FA throw away £25,000 worth of t-shirts and cards with Sam Allardyce quotes

They were due to be given out at the England vs Malta game at Wembley

(Getty Images)

The Football Association have had to bin 4,000 t-shirts they had planned to give to fans for England’s next game at home to Malta because they feature a Sam Allardyce quote.

Organisers had planned to make a grand gesture as the 61-year-old prepared for his first game at Wembley by handing out shirts printed with the slogan ‘The journey starts with us all pulling together’ – a quote from Allardyce’s first day in the job.

He said at the time: “I can turn things around pretty quickly and get amongst teams to try to create a successful journey and a successful journey starts with all of us pulling together.”

A crowd mosaic of coloured cards that was also planned for the occasion has now also been scrapped, with both failed gestures costing the FA around £25,000.

There was further embarrassment for the FA on Thursday when it was revealed all members of Allardyce’s first squad that won in Slovakia 1-0 were sent a postcard which read: “Our journey has just begun. Looking forward to seeing you soon.”

The cards were sent out before the former Sunderland boss resigned from his post as England manager following newspaper allegations he was advising fake businessmen on how to get around FA transfer rules on third-party ownership.

He was also caught on film using his position to negotiate a £400,000 deal with the undercover reporters and mocking predecessor Roy Hodgson.

Under-21 boss Gareth Southgate has been given temporary charge of the senior squad for the next four games and he will announce his first England squad on Sunday ahead of the Malta game on October 8.