Mails: Sam out, Claudio in, PFMs happy

Mails: Sam out, Claudio in, PFMs happy

If you have anything to add on any subject, mail us at theeditor@football365.com

Anybody free in March?
I think I’m down to be England manager for the Lithuania game in March, but I’ve got something else on that week.

Any chance someone can swap with me? Cheers.
Jeremy Aves

Penny for your thoughts?
So that lucky penny not quite so lucky eh…
Yathaid, LFC

The big question
So does that mean we are back to having…

’50. Phil Neville’

in the F365 Famous Ladder?
Hasan Jin
Sam Sacking = Best-case scenario for PFMs
I may be late to the party (by being five hours ahead of time here in India I was asleep as the new broke out, the irony), but I can’t think of a better scenario for all PFMs out there, than the ‘sacking of BFS’. We all know how it was supposed to end up in 2018 for England after which there is no place for PFMs to hide. Their shining light was given the biggest job in English football and he was no better than anyone else. They would simply lose credibility (if they even have any of it left) in the eyes of all the watching public.

But this scandal now means that they can perpetually dine in their favourite theme of “If only we were given a chance”. They can spin any future England under-performance as a comeuppance to unfairly kicking out Sam and had he been given his deserved chance (he was only making some extra bucks on the side Jeff. Who wouldn’t) he would have done so, much better than them foreigns. And what more can any PFM ask for.
Tag, LFC. ( I don’t do brackets)
…Just one point on Big Sam/Sham/Shame, when addressing his departure can F365 and everyone ensure we get the correct semantics and make sure we say ‘forced to resign’ as opposed to resign.

I am rather disappointed he’s left because I wanted him to fail on his own but I know this gives him and the PFM the perfect out. He’s not worthy of this notion of him falling on the sword and doing the right thing – any notion of that is gone already by throwing his friend under the bus in an attempt to absolve himself of blame. Really was there a need to name a guy seemingly so desperate for a job? Aren’t PFM supposed to ‘Man up’?

Also, I’m annoyed that he’s robbed me the accuracy of calling him ‘Firedman Sam’.
Brian Belfast Gooner (Of course ‘Arry is defending him, “He’s not raped anyone and he isn’t a paedophile.”)

What’s the opposite of a PFM?
Danny (Tuesday Mailbox) wants to know if there is a term for the opposite of a Proper Football Man (PFM).

I don’t know if there is a set term but I think I can answer a few of his other questions, what do we call-

‘Someone who moans about ‘idiots’’- A hero. In too many arenas of the modern world, be it football/ entertainment/politics, idiots have a voice and are listened to. Certain sections of society such as the persecuted, the vulnerable and the disabled do require our understanding and need opportunities to be listened to and included. Idiots don’t. For too long being clever or smart has been looked down upon rather than celebrated. We should be against this dumbing down, not everyone wants reality TV, celebrity gossip, to puke in the gutter on a Saturday night, a ‘my dad is bigger than your dad‘ level of discourse.

‘moans about the moaning about foreigners’- not a racist/ bigot/ xenophobe.

‘Someone who is quite clearly educated’- Someone to aspire to.

I’m also unsure why you think people are having a go at Paul Merton.

I suppose if you want a term for the opposite of a PFM all I can come up with is this – A Person Who I Would Not Mind Getting Stuck With For A Couple Of Hours On A Train In The Event Of A Power Cut.
Paul (don’t think APWIWNMGSWFACOHOATITEOAPC will catch on) White

Fair
I think the decision to sack (since that’s what it really was) Big Sam was the correct one, not because of any of the things he said, but because he’s clearly a f***ing moron.
Ross, AFC London

…If there is one reason to boot Fat Sam is his sheer stupidity. First, what was he thinking while promising to help clients evade his employer’s rules? Second: is his skill that thick as to prevent the thought that it was maybe a scam? Good riddance to a dangerous idiot.
Tom Radu

Let him entertain you…
Surely the biggest losers in the Allardyce affair are Bradley Walsh and Paddy McGuinness!? So close, but yet so far. Unless Robbie Williams is appointed as manager of course…
Russell, Aldershot Town, Guildford

Can anybody Trump this?
So the FA appointed a ‘No Nonsense’, straight-talking figure who has a history of some success but also quite a few failures who has also been implicated in tax avoidance schemes, has never really been that far from controversy and is really not shy about telling everyone how great he is.

Within two months he’s imploded and nobody is surprised.

Can someone send this case study as a warning to American voters?
Neil

…Bear with me here.

An awful lot is going to be said over the course of the next few days about dodgy deals, undercover reporters, dodgy tie-pin cameras and pints of wine.

But as was said by F365 earlier, this outcome should not really come as much of a surprise to anyone who has any passing interest in English football.

It’s similar in a way (I did say bear with me, remember) to Donald Trump’s attempt to become the next President of MadGunLand in that everyone knows it would be a shocking idea if he did win, everyone knows that within a fortnight we’ll probably all be embroiled in some horrific international incident involving a beauty pageant and a nuclear explosion, but it still seems to be going on without anyone stepping in and saying “hold the phones, lads – this is a bit mad though, isn’t it?”.

