In 2016, “Big Sam” Allardyce, with his blue-collar charm and Meatloaf-ish looks, was supposed to be the England national soccer team’s everyman hero — a player’s manager straight from central casting, finally fit to lead the “Three Lions” on to ultimate victory since god knows when. But after only one match and two months at the helm, the lunch pail gaffer got himself quagmired in a sting scandal orchestrated by The Telegraph, caught on tape advising on how to illicitly rig player transfers. And while a crushing blow to England’s pride, there was something odd about the accompanying undercover video that set the internet into a frenzy.
In it, Allardyce appears to be quaffing — wait for it — a full imperial pint of wine.
Maybe it was just a trick of the light. Honestly, it was probably just some flattish suds. But in the shadow of a notorious Brexit vote just a couple months prior, Conservative Tory hearts soared at such a distinctly British idea. “F*ck those froggy little stem glasses. We drink our wine by the pint!”
Fast-forward to December 2023. A new reality had emerged, with U.K. trade slumping, small businesses suffering, and hindsight support for Brexit in the gutter. But after countless unfulfilled promises and missed targets, Brexiteers — desperate to save their grand fantasy now mired in the swamp of an inconvenient reality — finally had an ace to play.
Pint bottles of wine.
Now unburdened by the “tyrannical” alcohol bottling standards of Europe, the
