Who are the runners and riders for the England job?

With Roy Hodgson’s time as England Manager coming to an end due to the embarrassing defeat to Iceland on Monday night the hunt for a successor begins but the question is who will be the next man to take charge of the England National side.

If you look at the possible’s and probable’s then in my opinion it’s a very uninspiring list. Gareth Southgate must surely be the initial favourite after his work with the England Under 21’s but it’s not really an appointment that necessarily fills anyone with a great deal of confidence. Yes he may be coming off the back of success with his side but let’s not forget that it was only the Toulon Tournament a pretty much second rate U-21 competition and certainly not at the level of the European Championships for that age bracket

Gareth Southgate will very much be The F.A’s yes man, the heir apparent to when Hodgson was to depart. It may not have been in the works this soon had England lived up to the expectations but now it seems certainly in an interim period at the very least that Southgate will be the man to take charge of England in their first 2018 World Cup Qualifier against Slovakia in September.

The former Middlesbrough Defender will be a safe option but even the list of the names don’t really jump off the page. Alan Pardew is second joint favourite with Eddie Howe, Pardew who took his Crystal Palace side to the F.A. Cup Final at the end of the season has once again proved how streaky of a Manager he is after being at the helm of a club who didn’t win a league game for 4 months. Pardew may be excellent at talking himself up but I don’t think he’ll be able to talk himself into this particular job

For Eddie Howe my money would be on him being a future England Manager but I think the vacancy has come around too soon for the Bournemouth boss. An impressive first campaign in the Premier League saw Bournemouth finish comfortably away from the relegation zone although their season did somewhat come to a halt once safety was secured in March, he needs to be more concerned that The Cherries don’t fall victim to second season syndrome

Sam Allardyce could be another man in the frame, he managed to turn Sunderland’s fortunes around and keep The Black Cats up last season. His brand of Football certainly isn’t pretty to watch but it’s pragmatic and does get results, perhaps this is what a new England side actually requires. It may not be the most flamboyant system that Allardyce operates but more importantly it is a system

Harry Redknapp missed out in 2012 and I can’t see him getting anywhere near the post this time around. I think missing out to Hodgson was his one and only opportunity also since then his managerial record hasn’t been all that sparkingly. A stint at QPR saw relegation and then promotion but since then he has turned into a bit of a mercenary going wherever someone will throw money at him. I can’t see The F.A being prepared to do so

Gary Neville also left on Monday as part of Hodgson’s backroom staff. An ill fated stint as Valencia Manager has already seen his stock plummet and now being labelled with this failure I think the ex Manchester United Defender is better off going back to Sky and the comfort of the Monday Night Football studio

Another man who should stay in the Studio is Alan Shearer. He has gone on record that he was interested in the job before Hodgson was appointed. He was turned down due to a lack of experience and in those 5 years little has changed. The now lead pundit on Match Of The Day still only has a relegation with Newcastle on his managerial C.V. and I can’t see such a leftfield appointment taking place this time around

Glenn Hoddle was seemingly giving a mid match job interview during England’s defeat to Iceland. Yes Glenn has got good ideas and may still have something to offer but this is someone who hasn’t coached in 10 years after leaving a less than successful time at Wolves that and there is still the acrimonious departure from when he was England manger. Perhaps a double act as an assistant to Gareth Southgate would be his best way to get back into the England fold.

Do The F.A. want to go down the continental route again? – If they were then I can’t see Jose Mourinho leaving Manchester United so soon after signing. Can they tempt Arsene Wenger away from Arsenal, does the Frenchman need the pressure after seemingly having a job for life at The Emirates, could newly available compatriot Laurent Blanc be in with a shout. To me he would be at the bottom of a long list

How about Guus Hiddink. Plenty of international experience and has had to rescue a near sinking Chelsea ship twice now. But also he turned Chelsea’s season around from a shipwreck they still failed to really blow anyone out of the water last season so you would think that Hiddink will continue his world tour of coaching and pick up another hefty wage

They are the runners and riders in what seems like a race that no-one really deserves to win. Are we now feeling the pinch of having too many foreign managers in England – that is something that I will allude to in another article but the smart money certainly seems to be on Southgate as it stands, this has to be the most uninspiring list of England Manager candidates I have ever seen.

That defeat to Iceland was more than embarrassing but I don’t think we quite understand what damage this could actually have for this England side. Roll on September and a trip to Bratislava and best of luck to whoever takes charge because they are going to need it