But the appointment of Sam to the England job still smacks of complete anti-ambition from the FA. Has the international game become such a bore that the FA are just ambivalent at this point? Realistically, England should be a top-five world team, with the players at a managers disposal and yet, top managers don’t want the job? Allardyce? Klinsmann? Hoddle?? Sweet Jesus. Or maybe a manager who could actually do something with the players isn’t brave enough to take on certain factions of the English media and their salivating hoardes?

I’m sure we’ll be treated to various levels of drama and uncovering of shady dealings in the near future, but the fact of the matter is – Allardyce should never have happened – and it needs to be questioned to the people who appointed him if they have a focused ambition for the national team or if indeed they genuinely had no other contenders for the position.

Either way – Fat Samuel necking a pint of wine whilst bragging about bungs and the like smacks of the level of braggadocio shown by the future Mr President, Mr D Trump.
Steve (If Fat Sam is Trump, that Makes Alan Pardew Hillary Clinton…that’s just science) Boylan

Gold
Did anyone notice Big Sam’s GOLD mobile phone in the car whisking him away from Wembley last night?

Now that will suit the hotel bar in Dubai down to a tee, when he’s in there with Reidy, Keysey, Grayey (!) all telling him it was a media witch hunt, whilst flashing big watches.
Adam Halliday, sick of the Prem League greed fest, London

The man has no integrity
I listened to the BBC Five Live tonight on the discussion about Sam Allardyce. It immediately became a discussion about how few English candidates there were for the job as England manager. Real PFM stuff – too many foreigners in the game, too much money, blame the FA etc.

The reality is that Sam Allardyce has no integrity. It doesn’t matter whether you think he is a good or bad coach. He was offered and accepted the most difficult and prestigious job in English football. With that comes a responsibility to both football and all England fans. He was very well paid and given a huge mandate, not just to the current England team but to the development, direction and philosophy for coaching our future national teams. His dream job.

Blame the FA if you must but surely at his interview it would have been mentioned or understood that there were allegations against Allardyce regarding bungs and kickbacks a few years ago. Although nothing was proved, I’m sure the FA was convinced or assumed Allardyce had learned his lesson. Keep your nose clean and get on with the job.

What does Sam do? Within days of taking the job he is meeting with a group purporting to be representing football in China. It’s as if he had got married to his dream wife and decided to cheat on her immediately after the wedding. Obviously, he has no integrity.

Allardyce, you have let down your employers, England fans and most of all, yourself. I hope you never get another job in football.
Mark Jackson, Canada

Sympathy with Big Sam
I do agree with Harry on the point Sam was set up, the Telegraph hooked him with a promise of £400k for some keynote speaking in Asia which is perfectly fine, what they did then is get some drink into him and start asking questions, questions which he answered honestly about various subjects in a boasting kind of way I don’t think he actually condones getting around third party ownership he just basically says that’s how people get around it. Now don’t get me wrong Sam was never my choice but the way the press have purposely gone out to get him is low, sting operations like this and the ‘fake sheikh’ are not investigative journalism they are honey traps designed to get a story in whatever way they can.

In short I feel Sam has been hard done to by the press and his employers the FA who will now get another bumbling idiot in charge rather than a Johnny Foreigner.
Paul Murphy, Manchester

Southgate and his own conflict of interest
Well, that went well. Less than 48 hours after I touted Garth Crooks for the England job and Sam’s out. Still not sure why. Badmouthing the Neviller – we all do that. Talking about how to get around rules without breaking them – that’s what people in the world of finance do every day. A speaking opportunity of the side – he said he’d have to check with the boss.

Anyway, on to the main point. Can I be the first to question the appointment of Gareth Southgate as interim manager? A player who made money (via pizza adverts) from missing a crucial penalty kick? Surely there must have been some conflict of interest there.

And my Alfred Pennyworth on who should be next for England manager. Nobody. Let’s not bother. Russia and Qatar have human rights issues. We’ll never have a better excuse to take a stand. We withdraw from the next two World Cups on the grounds that nobody wants to manage us.
Steve Mills
Give it Claudio
He gets teams to perform way above expectations. His team is relaxed on the big stages. He has plenty of media and public goodwill. And he’s hardly a controversial figure.

Claudio Ranieri must be near the top of the FA’s list, right?
Richard, Brighton

…F*cking Big Sam. His appointment, despite being the most successful EVER, felt like a bad nightmare to me and thankfully I have woken up before it really got going.

So, upwards and onwards: I’d like to nominate Claudio Ranieri for England manager, if he’s appointed ASAP.

Let’s be honest, tackticks don’t seem to be of the essence at England, given that the same players will play in slightly altered roles. Nor is it about fearing your manager/fearing for your spot as again: the same players will be deemed the best 23 and besides, nowadays the gaffer becomes the duffer real soon if he p*sses off his players. Apparently international football is all about identifying the best abilities in your given players, and use them by motivating said players. All successful international (tournament) teams can have healthy combinations of ‘togetherness’ and ‘feel good factor’ to compensate for a lack of technical/tactical ability. That’s exactly what Ranieri did with Leciester.

