With Gareth Southgate having resigned as England manager following their Euro 2024 final defeat, we look at the likeliest candidates to replace him.
Gareth Southgate has stepped down from his role as England manager after losing to Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final.
Whatever people’s feelings about how England played under Southgate, there is no denying he leaves the Three Lions in a much better place than he found them when he was appointed in 2016.
After 102 games, 61 wins, 24 draws and 17 defeats, with 213 goals scored and 72 conceded, and a win percentage of 59.8%, Southgate has departed and can do so with his head held high. He took England to a World Cup semi-final and quarter-final, as well as two European Championship finals. Ultimately, his tenure ended without a trophy, but he gave England fans hope after decades of not much at all.
The FA must now look to the future, and so will we. How do you follow the man who made the impossible job possible? We go through the early favourites to be the next England manager, and some outside shouts, too.
Graham Potter
The former Swansea City, Brighton and Chelsea boss hasn’t been in work since leaving Stamford Bridge in April 2023.
His has not been a typical journey for an English manager. Potter took charge of Swedish fourth division side Östersund in 2011, getting them promoted to the top flight in just four years. In the 2017-18 season they even competed in the UEFA Europa League and beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, albeit eventually losing 4-2 on aggregate.
After a short spell at Swansea, Potter was snapped up by Brighton to replace Chris Hughton at the end of the 2018-19 season. He took charge of 135 games at the Amex, winning 42, drawing 46 and losing 47, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
While Potter managed Brighton they gained a reputation for slick, attractive, attacking football, always seemingly just a top-class goalscorer away from being a serious threat to the top teams in the Premier League.
In the 2021-22 Premier League season when Brighton finished ninth, only the ‘traditional big six’ attempted more than their 489 total shots, while only Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea averaged more than their 54.3% possession. His Seagulls side also pressed high, with only Liverpool (443) and Man City (378) recording more high turnovers than Brighton (377) that season.
That was enough to pique the interest of Chelsea, who took Potter from Brighton in September 2022 to replace Thomas Tuchel (who we’ll come to shortly). Things didn’t exactly go according to plan for Potter in London, though. When he was dismissed in April 2023, Potter had the joint-lowest points-per-game return of any manager to take charge of 20+ games for Chelsea in the Premier League (1.27).
Chelsea also seemed to suffer from a similar problem as Brighton in that they underperformed their xG, doing so by 7.4 (21 goals from 28.4 xG) in the Premier League during Potter’s short reign, the worst differential of any side since in the competition in that time.
It wasn’t all bad, though. Potter became just the second English manager to win five UEFA Champions League games in a single season, after Bobby Robson with Newcastle in 2002-03 (also five).
That struggle to get the best out of a team with high expectations might not bode well when it comes to an England role where the next step is seen as winning a trophy, but if he can at least get the national team playing some of the impressive attacking football fans have been so thirsty for, it could give Potter more benefit of the doubt than Southgate was afforded.
Eddie Howe
Apart from an underwhelming year and a half at Burnley, Howe’s early career was made up of the best part of a decade across two spells at Bournemouth, taking them from League Two to the Premier League.
After five seasons in the top flight, Bournemouth were relegated at the end of the 2019-20 campaign, which saw Howe depart the Vitality Stadium.
It was a surprise to some when Howe replaced Steve Bruce at Newcastle United in November 2021, with many assuming the club’s new owners would go for a bigger name, but Howe has produced the goods at St James’ Park.
Across 2022, Howe became only the third English manager to win more than 20 Premier League matches in a calendar year (21), after Kevin Keegan (24 in 1994, 23 in 1995 with Newcastle) and Roy Evans (22 in 1996 with Liverpool).
He led Newcastle to a fourth-place finish and Champions League qualification in 2022-23, making the Magpies particularly difficult to beat. They only lost five league games that season, the joint-fewest in the Premier League along with champions Man City. Newcastle also conceded the joint-fewest goals that season, along with City (33).
Being difficult to beat is crucial in tournament football, as England have found in recent years.
