No England manager has taken the Three Lions closer to winning a major trophy since Sir Alf Ramsey than Gareth Southgate. However, after losing to Spain 2-1 in the final of Euro 2024, his second defeat in the European Championship Final, Southgate has fallen on his sword.
His resignation was not unexpected. Despite the best record since Alf Ramsey’s 1966 World Cup Winners, Southgate’s tactical approach, starting in the final of Euro 2020, had alienated many England fans and pundits alike.
The last straw was England’s defeat at the Euro 2024 Final. Despite reaching the Final, England rarely played well in the tournament and Southgate’s tactics and his reluctance to change players and formation, finally saw him undone.
Barely had the announcement been made by the now ex-England boss, than the odds on who will step up to replace him began to take shape on sites like bet365 Sport.
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Before we take a look at some of the contenders for the post, what was it that finally saw Gareth Southgate compelled to resign as England manager?
Let’s examine the positives and negatives of his tenure as manager.
England fans should realise the immense change for the positive that Gareth Southgate has overseen. When he took over as manager, England were at a nadir. They had been eliminated from Euro 2016 by Iceland seeing Roy Hodgson lose his job and his replacement Sam Allardyce lasted one game before his contracted was terminated.
That came after Allardyce was secretly recorded by the Daily Telegraph explaining how to circumvent FA Rules on third-party ownership, as well as mocking former manager Hodgson and criticising the F.A’s development of Wembley.
Southgate, then manager of the U21 team, stood in for Allardyce temporarily initially but then was awarded the position full-time.
Having led England to the 2018 World Cup Finals, where his team were not expected to do well, he confounded critics leading England to the semi-final against Croatia. Despite taking a 1-0 lead in that game, England foundered against the Croats, who won 2-1 in extra time.
Despite that missed opportunity, Southgate was lauded by fans and another qualifying campaign was successfully negotiated, this time for the Covid-delayed Euro 2020. In between, England finished third in the inaugural Nations League competition.
At Euro 2020, aided by a run of knockout games at Wembley Stadium, England reached the final. There against Italy, they once again took the lead, before sitting back, leading to an inevitable Italy equaliser and a loss on penalties to the Italians.
An inexperienced England reached the World Cup Quarterfinals in 2022, eliminated 2-1 by France after Harry Kane missed a late penalty. The ignominy of relegation from Nations League A followed after a dismal campaign against Hungary, Italy and Germany.
Then after qualifying for the Euro 2024 finals, England dithered their way through the tournament and fortuitously reached the final, where they were deservedly beaten by Spain.
Two days later, Gareth Southgate handed in his resignation after 8 years, 102 games, two Euro Finals, and a World Cup semi-final.
A look at the list of names set to battle it out to replace Gareth Southgate is interesting. Let’s take a look at each, their current odds with bet365 Sport and whether or not they would be a good choice as manager.
A tough spell at Chelsea hasn’t dimmed Graham Potter’s supporters belief that he could be a great option for the next England manager. He has experience abroad, taking Ostersunds into Europe and then was outstanding managing Swansea and then Brighton in the Premier League. Would be an attractive option as he is currently unemployed and would be able to take the role immediately.
Eddie Howe is probably the most impressive English manager in the Premier League. Having spearheaded Bournemouth’s charge through the divisions, he took over at Newcastle and has overseen their new Saudi-backed era well, returning Champions League to the club last season and reaching a League Cup Final. The question is, would he want to leave the Newcastle project for the England role?
Having led England U21’s to their first Euro U21 Championship in July 2023, Carsley was wanted by the Republic of Ireland as their new manager earlier this year. He declined that role to stay with England U21’s. The FA are known to be a keen admirer, but his lack of managerial experience at the highest level is a very big mark against him.
Some of the more interesting outsiders for the job include:
The ex-Liverpool boss would be many fans choice given his ‘gegenpresse’ style of football and attacking outlook. He has the charisma and talent for the role, however having just left Liverpool for a break from football, he would find the England job like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. The Germany job in a year or two’s time is a more likely prospect.
The former Chelsea boss struggled in the first two thirds of last season, but saw his team improve markedly over the final third, but not enough to save his job. He is well-travelled with spells as manager with Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham, Paris St. Germain and Chelsea on his resume. However, he has had many critics from his time with Chelsea.
Few managers boast as CV as impressive as Tuchel who has managed Borussia Dortmund, Paris St. Germain, Chelsea and most recently Bayern Munich. A master tactician, he would likely bring about an entirely new way of playing for the English team. However, a mixed time at Chelsea and recently with Bayern may count against him.
The FA will likely appoint either Howe or Potter to replace Gareth Southgate. I think they will sound out both about the position and see what Howe’s reaction is. If he is committed to Newcastle, then I’d be backing Graham Potter to win the job.
Carsley is too inexperienced as a manager at the top level, Klopp, Pochettino and Tuchel would be intriguing but all have plenty of reasons why they would not want the role, even if offered it.
However, the man the FA should get if England want to win is obvious. And he is odds of 26.00 on the current bet365 list of options.
That is Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Would City want to lose him? No. Would Guardiola take the job? Probably not, but it would signal the FA had at least the right intentions to appoint the right man for the role.
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