Report: Next England Manager Will Be Big Sam Allardyce

England manager Roy Hodgson quit after his team was knocked out of the Euro round of 16 by plucky Iceland, two years after his unimaginative tactics and poor squad selection saw England finish at the bottom of their group at the 2014 World Cup. According to Sky Sports, the FA have found Hodgson’s replacement: Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce.

Allardyce has managed Sunderland, West Ham, Blackburn, and Bolton over the last 15 years, favoring an outmoded 4-4-2 long ball style and springing the big bucks on throwbacks like Andy Carroll, leading Jose Mourinho to say Allardyce’s team played soccer “from the 19th Century” after a 0-0 draw. Allardyce has always disputed this characterization, and to be fair, is known to utilize the latest in sports science.

Allardyce isn’t the worst manager the FA could have chosen—even his dated tactics are light years more advanced than the training sessions Hodgson would run. But he also inspires little confidence that England will be able to challenge the top teams in the world, like Wales and Northern Ireland, anytime soon.

[ Sky Sports]