England reached their second consecutive Euro final on Sunday but unfortunately, it ended it defeat once again. The Three Lions lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Spain and on Tuesday, manager Gareth Southgate decided to step down after eight years at the helm.
It's not too often any boss lasts that long in the England dugout considering the pressure that comes with the job. But, Southgate did his absolute best and nearly ended the Three Lions' lengthy drought without a major trophy, which now stands at 58 years.
With Southgate departing, England will now be on the search for a new gaffer and according to the latest odds at Bovada, ex-Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter is the favorite, followed by Newcastle's Eddie Howe.
Below are the odds for the top-10:
Graham Potter +150
Eddie Howe +200
Lee Carsley +300
Jurgen Klopp +1000
Mauricio Pochettino +1100
Thomas Tuchel +1800
Frank Lampard +2000
Pep Guardiola +2500
Michael Carrick +3000
Steve Cooper +3000
Potter, Howe lead the way
Coaching England is arguably one of the toughest jobs in football. Gareth Southgate may have been criticized at times for certain decisions, but overall, he flourished in the position.
As you can see, most of the top candidates are English. Potter has been unemployed since Chelsea sacked him towards the end of the 2022-23 season. Before that, he was at Brighton for nearly four years. The higher-ups at the FA are reportedly a big fan of Potter's work, per Sky Sports. The 49-year-old was offered managerial jobs after the Blues let him go, but Potter turned them down. Those opportunities came in the Premier League and elsewhere in Europe.
As for Howe, he signed a new multi-year deal with Newcastle last summer. Darren Eales, the club's chief executive, said they will fight to keep Howe at St. James' Park if England approaches them to fill the void left by Gareth Southgate. Via The Guardian:
“I’m not going to talk about the specifics of Eddie’s contract but he’s on a multi-year deal which was extended last summer,” he said. “He’s our employee and we’re not looking to release Eddie.
“He’s a top coach, he’s the right coach for Newcastle United at the right moment. This is the coach we want to lead the club for the [foreseeable] future. We’re hoping that, with Eddie, we’ve got a coach for the long term.
“He’s under a long-term contract, he loves the day-to-day of club football and we have an exciting project here in terms of the commitment from the ownership and the journey we want to go on. We are really excited about the season ahead.”
Pochettino is another intriguing name. He left Chelsea at the end of last season on a mutual agreement after clashing with sporting directors over the direction and strategies of the club. The Argentine has a plethora of experience at Southampton, PSG, and Tottenham before taking over at The Bridge. He's never managed a national team.
Gareth Southgate will be hard to replace
Yes, there's no silverware in England's trophy case, but as previously mentioned, Southgate held his own as the Three Lions boss. England is the only team in Europe to reach at least the quarterfinals in the last four major tournaments. They were in the semifinals at the 2018 World Cup while losing in the last eight to France in Qatar two years ago.
The FA will surely do their due diligence before selecting a new manager. This is a massive job with massive responsibility and the pressure will be on to deliver after coming so close to finally winning a trophy over the last few years. With the Nations League beginning this fall, England will have to be quick to hire a Southgate replacement.