FORMER Saints star Alan Shearer has described England as "the laughing stock of world football" in the wake of Sam Allardyce's departure.

Shearer, who captained England, said: "I didn't think England could stoop any lower from what happened in the summer in the Euros (losing) to Iceland.

"And now, here we are. We're a laughing stock of world football.

"We've got a problem. It's greed, isn't it? We have to be able to accept people laughing at us."

Another ex-England skipper, Rio Ferdinand, was singing from the same hymn sheet .

"I think the rest of the football community around the world will just be laughing at us. It just feels like it's become a comical event, the England manager's role," he said.

''This is the man who was probably the most vocal about getting the England job, the most passionate outwardly about getting the England job, but unfortunately he's backed the FA into a corner and they've had to act because of his actions."