It looks as if the Football Association’s search for a new England manager will have to be wider than first thought with the news that early favourite Gareth Southgate has declared he is not interested in the job.
Many felt that the ex-England International would be the next man into the hot-seat after Roy Hodgson’s departure on Monday night, but we now know that is not going to be the case.
When the list of early favourites was published and Southgate was at the top of what must be said was a very uninspiring list, it didn’t really fill England fans with hope, as many felt the former centre-back would just be the ‘yes man’ that the FA would demand.
So if it isn’t to be Southgate at the England helm, then who will be the man to get the job? Some bookmakers now have Alan Pardew as favourite to take over, but for me he is far too streaky as a manager, as Newcastle and Crystal Palace fans will attest.
For Eddie Howe this opportunity has come around far too early, maybe even a decade too soon. He certainly has the hallmarks to be a future England boss but just not yet.
Does the removal of Southgate from the race now open the door for Sam Allardyce? He has long since said that British coaches don’t get a chance at the highest level and what better way to end talk of this by giving him the England job? Allardyce would have to live by the sword of his comments. Failure in the role would almost prove a point, but success could then open the floodgates for other English coaches.
Will The FA decide to opt for a foreign man at the helm? There has been a lot of clamour for Arsene Wenger, but he will not be available for the job for at least another 12 months. Can England afford to wait that long?
Perhaps England could muddle through the first few qualification games with a series of interim managers, but this isn’t an episode of ‘Have I Got News For You’, this is a place at the 2018 World Cup at stake.
Does Wenger also run the risk of making his Arsenal job untenable? What if a deal was in place and Arsenal had another season of perceived underperforming, the knives would really be out for the Frenchman then.
They could opt for his compatriot Laurent Blanc as he won’t have the complications of bring tied to a club. Yes he may have won a litany of trophies at Paris Saint-Germain, ye, not to discredit him, any coach worth their salt could win Ligue 1 with that squad.
If punditry was an interview then Slaven Bilic would have already been appointed by now. Unfortunately for England both he and his West Ham employers have said that the former Croatia manager is not interested. Is there any way to change his mind?
The race for the England job has lost the bookies’ favourite, but if anything it has now blown the field wide open. It’s going to be a very interesting few weeks before we find out who is the winner.
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