Football
James Yorke 8y

Will Allardyce's pragmatic approach bring England success?

A disastrous and meek second round exit to Iceland in Euro 2016 brought a natural end to Roy Hodgson's reign as England manager. His contract was expiring anyway, but any hope of an extension vanished as soon as that defeat went final. England, once more, failed to prove a sum greater than their parts, and Hodgson's four-year tenure was consigned to history.

That he had presided over not one, but two specifically underwhelming tournaments -- World Cup 2014 was even worse, as England failed to get out of the group -- reflected a change in the status of the role. Previous incumbents would likely have been chased out after that World Cup through media pressure, but Hodgson stayed on. The reason? Then, like now, the list of potential candidates to take over is short and not particularly attractive. A mild public clamour for an Englishman to lead the English national team shrunk a list of candidates even further , and the Football Association stuck to that wish by appointing 61-year-old Sam Allardyce. He has never before found himself seriously considered for a top job, and spells at Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham and Sunderland have usually found him managing in the middle to bottom tier of the Premier League.

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