Guardiola 6th), Howe 3rd): Ranking next England manager candidates on likelihood of appointment
Gareth Southgate’s tactical ineptitude and England’s dire performances so far at Euro 2024 are not giving him much chance of earning a contract extension beyond this year.
The clamour for Southgate to be replaced has rightly ramped up following his side’s disasterclass against Denmark and his decision to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold with one-trick pony Conor Gallagher will not appease supporters.
His days as England boss are surely numbered with it fast becoming miserable to support The Three Lions once again en route to a likely premature exit from Euro 2024.
But who could replace him? We have looked at the current top 10 favourites to be the next England manager (courtesy of Oddschecker) and ranked them from least to most likely to succeed Southgate…
10) Steve Cooper
An odd inclusion as 10th favourite Cooper literally landed another job a couple of days ago as he’s replaced new Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca at Leicester City.
It’s a pretty solid appointment for Leicester City, in fairness. Next season is bound to be a difficult FFP-impacted campaign, but the time he spent dealing with the Nottingham Forest circus will serve him well heading into his new job. I could see him becoming England manager down the line provided he enhances his reputation at The King Power Stadium, but he won’t be the man to replace Southgate.
9) Jose Mourinho
Mourinho is another boss who has recently secured a return to management; the not-so-Special One in the Turkish Super Lig with Fenerbahce is going to be a must-watch calamity for as long as it lasts.
Mourinho has consistently been linked with the England job during his career. Yet unless his spell in Turkey surprisingly suggests he’s a rejuvenated revolutionary, it feels like this level of vacancy has passed him by and a move to the Saudi Pro League is more likely post-Fenerbahce.
8) Steven Gerrard
The Liverpool icon has followed in the footsteps of ex-England teammates Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney as the trio have struggled since transitioning into management.
Gerrard actually got off to a decent start in Scotland with Rangers. But Unai Emery’s masterful job at Aston Villa has made the Liverpudlian look pretty poor in comparison and the 44-year-old has done his already-dwindling managerial reputation no good at all by heading to Saudi Arabia. Like the first two entries, he’s got no chance of succeeding Southgate.
7) Jurgen Klopp
In an ideal world, the recently departed Liverpool boss would step in for Southgate mid-tournament to give England an immediate (and much-needed) shot in the arm at Euro 2024.
This view is not held by everyone, though. Our very own Johnny Nic has angrily shut down calls for Klopp to replace Southgate during Euro 2024 as England would be exactly as infuriating to watch with the beloved former Liverpool boss in charge.
The respected German’s football obsession will likely lead to him making a return to management at some stage, but his sabbatical is unlikely to conclude soon enough for him to replace Southgate before the end of this year.
6) Pep Guardiola
The Man City head coach’s trophy is stacked as he’s achieved all there is to achieve in club management a couple of times over during his time in the Premier League and previously with FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
The winning machine will inevitably turn to managing a national team at some stage and this may come sooner than Man City supporters would like with his contract up in 2025 and a hacker threatening to expose the Premier League champions’ supposed ‘deliberate cheating’.
But the fact he’s been dubbed as a ‘dream appointment’ of the FA suggests they do not fancy their chances of acquiring his services post-Man City as he’ll surely have better offers with his replacement at the Etihad already ‘agreed’.
READ: Guardiola is England’s ‘dream appointment’ but Manchester City struggles are revealing
5) Thomas Tuchel
Tuchel may feel that he has unfinished business in English football after he was unceremoniously sacked by Chelsea following the takeover by Todd Boehly’s consortium. And since his exit, they have never looked back forward…
The German struggled at Bayern Munich, but a move to Man Utd felt inevitable this summer until Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co. performed a dramatic U-turn to stick with Erik ten Hag. Although, he’ll be just as likely to replace the Dutchman when everything at Old Trafford goes tits up by October.
The appointment of a proven winner in Tuchel would be one of the better calls the FA could make, but you’ve got to feel he would be too volatile after they’ve got accustomed to the niceties of yes man Southgate.
4) Mauricio Pochettino
Unlike Tuchel, Pochettino has proven to be a dream for owners/football associations to work with during his managerial career, which was boosted by his impressive work in difficult circumstances at Chelsea.
Boehly’s call to part ways with Pochettino was baffling and infuriating in equal measure, but the likeable former Tottenham boss exits Stamford Bridge a winner as he is one of few individuals at Chelsea who can hold their head high after the 2023/24 season.
Pochettino will not be short of offers when he returns to management and of the ‘elite managers’ in the frame to replace Southgate, he’s certainly the most likely to accept the job.
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3) Eddie Howe
We finish with three English managers, starting with Newcastle United boss Howe.
Newcastle were ravaged by injuries in 23/24 and their FFP issues prevented them from buying their way out of trouble. But their improved end to the season arguably saved Howe from the sack.
However, he remains on the tightrope in this role as Newcastle’s boss during this transitionary phase and will likely be replaced within the next 18 months by a proven trophy winner.
This is not to take away from the job he’s done at St James’ Park as he is certainly in the top echelon of English managers and would suit the role of Three Lions manager.
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2) Lee Carsley
England’s issues at Euro 2024 are adding to the sentiment that Southgate has held back this generation of players, but the FA will argue that his reign has been an immense success given the generally improved performance in major tournaments.
And this is why they may argue that the appointment of England U21 boss Carsley (to repeat Southgate’s journey to The Three Lions hot seat) is the right way to go. Because if it’s worked once, why can’t it work again?
Carsley has actually done a better job with England’s Young Lions than Southgate as he led them to European Championship glory last season, but this appointment would go down like a lead balloon considering the other names supposedly in the frame.
1) Graham Potter
Potter has presumably been living the high life since his short-but-sh*t spell at Chelsea with all of that sweet compensation money, but he’ll soon be ready to return to work.
His failure with the Chelsea circus has not done little to hamper his reputation as he has been linked with Man Utd, Leicester City, Brighton and Ajax this summer.
The 49-year-old’s delayed return indicates he’s holding out for a specific job and recent reports suggest he has his heart set on becoming the new England manager.
MORE: England | Gareth Southgate | 16 Conclusions on England 1-1 Denmark | Euro 2024 Power Rankings
