Not that it has much relevance to Real Zaragoza, but the main talking point of footballing Europe was Allardyce getting the sack (which is the topic from which this blog derives it name, remember). An enormous amount has been written about it, for example, the one from The Guardian, the pitying one, the funny one,  and the one that came closest to making me feel sorry for him (but only almost).

I haven’t really got anything to add, except my own insignificant thoughts. I barely knew Allardyce’s previous achievements when he was appointed England manager, and I knew nothing about his possible implication in shady transfer practices. Perhaps that is why, as soon as I read the Daily Telegraph’s article, I felt no sympathy for the man. Of course he had to go, that seemed to me the only option from the very first minute. Like someone said, why would he want £400,000 when he would reportedly earn 3 million pounds a year? If the England players were criticised for having “lost touch” with the average Joe for listening to music while getting of their transport, how does Big Sam’s actions look? In the words of Iain Mackintosh on ESPN, “If this had occurred several years into his reign, when complacency might have set in, it would be more understandable.” Now he just appears to be greedy. Again, the words of Mackintosh: “Allardyce wanted to be remembered as a football legend, the man who restored the Three Lions’ pride.” If anything, he continued the proud growing tradition of English footballing failure, but I guess the country won’t pride itself on an Brit doing a better job of that than any of the foreigners.

I haven’t even given a thought to who will succeed Allardyce. I feel like there’s just no point. My gut, which incidentally, knows nothing about football, tells me the FA has sacrificed the national team in focussing on promoting the Premier League. There doesn’t seem to be an actual plan in place, or at least one that isn’t simply full of platitudes. It just seems whatever happens, it just makes Sven’s reign look even better.

Ciao Sam.