Next England Manager: 10 Best Candidates To Replace Sam Allardyce
Big Sam is gone, but who will fill his shoes?
Sam Allardyce’s reign as England manager has ended after 67 days in charge. Appointed in June, Big Sam’s custodianship lasted just a single game (a drab 1-0 victory over Slovakia) earlier this month, and he leaves under a black cloud of controversy.
Implicated in a scandal alleging he had offered advice on how to circumvent the Football Association’s rules on player transfers, Allardyce’s reputation took a big hit this week. The 61-year-old is purported to have used his position to negotiate a £400,000 deal to represent a Far East firm, and while Allardyce officially departs by “mutual agreement,” there’s a strong chance the FA decided to cut their losses.
Allardyce inherited the job after Roy Hodgson’s disastrous Euro 2016 campaign, and the FA now find themselves hunting for a new manager for the second time in as many months. Gareth Southgate will take temporary charge, and with the likes of Glenn Hoddle and Alan Pardew among the bookies’ favourites, the FA aren’t exactly spoiled for choice.
Who will they entrust with leading the Three Lions through the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign? English managers will be heavily-favoured, of course, but quality homegrown options are thin on the ground, and while English fans are wary of overseas appointments, the FA may be forced to look outwith their own shores.
Excluding all unrealistic candidates, here are the 10 best candidates to be England’s next manager.
10. Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew as England manager is a hard sell. He broke countless negative records during his near-catastrophic tenureship at Newcastle United, and while Pardew’s backers still point towards his 5th-place Premier League finish in 2011-12, the years that followed were nothing short of grim. Pardew’s move to Crystal Palace was met with widespread jubilation, and it’s worked well for both parties.
For all his flaws, Pardew retains a great deal of media support. Even when his Palace side have struggled for results, Pardew has rarely faced any kind of backlash from the press, and his teflon-like ability to deflect all blame would serve him well in football’s most scrutinised managerial position. He was among the favourites last time around, and he’s among the favourites again. Like it or not, Alan Pardew is well and truly in the running.
Though he seems comfortable in his role at Selhurst Park, Pardew has expressed his desire to one day work within the national set-up, claiming he has “strong opinions” on the English team. Perhaps he’d benefit from a national job, which he’ll find a lot less hands-on, particularly when dealing with the minutiae of organising a football team.