Jamie Carragher had no doubts when naming who should replace Gareth Southgate as England manager
The former England defender knows exactly who he wants.
Jamie Carragher had no doubts when naming who he thinks should succeed Gareth Southgate as England manager.
Southgate stepped down from his position on Tuesday less than 48 hours after England lost 2-1 to Spain in the final of Euro 2024.
The 53-year-old transformed the fortunes of the national team during his eight-year tenure, leading them to two European Championship finals as well as the World Cup semi-finals and quarter-finals.
Southgate described managing England as "the honour of my life", but insisted that it is "time for a new chapter."
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Southgate came under heavy criticism for failing to get the most out of England's stars at Euro 2024, so the Football Association have some difficult decisions to make about who should succeed him and take England to the next level.
But for former England defender Jamie Carragher, it isn't actually a difficult decision at all.
"There is one standout candidate to replace Gareth Southgate. It has got to be Eddie Howe. For me, he is the front-runner by a distance," Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
"I would be staggered if it does not. None of the other leading contenders comes so close to being the right fit."
The other leading candidates are former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter, England under-21s manager Lee Carsley and ex-Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino.
"Howe has the pedigree as a club manager. He did fantastically well at Bournemouth and has done a great job at St James’ Park," Carragher continued.
"His sides play front-foot, attacking football. Like Southgate, he would be a safe pair of hands dealing with the media - a great ambassador for the country.
"Young players will respond to Howe as he has proved a good man-manager."
Carragher argued that the likes of Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola would not be able replicate their club results at international level as they would not get enough time to "work with the exact profile of players they choose, developing patterns of play on a daily basis so it becomes natural whenever a tournament comes along."
He also said that he thinks England should hire an English coach, because he thinks international football "should be our best against ‘their’ best."
Topics: Gareth Southgate, Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Euro 2024, England
Alex Brotherton