In July 1974, Revie accepted the offer of the England manager's job, succeeding Alf Ramsey and caretaker-manager Joe Mercer. The Football Association, particularly Ted Croker, were impressed with Revie's personality and ideas. He was a popular appointment with the press and supporters; noted journalist Brian Glanville wrote that "Revie was the obvious choice". Revie attempted to build a relationship with the media, and also invited 81 prospective and established England players to a meeting in Manchester to make everyone feel included, where he announced that he would establish extra pay for international players as well as bonus payments for wins and draws. He held a meeting with Alan Hardaker, chairman of the Football League, but Hardaker had long resented Revie and was very reluctant to accept his proposal to rearrange league fixtures to benefit the England team. He also had difficult relationships with figures within the FA, most notoriously with chairman Sir Harold Thompson, who allegedly attempted to influence Revie's team selections and undermine him publicly. As well as this he found difficulty in his attempts to introduce the Leeds traditions into the England camp, such as carpet bowls and bingo, which were met with resentment and disdain by some England internationals. Colin Todd stated that Revie was ill-suited to the England job, with his strengths lying in the day-to-day contact found only in club management rather than the politics and committee meetings of international management.