Gareth Southgate’s resignation as England manager after the Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain has sparked discussions about his potential successor. Southgate’s tenure was marked by mixed reactions.
Although he faced criticism for his conservative style of play and his failure to use the talented squad to their full potential, he led England to two major finals, Euro 2020 and Euro 2024. although both ended in heartbreak with defeats to Italy and Spain. , respectively.
A number of high-profile names have been suggested as potential successors, including Pep Guardiola, and less prominent ones such as Graham Potter and Gary O’Neil.
Lee Carsley emerges as a contender after impressing with early results
Lee Carsley, who was appointed interim manager while the FA searches for a permanent replacement, has now also emerged as a potential candidate.
He has impressed early on, guiding England to comfortable wins against Ireland and Finland in the Nations League group stage.
Carsley’s bold decisions, such as making Trent Alexander-Arnold his preferred right-back over Southgate’s previous choices, have paid off, with Alexander-Arnold delivering two Man of the Match performances. Furthermore, his ability to bring out the best in midfielder Angel Gomes, a player overlooked by Southgate, has been widely praised.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano shed some light on the FA’s pursuit during his appearance The recap podcast.
According to Romano, while the FA still consider Pep Guardiola as their dream candidate, the prospect of prying him away from Manchester City remains unlikely. That leaves more realistic options, including Graham Potter and several other candidates, still in the mix.
He said:
“Look, candidates, there are candidates. There are dreams like Pep Guardiola. We know he has been mentioned several times and remains the dream candidate for them. Then there are more realistic candidates like Graham Potter or others. So there are several candidates for this job.”
“But for now, I can guarantee that the internal conversation is not yet in the final phase. So they’re still arguing internally, still giving Lee Carsley his time to develop his ideas, to show his ideas. For example, internally, there was a lot of appreciation for what he did in the first few games with, for example, Angel Gomes, who was a player who was never considered (at Southgate).
“So they want to give him time and then take his time to decide. Now we have two international breaks coming up very soon, in October and November. Then it will be time to make a decision. Then we’ll see which way they go At the moment, nothing has been decided, but as for the candidates, there are certainly several”.
With several names on the table and Carsley’s strong start, the FA face an intriguing decision in the coming months.
