I think I speak for most when I say I didn't think England's reputation could get worse after their dismal display in France this summer but 'man of the people' Sam Allardyce has managed to bring The Three Lions down another step with a new scandal.
During an undercover operation by Telegraph reporters Allardyce was caught negotiating a deal worth £400,000 to help businessmen bypass FA and FIFA rules regarding 3rd party ownership. Looking and sounding like a northern Del Boy the England manager sat and discussed how getting the agent involved could make mass sums of money for just 'A couple of hours work'.
We were all hoping that Big Sam was going to reign over England for years, bringing his no nonsense style of management to give some players the wake up call they need. But being caught red handed trying to help people avoid rules from the FA that he represents was always going to cause him an issue too big for just a slap on the wrist.
Is this the end of Sam Allardyce's management career? Is there anyway to bounce back from being a dodgy character making dodgy deals with people that he's only just met? The answer to this remains to be seen, his management ability hasn't been brought into question and he could still do a good job if the opportunity came up but his reputation has been damaged beyond repair.
The question following this, is where do England and the FA go from here? They finally listened to the fans and appointed the man they wanted but look at the result. Steve Bruce is now available after leaving Hull and could step straight into the role he was interviewed for. Its far to early in the career for Eddie Howe and the likelihood of persuading Arsene Wenger away from Arsenal right now is very minimal.
Its disappointing that we didn't get to see more of Allardyce at the helm of the England squad but having got himself into this mess he only has himself to blame for losing the job he wanted so badly.
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