After almost eight years, 102 games, and two major finals, Gareth Southgate has finally moved on from his role as England manager.
Southgate ushered in a near unprecedented level of international success for England, reaching a semi and quarter final in addition to his two Euro finals.
Following Sunday’s loss to Spain, however, he has moved on as announced in a statement released this morning.
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Since his departure was announced, the next question obviously becomes ‘who is next up for the role?’
Potential candidates
Whilst Alan Pardew is probably still likely to turn up Peter Odemwingie-style outside of St George’s Park, he's not quite in the running for the role anymore.
Some names that have been floated are likely unrealistic for a variety of reasons, with Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, and Mauricio Pochettino amongst those being discussed who are largely unlikely to take the role.
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Eddie Howe has long been discussed to take on the role after Southgate, however, he signed a new multi-year deal in 2022 with Newcastle.
Unless the former Bournemouth manager is fired, he would be incredibly expensive to drag away from St James’ Park.
Second favourite, according to bookmaking aggregator Oddschecker, is Lee Carsley, the current England u-21 manager.
Whilst a less established name when compared to others being discussed for the role, this would mirror the process that saw Southgate take over the senior job following time managing the youth team.
The favourite for the job
The current favourite, however, is Graham Potter.
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Potter received plaudits for his time at Brighton, Swansea, and Östersunds, where his brand of positive football and team building earned him a five-year deal at Chelsea in 2022.
This move ended in disaster, however, with the England favourite sacked as Chelsea manager after just seven months in charge.
Based on the subsequent failing of an interim return of Frank Lampard and the full-time appointment of Pochettino, Potter’s stock has not been overly dented by his time at the West London club.
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One fan posted on X about the possible next manager in the frame for the job, saying: “For this job? I can’t look past Graham Potter, at this moment.
“He’s a great man-manager with a solid track record of holding up an enjoyable camp, he’s a good communicator and above all he has phenomenal adaptability (one of the few reasons he couldn’t hold it down at an elite club) but in international football and with constant reshuffling of the squad, it would be perfect.
“Also, a good youth record behind him too.”
The official odds
According to SkyBet, the odds for the next permanent England manager are as follows:
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- Graham Potter - 1/1
- Eddie Howe - 5/2
- Mauricio Pochettino - 4/1
- Jürgen Klopp - 10/1
- Lee Carsley - 14/1
- Frank Lampard - 16/1
- Pep Guardiola - 20/1
- Steven Gerrard - 28/1
- Gary O'Neil - 33/1
Topics: Football, Gareth Southgate, World Cup
Michael Slavin