The decision to appoint 61-year-old Sam Allardyce as the new England manager could be seen as a move away from the Football Association's much-vaunted England DNA. But maybe that's a good thing, writes Adam Bate.
It's barely 18 months since the Football Association launched the concept of England DNA. Dan Ashworth was there, the director of elite development, flanked by England Under-21 head coach Gareth Southgate and head of player and coach development Matt Crocker.
Speaking at St George's Park, the trio outlined the five core elements of England DNA and there was much talk of a specific playing philosophy running through each age-group. "England teams aim to dominate possession intelligently," they announced with pride.
There were even sessions, for which the FA charged as much as £240, in which Roy Hodgson would discuss the "framework and vision that underpins the England DNA". Thoughts turn back to those days with the imminent appointment of Sam Allardyce as the new England manager.
Dominating possession. It doesn't scream of Allardyce. In his last full season as a Premier League boss, the 2014/15 campaign with West Ham, his side saw just 46.7 per cent of the ball and ranked among the bottom five for both short passes and passing accuracy.
"All this tippy-tappy stuff is all a load of b******s," he said after a West Ham win over Hull last year. "Getting the ball into the opposition's box as quickly as you can with quality and getting it forward and in behind the opposition is definitely the best way forward."
Little changed for Allardyce at Sunderland. Last season, his side ranked among the bottom three in the Premier League for possession, passing accuracy and the number of short passes. But they also lost only one of their last 11 games in order to stay up. Job done.
Allardyce does get results. Not every week, of course. But that has plenty to do with the resources at his disposal. Rather than sneer at his win percentage, it's more instructive to note that this is a manager who has left every club higher up than when he took over.
The manner in which he has achieved those results has long been a stumbling block for Allardyce, not just for his England ambitions but also his job prospects at Newcastle and West Ham. But timing is important and, once again, the mood music at the FA has changed.
Euro 2016 offered a twist on the long-established England narrative. Possession was not the problem this time around. Hodgson's side had 61 per cent of the ball in their costly goalless draw with Slovakia and 68 per cent of it in their miserable defeat to Iceland. It didn't help.
The tournament winners showed a different path. Portugal's success does not conjure thoughts of France's infrastructure at Clairefontaine or the examples of rejuvenation in the Spanish and German systems. Instead, it was an abject lesson in pragmatism.
Fernando Santos's side were accused of being boring. But through impressive organisation, they were able to become exceedingly hard to beat, conceding only one goal in the knockout stages. Santos shrugged off the criticism, saying he'd welcome undeserved wins.
One quote stands out. "I don't know why they are moaning about winning. Because all this team did before was lose. It doesn't make any sense to me." It might have been Santos speaking to the press, but this line was in fact Allardyce discussing West Ham in 2011.
Perhaps England are chasing their tail once more. Just as when the zeitgeist demanded that the methods of France, Spain and Germany be aped, the country finds itself following a trend immediately after that trend has enjoyed success, rather than pursuing a path for the future.
But at least in this instance, the tools are there. So is the man for this particular job. One of the simpler objectives cited in the England DNA was that the coach should "devise a specific tactical plan for each fixture" and that's something Allardyce can be expected to deliver.
Underdog spirit and making the best of limited ability. It doesn't sound aspirational and it won't necessarily tick the right boxes when the FA "review the performance against the intended learning objectives and the England DNA playing philosophy".
But perhaps it's a better fit for this England squad. Allardyce's average Premier League finish over the past four seasons has been 13th. England's FIFA ranking is 13th. Maybe England don't aspire to be like Allardyce, but he is England incarnate. It's time to embrace that DNA.