An undercover video sting paved England's way to the Euro 2020 final, and completely changed soccer in the country
- In 2016, England boss Sam Allardyce was caught in an undercover video sting offering illicit advice to a fake businessman.
- Allardyce was forced to resign as manager, and was replaced by Gareth Southgate.
- At the time, Southgate was largely unsuccessful as a manager, had previously said he did not want Allardyce's job, and was not even regarded as the back-up plan for England.
- Southgate was only supposed to be the interim manager ... and yet here we are!
England football's current highs can be traced back to an undercover sting on the team's last manager - Sam Allardyce.
On September 27 2016, the Daily Telegraph published a bombshell investigation titled "England manager for sale."
The result of an undercover sting operation, the story revealed how England football boss Allardyce had negotiated a £400,000 ($550,000) deal with fake businessmen and offered advice on how to get around transfer rules.
Five years on, England is about to play in a major international final for the first time since the 1966 World Cup, after Gareth Southgate's team beat Denmark 2-1 to reach the final of Euro 2020.
The two may not seem intrinsically linked, but without Allardyce's indiscretions, it's almost certain that none of this would be happening right now.
Southgate most likely wouldn't be England manager, or at least, he wouldn't have become England boss in 2016.
Allardyce would have been England's manager for at least a couple of years, and England's squad in 2021 would look very different to how it has turned out.
In many ways, the Allardyce scandal, which rocked English football to its core, was the best thing that could have happened to the country's soccer prospects.
To understand why, we need to go back to June 2016, days after the UK voted for Brexit, and England suffered a humiliating loss in Euro 2016.
Allardyce took the reins at England's lowest ebb, and accidentally set the wheels in motion for the country's renewed success.
Under the control of Roy Hodgson at Euro 2016, England crashed out of the tournament in the last 16 after being beaten by minnows Iceland.
Described by England legend Chris Waddle as the country's "worst result" ever, Hodgson subsequently resigned.
His replacement: the former West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce, who signed a two-year deal to become England's new boss.
Things got off to a start great start for Allardyce's England, with the team beating Slovakia 1-0 in his first game in charge.
That turned out to be Allardyce's only game as boss.
After just 67 days in charge, undercover video published by The Telegraph showed Allardyce negotiating a £400,000 ($550,000) deal with fake businessmen and offering them advice on how to get around Football Association (FA) transfer rules.
During the sting, Allardyce was filmed on two separate occasions meeting with members of a fictitious sports representation and management business.
Over the course of meetings, which lasted four hours in total, the newly appointed England boss told the undercover reporters that it was "not a problem" to bypass FA rules over third-party ownership of players, which is forbidden.
He also agreed, in principle, to partake in speaking engagements for The Telegraph's fake company for £400,000 a year.
A day after the sting was published, Allardyce left his role as England manager by mutual consent.
Southgate was then named as Allardyce's successor, albeit only temporarily.
Having been the manager of England's under-21s for the past three years, Southgate was deeply embedded in the national structure of English football, but he had little high profile success under his belt.
In the 2015 European U21 Championships, the only tournament he managed the team in, England was knocked out in the group stage, finishing bottom, scoring just two goals and winning only one game.
When Hodgson left his post after the Iceland debacle, Southgate was linked with the main England job, but he distanced himself from it.
Less than three months later, following the Allardyce scandal, Southgate was made England's caretaker manager, evidently with the view to finding a more experienced and higher-profile replacement.
Expectations were low, but Southgate managed to steer England to two wins and two draws in his first four games, beating Scotland and Malta, and drawing with Slovenia and Spain, the latter of which saw England concede two goals in the final minutes of the game.
His early results gained him a permanent four-year contract, although reactions to the appointment were largely lukewarm. Many pundits questioned England's choice of a manager who had been fired from his only club managerial role and been knocked out early in his only tournament as an international boss.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the players over these past four games and I think there is huge potential," Southgate said at the time of his appointment.
"I'm determined to give everything I have to give the country a team that they're proud of and one that they're going to enjoy watching play and develop."
Almost five years later, Southgate's words couldn't have been more prescient.
As Southgate took over, a golden generation of talent was beginning to emerge.
During the two seasons following Southgate's appointment, a number of England's key players in Euro 2020 broke onto the scene.
Jadon Sancho signed and subsequently began to star for German side Borussia Dortmund. Phil Foden made his Manchester City debut. Declan Rice established himself as one of West Ham United's most important players. Mason Mount burst onto the scene for Chelsea.
Names like these would become crucial figures for Southgate's England in the years to come.
In his first major tournament, Southgate guided England to the last four.
After a period of consolidation, by the 2018 World Cup Southgate had established the core of his England team.
Jordan Pickford was the first choice between the sticks, Harry Maguire partnered John Stones in the centre of defence, and Raheem Sterling supported Harry Kane up-front.
The side was good enough to take England to the semifinals, its first last four appearance at a World Cup in almost 30 years, though it was helped by a kind draw with relatively easy fixtures.
Things were looking up, but England still lacked creativity in midfield and quality replacements.
Between the end of the 2018 World Cup and the start of the Euros, Southgate tinkered heavily, giving debuts to 28 players.
By the start of this year's tournament, much of England's youth talent — which Southgate had groomed at U21 level — had blossomed, and the likes of Sancho, Foden, and Mount were ready for the big stage.
That mix of experience of youth has been the key to England's success at Euro 2020.
Mixing the same core squad from the 2018 World Cup with a generation of youth, Southgate's England have been unflappable at Euro 2020.
In six games, the team has yet to concede a goal from open play, while it's also scored eight goals.
More than that, however, the blend of old and new has made England solid yet stirring; sturdy yet stimulating; astute yet adventurous — words that we'd almost certainly not have associated with an Allardyce team.
None of this would have happened with Sam Allardyce as manager.
Unethical financial behaviour aside, Allardyce is a not manager who is renowned for giving youth a chance, nor his tactical know-how.
Known as a purveyor of long-ball tactics, the average age of his starting line-up during his tenure at Bolton was over 30. The same is true about his team's during his spells with West Ham and Blackburn Rovers.
The average of Southgate's England squad for Euro 2020 is 24.8.
Had it not been for The Telegraph's sting, this summer may have looked very different for England.
Instead of Bukayo Saka tearing up the touchline, it could have been Daniel Sturridge forced out on the wing.
And instead of John Stones commanding the backline, it could have been Phil Jagielka trying to do the same.
And instead of Rice ripping it up in midfield, it could have been Wayne Rooney still clinging to his final playing days.
A catastrophe for English football at the time, Allardyce's indiscretions have turned out to be the best thing that's happened to English football in over half a century.
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