In circumstances to which they are not particularly accustomed, the English Football Association find themselves on the hunt for a new manager. Gareth Southgate confirmed his decision to step down from the England job on Tuesday, a little over 24 hours after losing his second European Championships final, a 2-1 defeat to Spain.
Already the hunt has begun for his successor. This is not a process that the FA wanted to go through, in the hours before defeat in Berlin it became apparent that the federation intended to offer Southgate a new contract regardless of the outcome. Equally it is not a decision that will have taken them by surprise. Euro 2024 proved to be a grueling experience for Southgate, stung by criticism from pundits and battling to maintain the strong atmosphere that has been a calling card of his time in charge of England.
The position England found themselves in on Southgate’s accession and departure speak volumes for the progress made. No longer must the FA scout around for a safe pair of hands after the twin debacles of defeat to Iceland and Sam Allardyce’s one match reign. Instead, they can go to market for what is surely the most attractive job on the international market, one where there is a realistic chance of winning the major silverware the England men have not won in 58 years and, in the process, writing one’s name into football history.
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How will England decide on their new manager?
The FA will not be rushed into a decision. The squad will not join up again until September and their Nations League games against Ireland and Finland. Mark Bullingham confirmed that an interim plan is in place should it be required. The CEO will have a significant say in who takes the helm, but his voice may not carry quite the same sway his predecessors did before.
John McDermott, head of academy coaching and player development for 15 years at Tottenham before becoming England’s technical director in 2020, will have the most significant footballing voice in a process he is expected to lead, per CBS Sports sources. He has previously spoken of Southgate’s successor as needing to be someone who is “immersed in the English game” and can be a figurehead in much the same way as the outgoing manager is. Notably that is not the same as hiring an English manager. The FA are not expected to limit their pool just to their nation. Given how close they are to claiming the biggest prizes, they will look to secure the best possible manager.
What do England need?
What that is for England looks to be relatively straightforward. For the first time in a generation their next manager does not need to be defined in opposition to the last one. The FA will want a coach who can build on Southgate’s legacy and indeed his successor will have to have the communication skills and understanding of squad dynamics that were the foundations of six years of real progress.
The critique of Southgate’s managerial qualities might be what he did on the pitch. Heading into the 2018 World Cup, the manager began cautiously as a way to cover for what was a relatively limited squad in talent terms yet he never really managed to shake off a reputation for caution. There were further questions over Southgate’s setup at Euro 2024, one where England struggled to press as an effective unit and effectively exploit space.
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Who could be England’s next manager?
For now the possibilities are broad in the extreme. English names will almost certainly figure prominently in consideration, in particular Eddie Howe and Graham Potter. The latter has the attraction of being available and has certainly demonstrated himself to have the same soft skills that won Southgate so many admirers. At Brighton he proved able to coax swift development out of young players and to react when key players such as Ben White departed. On the other hand, his style of defensive possession may not capture the imagination of an English public who rarely took long to murmur about the caution with which their talented frontline was deployed. His struggles at Chelsea might also mean he has a point to prove to the public. Most in the game would contend that there was no tougher job than the one he took in the autumn of 2022.
Howe most recently said he is “totally committed to Newcastle and always have been” and there has been no suggestion that his club do not feel the same after two seasons of success under the 46 year old. However, this has been a tumultuous summer at St. James’ Park that has seen Amanda Staveley and Dan Ashworth leave the club. Given that turbulence, it was notable that club CEO Darren Eales offered a swift warning to the FA that Newcastle would fight to keep their manager. Speaking to reporters hours after Southgate’s announcement, Eales said: “I’m not going to talk about the specifics of Eddie’s contract, but he’s on a multi-year deal which was extended last summer. He’s our employee and we’re not looking to release Eddie.
“He’s a top coach, he’s the right coach for Newcastle United at the right moment. This is the coach we want to lead the club for the [foreseeable] future. We’re hoping that, with Eddie, we’ve got a coach for the long term. “He’s under a long-term contract, he loves the day-to-day of club football and we have an exciting project here in terms of the commitment from the ownership and the journey we want to go on. We are really excited about the season ahead.”
Within the England structure, Lee Carsley is a name who will at least come under consideration. Given Steve Holland’s exit alongside the head coach, if nothing else, the Under-21 head coach seems the natural choice if an interim boss is required for the Nations League. England need no reminding how the last temporary boss got on over an eight year reign.
Carsley, who won the Euros against Spain last summer, rejected interest from Ireland and has developed a reputation for tactical acumen, shrewdly adjusting to the 11th hour defection of Folarin Balogun to the USMNT by deploying Anthony Gordon as a center forward, and Curtis Jones as a deeper-lying midfielder, a role he would pick up more frequently with Liverpool. England have a rich record at youth international level of late — world champions in 2017 at U20 and U17 level as well as European champions last summer. There is reason to believe they will look to exploit that.
The dream for many supporters would be to get the best of the best. It doesn’t get much better than Jurgen Klopp, who made emphatically clear on his departure from Liverpool that he really did want the year’s break he didn’t take when he left Borussia Dortmund. Since leaving he has spent more time in Mainz and Mallorca than Merseyside and he has rejected interest from the USMNT to succeed Gregg Berhalter. England, however, can offer Klopp a realistic path to win the World Cup in a nation for which he evidently developed an affinity with. It might mean waiting beyond the start of World Cup qualifying with no guarantee that Klopp would be available them — what might happen if Julian Nagelsmann was drawn back to the club game before his contract with Germany expired — but if anyone might repay that wait in gold…
Mauricio Pochettino would also fulfil McDermott’s desire for a coach steeped in the English game. From Harry Kane to Cole Palmer, the Argentine has had a hand in the rise of many top internationals and ultimately left Chelsea with his reputation undamaged by the chaos around him. He has also previously made clear that when the time came to move into the international market he would certainly be willing to consider England. He and Potter would not be the only former occupants of the Stamford Bridge dugout who would come under consideration. Thomas Tuchel enjoyed his brief spell in London and kept his house in the capital after his spell in charge of Chelsea. The former Bayern Munich boss was also under consideration at Manchester United when they were mulling whether to keep ahold of Erik ten Hag.
Those six are the names that have been most frequently linked with the vacancy but there are other names worthy of acknowledgement. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard’s managerial careers have hardly blazed as brightly as their playing ones but both would surely be interested. Sean Dyche’s brand of football might be too prosaic but Didier Deschamps and Lionel Scaloni won the biggest prizes by keeping it tight at the back and letting the mavericks at the other end win it for them.
Then again, this is a job that offers a very real chance of winning one or two of the biggest prizes in the sport. For some of the best of the best, they might be the only ones that still elude them. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City contract expires in a year and it does not seem particularly likely that a vocal supporter of Catalan independence might one day take the Spain job. If he fancies filling the World Cup winners’ medal-shaped hole in his trophy cabinet while burgeoning his case to be the greatest manager of all time, there might be no better job out there.
