Iron will but no sporting hero

Two years ago, Sam Allardyce, now manager of West Ham, felt the need to get something off his chest.

He didn’t hold back when he did so. “Since Margaret Thatcher stopped teachers being paid extra money for coaching sports after school, all sporting activities have diminished on a competitive basis,” Allardyce told The Sun. “It has not just undermined our game, it has undermined many sports in this country and created an unhealthy child. Thatcher killed football, there is no doubt about it.”

Thatcher died yesterday, at the age of 87.