Next England manager odds are suddenly shaping up. Who knows why.
Gareth Southgate was for some reason under pressure from some quarters going into Euro 2024, despite taking England to their first World Cup semi-final in 28 years and their first-ever European Championships final just three years ago, because apparently losing to minnows France at the last World Cup was entirely unacceptable.
Regardless, England’s admittedly below-par performances at Euro 2024 have raised the topic of who should replace Southgate as Three Lions gaffer when he eventually departs from the job. As provided by Freebets.com, here are the odds available on who the FA will turn to as they aim to find a surefire overnight fix to every single problem England have had.
Next England manager odds: 5. Steven Gerrard - 15/1
And why not, with a tremendous CV that includes a title triumph with Rangers in a two-horse race in 2021, followed by… err…
Gerrard lasted less than a year in the Aston Villa job before Unai Emery came in as his replacement and showed the former Liverpool midfielder how it was done. The next logical move was to the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ettifaq, who Gerrard guided to sixth place last season with a thoroughly mediocre record.
Also: don’t appoint Frank Lampard as his assistant.
In FourFourTwo's view, there's little to no chance of this one happening. Save your money: the fume from fans alone wouldn't be worth it.
4. Jurgen Klopp - 12/1
Going from one extreme end of the spectrum to the other, the recently-resigned Liverpool boss is the next name on the list after stepping down from the Anfield job having rejuvenated the club into genuine contenders after decades of under-achievement.
Klopp was also linked with the Germany job shortly after announcing his decision to leave Anfield, and he has said he could not bear to manage another Premier League club besides Liverpool… but could he be enticed by the national team job?
We’d be surprised, in truth, but would love to see it just to watch the tabloids experience the cognitive dissonance of 1) attracting such an incredible candidate to the job, 2) but he’s *gasp* German. Perhaps worth a flutter, if just for the long odds.
3. Lee Carsley - 10/1
Moving into more sensible but rather less glamorous territory, the England under-21 manager is evidently well-thought of by the FA having been part of the national team youth setup since 2020.
There’s a bit of logic-twisting to be done here by the FA if Southgate were to be dismissed, rather than walking: “We’re going to promote Carsley because Southgate did really well after we promoted him from under-21s manager, but also we have just sacked Southgate for not being good enough.”
Aside from caretaker stints in charge of Coventry, Brentford and Birmingham City, however, Carsley has spent his entire coaching career coaching at youth level – is that enough to put him in the frame for the (supposed) biggest job in the country? Good odds for a logical candidate, we reckon – but perhaps a stretch too far.
2. Graham Potter - 3/1
The cause celebre of bygone years for his ascent through Swedish football at Ostersund and stylish management of Swansea City and Brighton and Hove Albion, Potter was a popular candidate for the England job just a couple of years ago.
Unfortunately, Potter’s underwhelming spell at Chelsea has dented his reputation somewhat, and he seems content to wait for the right offer to come along before he makes his move back into management.
That means we’re yet to get an answer to an important question for the FA if they were to consider Potter: how much of his struggles at Chelsea were down to him, especially in light of the fact that the Blues were scarcely any better for most of last season?
At 3/1, it's hardly worth the return considering how unlikely it currently seems. Potter would surely want to rehabilitate his reputation with a cushier opportunity.
1. Eddie Howe - 6/4
Default: the two sweetest words in the English language.
Howe is one of just three English managers in the Premier League at present, is the one at the biggest club, and therefore goes in as favourite basically automatically – especially as Sean Dyche would be seen as too agricultural for most tastes and Gary O’Neil has just two years of senior managerial experience under his best.
Howe is not exactly the answer to the rather tedious ‘what has Southgate ever won, anyway?’ argument, while his successes at Bournemouth (before leading them to relegation) and Newcastle United have been built on massive spending and shaky defences (apart from that one season at Newcastle, which was followed by a steep and immediate regression last season).
But he would offer the brand of attacking football England fans constantly cry out for, which we suspect will be good enough for some. 6/4 aren't good enough odds, however, for a man currently comfortable in a Premier League job. Avoid betting on it.
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