In August, the England FA’s Director of Communications Adrian Bevington announced that current national team coach Fabio Capello’s replacement, after the Italian leaves his post following Euro 2012, will be English. Whether this is a genuine desire to give the English national side a greater sense of English identity after having in post a foreign manager for nine of the last ten years, or just a case of pandering to the British press remains to be seen, but the announcement takes many big names out of the equation.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have been the most successful managers in the Premier League for the last decade, but neither will be on the FA’s shortlist. The same goes for current Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, Everton’s Scottish manager David Moyes and West Ham’s Avram Grant.

So which English managers are in the frame for the hottest of hot seats?

Harry Redknapp (Current Job: Tottenham Hotspur manager)

The bookie’s favourite for the post, Harry Redknapp has been in club management since 1983, and has recently managed to turn Tottenham Hotspur from relegation fodder to the Champions League participants in less than two seasons. His sides favour an attacking style, based around quick, skilful midfielders.

While Redknapp’s teams haven’t always been the greatest in the world at defending, he remains a players’ manager, and has regularly managed to get the best out of his charges throughout his career. If the former Portsmouth boss has been able to turn Peter Crouch into a lethal striker, just imagine what he could do at the helm of the national team.

Current Odds: 2.10

 


Stuart Pearce
(Current Job: England Under-21 manager)

An England legend as a player, ‘Psycho’ has been a fixture with the Under-21 side for three years, and may well be called upon to step up a level when Fabio Capello bids arrivederci to English shores. A tough and uncompromising player, Pearce is well-equipped to take over, having nurtured several youngsters in recent years, many of whom (Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll, Jack Rodwell and Daniel Sturridge, to name a few) will be regulars in the senior squad by 2012.

On the down side, Pearce’s time as manager of pre-spending spree Manchester City wasn’t particularly successful, winning only around a third of his games. Since then, however, he has gone on to become a major part of the England set-up.

Current Odds: 12.00

Roy Hodgson (Current Job: Liverpool manager)

Roy Hodgson is a very well travelled manager, in stark contrast to the other contenders for the England job. Before heading to Anfield, Hodgson had managed club and national teams in England, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Norway and Finland. Over the years, his passport must have had more stamps than the local post office.

The odds on Hodgson becoming the next England boss have eased recently, in the light of Liverpool’s poor start to the season. He did a superb job at Fulham, however, but there are those in the game who feel the Londoner may be a little out of his depth at Anfield. Time will tell, of course, and if The Reds improve, Hodgson will certainly be in the frame in 2012.

Current Odds: 8.50

Steve Bruce (Current Job: Sunderland manager)

While some believe Steve Bruce will be groomed to manage Manchester United one day, there are plenty of others who can see him wearing a three lions blazer in the future. The likable Geordie has impressed at just about all his clubs, which is no mean feat considering none of them have been among the most glamorous sides in English football.

Whether he can make the grade at the highest level of all remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: all of Bruce’s sides have been difficult to beat. At Sunderland he has continued to impress this season, bagging an impressive 3-0 victory over Premier League champions at Stamford Bridge.

Current Odds: 27.00

Sam Allardyce (Current Job: Blackburn Rovers manager)

Never short of self-belief, ‘Big Sam’ recently claimed he was more suited to managing Real Madrid than Blackburn. Therefore, presumably he wouldn’t have a problem with managing England in a World Cup match against Argentina?

Allardyce’s sides have generally been, let’s face it, a little agricultural. Having said that, they often get results. Therefore, if all the FA are concerned about is winning, the man who can chew gum at Olympic level could be the one for them.

Current Odds: 35.00