Former England Captains Say Sam Allardyce Has Made Three Lions A Laughing Stock

Sam Allardyce is now a former England manager

Sam Allardyce's behaviour has made England the laughing stock of world football, former Three Lions skippers Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand claimed.

Press Association report continues:

The 61-year-old saw his contract terminated by mutual agreement with the Football Association on Tuesday, after barely two months as manager and just one match in charge.

Former Bolton, Newcastle and Sunderland boss Allardyce was caught out by undercover Daily Telegraph reporters, making a host of controversial remarks including expressing his views on the outlawed practice of third-party ownership, suggesting there was a way to "get around it".

FA chairman Greg Clarke and chief executive Martin Glenn decided after a day of talks that Allardyce could not stay on, and the manager agreed he had to cut short his dream job, destroying his hopes of leading the team to the 2018 World Cup.

Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm angry, I'm sad, I'm staggered at the misjudgement from a guy who openly admitted that it was his dream job. I'm angry at the whole situation.

"I didn't think England could stoop any lower from what happened in the summer in the Euros (losing) to Iceland. And now, here we are. We're a laughing stock of world football."

Shearer added: "He wanted that job so badly, so to make such a huge error so early into the job, then you can't look at anyone else but yourself."

Allardyce appeared willing to pursue a £400,000 deal to address investors in the Far East, when he spoke to the undercover reporters who were posing as businessmen.

Asked if there is a problem with money in the English game, Shearer added: "Yeah, we've got a problem. It's greed, isn't it.

"There's so much money in our game and it staggers that people demand and ask for more - that's the situation we're in I'm afraid. It's not a nice situation.

"We have to handle that now, we have to deal with it in the right way. We have to be able to accept people laughing at us. As I said, I think England are now a laughing stock."

England Under-21 boss Gareth Southgate takes over the seniors for a four-game run as the FA considers who should take the job on a full-time basis.

Ferdinand told BT Sport: ''I think the rest of the football community around the world will just be laughing at us. It just feels like it's become a comical event, the England manager's role.

''This is the man who was probably the most vocal about getting the England job, the most passionate outwardly about getting the England job, but unfortunately he's backed the FA into a corner and they've had to act because of his actions.

''Like we've said before, naivety seems to be the word that's coming up more than anything and it's just disappointing for English football more than anything.''

Former England manager Glenn Hoddle, who lost the job in 1999 for comments he made about disabled people, thinks the FA have made the right move.

Hoddle told BT Sport 3: "They're probably in shock. They've got to settle themselves down. They've done the right thing, they've made the decision."

The 58-year-old former England playmaker added: "With the ins and outs of it all today and yesterday, they've come to that agreement pretty quickly, the FA, and I think that's what was needed in some ways.

"We come out of the Euros on a real low and Sam was given the job. And you think, right, everyone's got to pull together, look forward and go forward. That's been pulled from under ourselves and we've got to pick ourselves up and Gareth takes over for four games and we'll see what happens there.

"I think if Gareth does well he might put himself in a position to keep the job. You imagine that might be on the FA's agenda, one would imagine, but they've bought themselves a bit of time to think for the long term."

Harry Redknapp, who ran Roy Hodgson close for the England job in 2012, told BT Sport 3: "It's a sad day, sad for Sam as well. I'm sorry for what's happened. It's probably a lifetime dream of his to be England manager, and to end so quickly is unbelievable really."