In the end, Big Sam was undone by his big ego and greed

Sam Allardyce had made sure he looked the part. On the day he was presented as manager of England’s national team in July, Allardyce, 61, came wearing a Three Lions lapel badge, a shirt with his initials monogrammed on the cuffs and the broadest of grins. This, he said, was his “dream job”.

The country might have still been reeling from England’s elimination from the European Championships at the hands of Iceland the previous month, but Allardyce was a picture of swagger and hope, shrugging off any hint of doubt or gloom.

Was he daunted by the job? “I think I fit the chair,” he replied.

What about the widespread idea that it was a uniquely unforgiving role, in which failure was almost certain?

“Whatever pitfalls there might be, I’m looking forward to it,” he said to the news media in the room before adding. “So bring it on, lads.”

Not quite, it seems. On Tuesday, 67 days after he was given the job, Allardyce was removed from it, his employers at the Football Association (FA) decreeing that footage filmed by undercover journalists from The Daily Telegraph contained conduct “inappropriate of the England manager”.

At first glance, nothing Allardyce said in the incriminating footage alone explains his dismissal. Over the course of two meetings, Allardyce spent about four hours with reporters posing as businessmen from East Asia interested in investing in football.

He was indiscreet, criticising his predecessor, Roy Hodgson, and the FA itself.

He was coarse, too, offering an assessment of Prince Harry that, while not entirely inaccurate, will certainly not be appreciated.

More damaging were his avarice and his braggadocio, apparently suggesting he would be interested in taking a job visiting East Asian counties as a self-appointed “keynote speaker” for £400,000 (S$708,000) a year.

But the most controversial element was his explanation of how to circumvent rules on third-party ownership, a model in which companies or individuals own some or all of the economic rights of players that was banned by the Premier League in 2008 and by FIFA in 2014.

In the film, Allardyce explained that he knew of a group that had been “doing it for years” before outlining how potential investors would seek to make a return.

He was, the Telegraph suggested, offering “advice” on how to break the rules. A judge might find it difficult to unpick whether he was simply explaining how it is done, rather than condoning or recommending it.

The FA, by contrast, could not afford to examine the nuance.

“The manager of the England men’s senior team is a position which must demonstrate strong leadership and show respect for the integrity of the game at all times,” it said in a statement.

In reality, the cumulative effect of the allegations meant that the FA had little choice. That is primarily a result of the position the FA has occupied as football’s moral arbiter.

Throughout the many and various scandals that have dogged global football in recent years, the FA has cast itself as a beacon of righteousness: It refused in 2010, for example, to bid for World Cup tournaments it would not win anyway until Sepp Blatter and his cronies were ousted in Zurich.

For the FA, claiming to be the world’s policeman while turning a blind eye to apparent offences at home would have been the rankest hypocrisy.

Allardyce was said to be devastated by his removal, but the mourning will not be widespread.

To most, he was, at best, the least-worst option. During his brief spell, he won his first and only game, but faced opprobrium not only for his assertion after that match that Wayne Rooney, his off-colour captain, was experienced enough to choose where he wanted to play but also for his decision to draft in two comedians, Paddy McGuinness and Bradley Walsh, to lighten the mood among his players.

Allardyce has long harboured a belief that his opportunities are limited and his greatness unrecognised because he is not an exotic outsider. He once claimed that, had he been known as “Allardici”, he could have managed the European giants Real Madrid or Inter Milan.

And yet here he is, cut loose by the FA, a man who believed that tactics did not apply to the captain and brought in two midrank TV comedians for entertainment, over a video that showed him being boorish and boastful. He understandably hates his caricature, but has been undone by conforming to it.

Once the irony has ebbed away, however, the FA will have to face an uncomfortable truth.

Three of the past seven managers they have appointed left the job for non-sporting reasons: Glenn Hoddle made deeply unpleasant comments about the disabled, Fabio Capello left amid a controversy over John Terry, and now Allardyce.

There is a pattern here. The cliche has long run that managing England is an impossible job — for a nation that expects World Cup finals but produces group-stage players — but there can be few more unappealing ones.

In 2012, on his sabbatical from Barcelona, Pep Guardiola contacted the FA to express an interest in the position. Because of the organisation’s desire to remain native, his entreaties were rebuffed. If it is unthinkable, now, that the FA might turn him down, it is even more unimaginable that he would apply for it.

Allardyce was not tough enough, despite his boasts, so who is? Bring him on. THE NEW YORK TIMES

PULL-OUT QUOTES

FORMER ENGLAND STRIKER ALAN SHEARER

“I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m staggered at the misjudgement from a guy who said this was his dream job. It’s incredible and a catastrophic misjudgement by Sam and his advisers.

“I didn’t think England could stoop any lower from what happened in the summer at the Euros. Now here we are, a laughing stock of world football.”

EX-ENGLAND DEFENDER RIO FERDINAND

“The England role has become comical. This was a man who was passionate about getting the job. He forced the FA to act. Naivety seems to be the word coming up. It’s disappointing for English football.”

FORMER ENGLAND RUGBY COACH CLIVE WOODWARD

“Staggering misjudgement by Sam, feel for him, correct decision @FA, importance to surround yourself with the right people is the main lesson.”

FORMER WALES MIDFIELDER ROBBIE SAVAGE

“I’ve got a little bit of sympathy for him, but he gave the FA no choice. England are a bit of shambles. First the Euros (defeat by Iceland), now this. He will be devastated.”