Sam Allardyce's reign as England manager came to a humiliating end on Tuesday as he departed after just 67 days in charge following his controversial comments in a newspaper sting.
Allardyce's reign was sensationally brought to a close as he paid the price for indiscreetly talking with undercover Daily Telegraph reporters posing as Far East businessmen.
The 61-year-old was secretly filmed giving advice on how to circumnavigate transfer rules, criticised the FA's decision to rebuild Wembley and mocked his England predecessor Roy Hodgson.
Allardyce, appointed England manager in July on a £3 million-a-year contract, also agreed to travel to Singapore and Hong Kong as an ambassador for their fictitious firm for a fee of £400 000.
Allardyce and the FA agreed his position was untenable, leaving him with no choice but to walk away from the dream job he coveted for over a decade. "The FA can confirm that Sam Allardyce has left his position as England manager," an FA statement read.
"Allardyce's conduct, as reported today, was inappropriate of the England manager. He accepts he made a significant error of judgement and has apologised. "However, due to the serious nature of his actions, The FA and Allardyce have mutually agreed to terminate his contract with immediate effect."
Allardyce's incendiary comments were published late on Monday and by early Tuesday morning, the former Sunderland and West Ham boss was driving down to London in an unsuccessful bid to save his job. FA chairman Greg Clarke and chief executive Martin Glenn had showdown talks with Allardyce at Wembley and, unable to talk his way out of trouble, his fate was sealed just hours later.
Allardyce had been appointed to replace Hodgson after England's miserable Euro 2016 campaign ended with a shock last 16 exit against minnows Iceland. But his brief reign has come to a suitably farcical end for a post that seems to ruin every manager who takes a shot at what was long ago dubbed 'the impossible job'.
"This is not a decision that was taken lightly but The FA's priority is to protect the wider interests of the game and maintain the highest standards of conduct in football," the statement read.
"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." Gareth Southgate, England's Under-21 coach, will take charge of the senior team for the next four matches.
Former Crystal Palace defender Southgate, 46, has to name a squad this weekend for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia and will remain as boss for another qualifier against Scotland and a friendly with Spain in November.
Pirate Irwin picks out five facts on Sam Allardyce who resigned as England manager after just 67 days:
Big Sam
Blunt talking is his style - reflected in his autobiography 'Big Sam' - and no surprise after a playing career where uncompromising and no-nonsense would be the attributes most commonly used to describe him as a central defender.
Former Wimbledon and Sheffield United manager Dave Bassett quipped: "He was what I called a ball-playing defender... If he wasn't playing with the ball he was playing with your balls." Enjoyed his best spell as a player at Bolton Wanderers - he later established his reputation as a manager in taking the unfashionable side to the League Cup final and to the top tier. He stayed with the club for nine years.
It's a fair cop
Allardyce's father Bob was a policeman who rose to the post of sergeant. "My old man always said you only get what you graft for," he told The Daily Telegraph in 2014. "It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are, how much education you've got, you'll only get there on work rate. My dad was a policeman for 25 years, a sergeant, and he taught me discipline. Any problems on our estate were always sorted out by Bob Allardyce. If we got into any trouble we’d be in trouble with my old man. So discipline was everything. Getting up for work on time, don’t be late, shave, don't let anyone down. We lack a lot of discipline today. It’s society."
Bet your house on him
Had Allardyce reached the level he did as a player today he would have been more than adequately paid. However, in his day, he had to cast around with an eye on how to supplement his playing income. He bought up modest properties in Bolton, doing them up before selling them on. "We modernised terraced houses. Buy the place for £6,000. It didn’t have a damp-proof course and needed rewiring, so you’d do a rip-out job, revamp it and sell them for £10,000 to £12,000. I did a lot of the mortgages during the season and in the summer, I’d be in there with a sledgehammer, knocking down walls," he told The Daily Telegraph -- ironically the newspaper which was to bring him down years later.
Finds his rhythm at Limerick
Rafael Benitez and Allardyce have had a running feud for years. Not the least of the perceived slights was when Benitez claimed Allardyce had never won silverware -- wrong because 'Big Sam' won the 1992 League of Ireland title as player/manager of Limerick City. The experience Allardyce had there marked him, not only because he learnt about management but about the tough side of life as the city had many poverty-stricken neighbourhoods where local priest -- and chairman of the football club -- Father Joe Young played a key role in giving youngsters some hope. "The collar (priesthood) has mighty powers there. Watching Joe, with his faith, was a massive eye-opener for me. He looked after one of the poorest parishes in Limerick, working with people who were struggling, down and out, but it never got him down. We had a brilliant time together."
21st century manager not stuck in the past
Despite Jose Mourinho once describing Allardyce's style of football as being "stuck in the 19th century" the Englishman rejects that and is also an admirer of "The Special One" and Alex Ferguson.
He says that unlike managers such as Benitez and Arsene Wenger, they are capable of adapting their teams' style of play according to the opposition they are facing.
AFP