There’s two problems though: 1) Ranieri’s last international stint was cr*p and 2) this season as Leicester will also be cr*p (it’ll always be the season after THE season). Thus, Ranieri’s hiring will only be useful if done ASAP, while the ‘feel good factor’ around him is still fresh. After Hodgson and Allardici*, any amount of ‘feeling good’ about the England squad will work. At the moment though, it literally seems like England’s chances of winning an international tournament are similar to Leicester’s chances of winning the League last year in August.

Sorry Leicester fans, I just think Ranieri should leave while he’s still ahead. And for England, all other choices seems equivalently bleak.
Emad MUFC Boston

Get someone in who knows what they’re doing…
Quick question for the English (people, that is).

Now that Fat Sam has left the building, do you not think you should employ a manager who has some actual tactical acumen? You have a squad of young players who are already coached by some of the best brains in the business. Players from the Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs, even Everton. A national team manager who’s at their level in terms of tactical awareness might be useful. Put national pride aside and get someone who actually knows what they are doing. I think you have a very good opportunity of building another golden generation, don’t mess it up.
TK (South Africa)

Mails on Leicester
Great win for us, maintaining our 100% Champions League record. However, I’ve never been so disappointed and outraged by a ref performance in my life.

I understand that in the Champions League, there is a lot more of the diving and simulation. Porto certainly played up to that. I hate this part of football and am glad my team don’t partake in it. However, I can live with this.

What happened tonight though was an abomination. Our first ever home CL game was ruined by the ref. Yellows were given out constantly, every time a player was tackled a free kick was given. Porto became wise to this and got so many free kicks for nothing. It became almost comical.

It wasn’t even as if the ref was being unfair to either side. We both got free kicks for nothing. He even blew for half time as Porto were taking a corner. I didn’t think refs could be worse than Jon Moss’s performance against west ham last year. I was wrong. I hope this isn’t what we’ve got to look forward to in Europe.

So thanks Cuneyt Cakir for turning a historic event for our club into a frustrating travesty.
Toby (Champions) Mitchell

…To break up what will be the anticipated flux of mail’s on that wise man who knows how to find a way around third party transfers, I thought I’d give some thoughts on Leicester City’s performance against Porto.

* First off, there was an enjoyable mailbox debate about midfielders last week and how there aren’t any Keane/Scholes type partnerships anymore. When it was being debated I felt that the prominence that No 10s hold in the game had more to do with it. Leicester don’t have a No 10, which means their midfield is different to others. Danny Drinkwater is the typical Pogba-type midfielder, without being as good. He’s good at breaking-up play, competes well for the ball and his range of passing is very impressive. Daniel Amartey probably had his best games for the Foxes against Porto. He was an absolute machine in the middle, tackling like his life depended on it.

* The signing of Slimani was a game-changer for Leicester. Premier League defences are used to playing against a single striker, but Slimani offers a different prospect. If Slimani occupies at least one defender, Vardy can run the channels and cause a bit of damage.

* Nice to see Mahrez having a cracking game. He’s much stronger than I thought he was. He held men off at times, while he also won some frees with his good hold up play.

* Robert Huth and Wes Morgan were back to something near their best. Both players hacked balls away with the same ferocity they did last season. Neither of them looked to troubled from open play.

* A big reason for the above point was the return of Schmeicel in goals. He seems to have a connection with the defence, and he was very assured in everything he did. Not too many vital saves to make, but a very good performance overall.

* Hernandez at right back was also impressive. Most of Porto’s attacks seemed to come down Fuchs’ side, and anytime Hernandez was ran at he invariably defended well. He also made a really good sliding challenge in the box late on.

* Finally, as a Manchester United fan I don’t have any team to really follow in the CL this season, though I’d like to see all four English sides do well. I will be cheering on Leicester mostly however, maybe I’m too sentimental and have gotten caught up in the story, but f*%# it.
Paddy (Roy Keane for the England job) Ireland

How much for Dybala?
Let’s talk about Paulo Dybala, scorer of last night’s best goal, a whopping 35-yard screamer. Now this lad is surely destined for big things, but what I’m asking is how do you get him out of Juve? He’ll surely have to leave Serie A if he wants a shot at being world class (or to be seen as so) but how much would he cost? They’ve just extracted the GDP of a small country for Pogba, and were willing to spunk €90m on Higuain. Given Dybala has seven years on Higuain (and one on Pogba) why would they sell him for anything less? He has a solid one in two record so far, which is pretty superb when you consider how he creates with his dribbling, and the fact that Juve play a two striker system so had to share with (criminally overrated) Morata and now Higuain.

He was even reportedly the reason Messi retired (briefly) with Messi saying he wanted room for Dybala to grow.

With his earlier years spent at Palermo, and with Messi, Tevez, Aguero, Higuain, Di Maria, Gaitan and more keeping him out of the national team until recently, he’s still to build up a truly world class reputation, but will he ever be able to if nobody can prise him away from Italy? Or will his only choice be winning the Champions League and/or World Cup as a goal scorer?
KC (one goal can make a career, ask Götze)