release the "relevant transcripts" from the recordings made by its undercover reporters to the FA (FINANCIAL TIMES, 9/27).
CAUGHT ON TAPE: The London TELEGRAPH reported Allardyce was "secretly filmed making a series of controversial statements over the course of 10 months by the Telegraph's investigations team." The FA was "seeking the full transcripts of the conversations," with Clarke saying he wanted "all the facts" and to "hear everything from everyone" before deciding the fate of Allardyce. Senior figures at the FA are "aghast" that Allardyce "would even allow himself to be put in the position to be exposed as he was." The Telegraph's video shows him "telling a fictitious businessman how to circumvent FA third-party ownership laws" and negotiate a £400,000 deal to address investors in a Far East firm, "an agreement that could be viewed as a potential conflict of interest." He was also caught saying it was "not a problem" bypassing "ridiculous" FA rules which stop third parties from "owning" football players' economic rights. When asked about the rules, Allardyce was "filmed on a hidden camera" apparently saying, "It's not a problem." He added that 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 meeting with reporters also saw Allardyce "appear to be filmed questioning predecessor Hodgson's decision at Euro 2016," at times calling him "Woy" -- a word used in a headline in '12 that the FA called "unacceptable" and relating to Hodgson's rhotacism. On his employer, the FA, the video "seems to show" Allardyce saying, "They're all about making money aren't they? You know the FA's the richest football association in the world?" He was "also filmed discussing the gambling habits of the country's current or former" senior internationals, the chances of players lining up for England and his assistant, Gary Neville (TELEGRAPH, 9/27).
SECOND CHANCE: The BBC reported Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger said that Allardyce "needs to be allowed to defend himself." Wenger: "You have to let Sam Allardyce defend himself and I just hope he will clear his name." Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright said that it would be a "terrible shame" for Allardyce to lose his job for "non-footballing reasons." He said, "When you look at Sam and his career, he was never ever going to get the opportunity to manage a top-four club. He got the England job and for him to now stand on the brink of losing that job is a crying shame." Karren Brady, the CEO of Allardyce's former club West Ham, said that she is "both saddened and disappointed" by the developments. She said, "This is a man who spent his whole life trying to get that job, and got it in his 60s. What a great shame if he loses that job through non-footballing reasons" (BBC, 9/27).
