Next England manager? Odds, favourites & predicted line-ups as Gareth Southgate resigns
Gareth Southgate has stepped down as England manager following the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
Southgate’s current contract with England was due to expire in December and he has now stepped down after 102 games in charge.
“As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England,” said Southgate.
“It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all.
“But it’s time for change, and for a new chapter.”
Southgate was in charge for eight years since swiftly replacing Sam Allardyce in 2016, leading England through four major tournaments.
During Southgate’s tenure, England have reached the semi-final in three of their four major tournaments, only failing with a quarter-final exit at the 2022 World Cup. Two of those semi-finals have led to finals, with England achieving back-to-back appearances at the European Championship.
As a result, some called for Southgate to be given two more years in reward for England making it deep at Euro 2024. But England did fall short yet again. Having come from behind against Spain, England looked to be taking another European Championship final to extra-time. But a momentary defensive lapse late on saw England hearts broken once more.
Who will replace Southgate as next England manager?
There are currently five favourites in the race to replace Southgate, and two of them are former Chelsea managers.
The first is Graham Potter, who has been linked with a few jobs since being sacked by Chelsea last year. The Stamford Bridge job is a bit of a poisoned chalice but it did still give a slight knock to Potter’s reputation after his work at Brighton. He has since been linked with a return to Brighton, as well as jobs at Ajax and Leicester, but the former Chelsea boss isn’t rushing back and weighs up his options. Could he be waiting for the England call?
And then there’s Mauricio Pochettino. The most-recently departed Chelsea manager, Pochettino has been linked with the England job before and didn’t leave the Blues because of his inability as a manager. Sure, his time at Stamford Bridge wasn’t perfect, but Pochettino wanted more say in the transfers and didn’t want to be instructed on how to play by the higher ups. There wouldn’t be any problems with that at England.
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Also high up on the list is Eddie Howe, who seems an ideal choice for many and has been tipped to manage England for some time. He made a name for himself in lifting Bournemouth into the Premier League and making them mainstays, before taking Newcastle to the Champions League.
Last season was a bit of an underwhelming one for Howe, but he still has his backers.
Lee Carsley is also an option. Carsley is the current head coach for England’s under-21 side so is already bedded into the FA’s system. Under Carsley, England won the 2023 under-21 Euros, beating Spain in the final. Under-21s to senior team is a path that Southgate himself took when replacing Sam Allardyce in 2016, so this wouldn’t be a left-field appointment.
Slightly further out for odds is a dream move for Jurgen Klopp, now a free agent after leaving Liverpool having lost the energy for management. But international management is a less demanding beast, so the German could be persuaded to end his break.
How England could line up under prospective new managers
Graham Potter
The favourite for the job, if Graham Potter were to take charge of England, we may see the Three Lions stick with the back three they used on occasion at Euro 2024. Potter has tested different formations but the 3-4-2-1 is certainly his favourite, utilising it at Brighton and Chelsea since returning to England. In this formation, Potter likes to use at least one full-back at centre-back, and Kyle Walker is a good option on the right side. He’s still a competent defender and with a more reserved role, England won’t be caught out. On the left, Luke Shaw is a potential but the likes of Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa will also be fighting, should John Stones take the central centre-back spot.
When he was at Brighton, Potter used Leandro Trossard as a wing-back and he’d surely play Bukayo Saka on the left considering his experience in that role. On the right, Trent Alexander-Arnold could come back into the team to create from a more advanced position. Reece James is another option, should Potter wish to call upon the man he managed at Chelsea. It looks like Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo will be England’s midfield partnership for years to come. Up front, Harry Kane will continue to lead the line until he can go no more, but England may become increasingly reliant on the likes of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden to provide attacking support.
Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe utilises a 4-3-3 but it’s a fairly rigid one, with players keeping pretty close to their positions. Last season Newcastle focussed their attacking with one full-back and Kieran Trippier could be that man, continuing the job he has done for Howe at the Magpies. On the left, Shaw’s defensive capabilities will be on display and he had a very good game up against Lamine Yamal in the Euro 2024 final. Marc Guehi will be tough to drop alongside John Stones, with Jordan Pickford by far and away England’s best goalkeeping choice right now.
In midfield, there isn’t much movement but the duo of Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo will remain the same. Rice is reliable and Mainoo has proven that he is the future of England’s midfield. For Newcastle, the left-sided central midfielder has been slightly more attacking, so Jude Bellingham fits well in the role, starting from slightly deeper. Up front, Harry Kane will be flanked by Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden. Foden isn’t strong on the left, but this will once again be the case of an England manager trying to fit his best players in and Saka isn’t moving from the right.
Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp also uses a 4-3-3 but it’s slightly different in system to Howe’s. Klopp’s full-backs are very attacking, and Trent Alexander-Arnold would be a shoo-in to be England’s starting right-back if this were to come to fruition. On the other side, Luke Shaw will probably get his spot as starting left-back if he keeps his fitness. In the middle, Marc Guehi and John Stones look set to be the centre-back partnership for the future, even when Harry Maguire returns from injury.
The midfield is also different. In Klopp’s system, the central midfielder holds deeper with the two outside pushing higher. This isn’t the role Declan Rice plays at Arsenal but it is his job for England, and that’ll be what he does under Klopp. England would rely on Rice’s passing and ball-winning, throwing back to the performances that got him his spot in England’s team in the first place. Kobbie Mainoo and Jude Bellingham are the more attack-minded central midfielders and it feels like they cannot be dropped.
Up front, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden could be joined by someone like Ollie Watkins. Harry Kane is Harry Kane and is a creative centre forward, which Klopp does like. However, he doesn’t really have the mobility now to be a striker in Klopp’s system. Watkins, however, can drop and create as Kane does and still have the energy to get into the box on the end of any crosses. Saka will be key, as Salah was for Klopp’s Liverpool.
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