THE most ludicrous decision ever made in the history of the Football Association was NOT to appoint Brian Clough as England manager.

‘Ol Big ‘Ed was THE natural choice. The people’s champ.

But the FA International Commitee just didn’t like his outspokenness, arrogance and refusal to pay homage to the octogenarians which littered Lancaster Gate in that era.

The fact that they could dismiss his outstanding motivational and man-management skills in favour of the yes-man Ron Greenwood still remains to this day the biggest indictment of English soccer’s ruling body.

I was lucky enough to have worked with Cloughie all my professional career in national newspapers. I signed him as a columnist and his words were always outstanding, frequently outrageous and refreshingly original. It made him a must read. Riveting stuff.

Yes, he upset people and liked a drink – but he was a winner.

His record first at Derby and then Forest speaks for itself. But I know it broke his heart that he was overlooked so shamefully by England.

One of his former players was Martin O’Neill – thankfully back in the big time with Sunderland after much too long an absence since falling out at Villa. Their loss.

This articulate, erudite Irishman confesses to being a “disciple of the great man Cloughie”. He also has the Midas touch wherever he goes.

O’Neill is an extremely clever and thoughtful man and, as everybody who knows him up close and personal will testify, he is a master in the art of TIMING when choosing landmarks in his career.

The awful Fabio Capello says “arrivederci” after Euro 2012 (thank God) and will be succeeded by Harry Redknapp if everything goes to plan.

But on Monday, January 23 ‘Arry and his former chairman at Portsmouth Milan Mandaric stand trial at Southwark Crown Court charged with tax evasion.

Heaven forbid (and you are innocent until proven guilty) but if it all goes pear-shaped where will that leave the FA? Up the creek and without a paddle, that’s where.

Which brings in O’Neill’s special gift of TIMING – to return to the Premier League at this particular juncture and to further enhance his own considerable reputation and standing in the game. O’Neill for England? You bet it is on his agenda.

The very personable Nick here in Weymouth is a former security guard who now spends his “semi-retirement” choosing odds in the town’s betting shops. And he knows his football.

“O’Neill puts a very different perspective on the England job,” he says. “Forget the clamour for an English-only manager. He may be Irish but he has a playing pedigree and management background steeped in the English game.

“He will be hard to resist if it all goes wrong with Harry. He touches gold wherever he goes because his enthusiasm is so infectious.”

And he would achieve all that his idol and mentor Cloughie so desperately craved.

Worth a flutter, Nick?