Football - Sam Allardyce face sack as England Manager

The FA is considering sacking Sam Allardyce after he was exposed attempting to broker a £400,000 deal and discussing ways to evade strict rules on third-party ownership.

Chairman Greg Clarke and chief executive Martin Glenn met at Wembley before 8am and will hear from Allardyce before making a final decision.

However, they are understood to be disturbed by the nature of the allegations so soon into Allardyce's tenure, which raise questions about his judgement and suitability for the highest profile job in the game.

Allardyce will tell the FA that he is deeply embarrassed about the expose, but believes his comments were ill-advised rather than corrupt.

Shortly after taking over the national side, Allardyce twice met a group of people who he believed were representatives of a Far East firm.

However, the "businessmen" were actually undercover reporters taking part in a Daily Telegraph investigation.

Footage appears to show him telling the reporters it was possible to get around Football Association rules - enforced since 2008 - that stop third parties "owning" football players' economic rights.

The practice was also banned by world governing body FIFA in May 2015.

Allardyce will tell Clarke and Glenn that he was approached to discuss the possibility of giving a number of speeches on motivation and management, not football. 

As the Daily Telegraph points out, he is insistent that any agreement would first have to be ratified by his employers.

He is also expected to say that his explanation of third-party ownership was inaccurate and, as England manager, he was wrong to offer an opinion.

Asked about the rules by the journalists, 'Big Sam' was filmed on a hidden camera saying: "It's not a problem."

He told the reporters that an unnamed group had been "doing it for years" and "you can still get around it".

But he is also shown criticising an unnamed football agent who asks Allardyce about making payments to players, warning him: "You can't go there any more."

On the footage he is heard to say: "You get a percentage of the player's agent's fee that the agent pays to you, the company, because he's done that new deal at the club again or they sell him on, and you're not getting a part of the transfer fee any more, because you can't do that.

"But, you get - because of the size of the contracts now, the contract will be worth thirty, forty million, at 10% and you've done a deal with the agent where you're getting five percent of the agent's fee, which is massive for doing about two hours' work."

The newspaper claims a deal was struck with the England manager worth £400,000.

As England manager, 61-year-old Allardyce is paid £3m a year plus bonuses.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that the FA has requested to see "the full facts in relation to this matter".

Allardyce is set to name his squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers on Sunday, including what will be his first home match in charge against Malta on 8 October.

The one game he has so far overseen was a World Cup qualifier away against Slovakia on 4 September.

It ended in a 1-0 victory for England, thanks to an injury time winner from Adam Lallana.

In the Telegraph tape, Allardyce also criticises predecessor Roy Hodgson for being indecisive and at one point mocks his voice by calling him "Woy".

And he says former assistant coach Gary Neville should have been told to "sit down and shut up".

He also describes the FA decision to rebuild Wembley Stadium at a cost of £870m as stupid.

It is not the first time he has been under investigation. 

He was cleared of any wrongdoing after denying allegations made in a 2006 BBC Panorama programme that he had taken "bungs" - cash from agents for signing certain players.

An independent investigation by former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens found no evidence of irregular payments. 

He managed more than 10 clubs before talking over at England, including Newcastle, West Ham, Sunderland and Bolton.

Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year playing career.

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