The Three Lions also struggled to create chances at Euro 2024, with nine teams in the tournament having a higher xG total despite only Spain playing as many games as them. In 2022-23, only Man City and Brighton amassed more xG in the Premier League than Newcastle, while only City, Liverpool and Arsenal had greater xG – and indeed, scored more goals – last season.
It could be tricky for the FA to get Howe out of his Newcastle contract, which runs until 2027. Some reports suggest there could be a buyout clause, but with other ‘free’ options around it might be enough to put the decision-makers off.
Lee Carsley
This would arguably be the appointment that makes most sense when you consider who is being replaced. Southgate was promoted from the England under-21s to the senior boss, coming through as part of the ‘England DNA’ initiative.
Given the relative success of Southgate, you would think it will follow that the FA will take a similar approach, which would mean looking at U21 manager Carsley.
It’s not just due to the former Everton midfielder being the current U21 boss, but the job he has been doing.
Carsley was appointed U21 manager in July 2021 in his 17 games in U21 European Championship qualifiers, he has 14 wins, one draw and two defeats, scoring 58 goals and conceding 12.
He also has experience of winning, securing the U21 European Championship in 2023, coincidentally beating Spain 1-0 in the final. England won all six games in the tournament, scoring 11 goals and not conceding a single one on their way to the trophy.
Carsley’s side like to attack and score goals, beating Serbia 9-1 in October 2023, as well as putting five past Azerbaijan and seven past Luxembourg in March 2024.
One potentially key difference between Southgate and Carsley is that the former had some senior managerial experience before his appointment, having managed Middlesbrough. Carsley has never permanently managed a senior team, having worked in youth football at Brentford, Manchester City and Birmingham City prior to England. He has been a caretaker/interim boss at previous clubs, but would he be ready to manage such a high-profile senior team?
Then again, Luis de la Fuente just won the Euros with Spain, and he was appointed in 2022 after more than a decade away from senior management during which time he won UEFA Euros titles at U19 and U21 level. International football is a different beast to club football, and knowing international football – even at youth level – is perhaps the more important experience to have.
Thomas Tuchel
If the decision-makers are comfortable looking outside of English managers, Tuchel could come into consideration.
He is out of work after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the season, and has a history of winning big tournaments, lifting the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021.
In fact, just 350 days after his first game in charge of Chelsea, Tuchel became the first manager in the club’s history to guide the Blues to the final of each of the League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League/European Cup.
It was a good start for Tuchel at Stamford Bridge, but it went downhill at the halfway point. He took charge of 100 games for Chelsea; in his first 50 games they only conceded 24 goals, while in his second 50 they conceded 53 goals.
Tuchel can divide opinion, with some considering his tactics negative and others not warming to his sometimes-forthright personality.
Bayern didn’t win the Bundesliga last season, but they did make the Champions League semi-finals, making Tuchel the first German coach to reach the final four of the Champions League with three different clubs (Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern).
One crucial factor in his favour could be his excellent use of Harry Kane last season. For all the apparent faults with England’s captain at Euro 2024, Kane was sensational in his first season in the Bundesliga – even if he didn’t win it.
He scored 44 goals in 45 games for Bayern, including 36 in the Bundesliga, and it looked like the team was set up to get the best out of him. His record for England is impeccable, but perhaps isn’t set up for him anymore. Whether it should be is another question, but what is unquestionable is that Tuchel knows how to get Kane scoring lots of goals.
Mauricio Pochettino
Another who has a strong history of getting the best out of Kane, and another former Chelsea boss.
Pochettino feels like he would be a popular choice, though, and it speaks to the respect he has earned during his time in the Premier League that so many are willing to countenance England being managed by an Argentine.
Pochettino made a good start to his time in England at Southampton, soon taking the Tottenham job and setting about improving fortunes at White Hart Lane. He earned second place in the Premier League in 2016-17, and guided Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019. Pochettino averaged 1.89 points per game in charge of Spurs in the Premier League, the best ratio of any manager for the club (30+ games).
Though he is another whose teams play a style of football desired by England fans, Pochettino doesn’t have a strong history of winning trophies, only lifting silverware during his time with PSG (Ligue 1 title, Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions).
His one season at Chelsea was difficult to judge, taking over a bloated squad filled with young players, while also suffering a lot of injuries. It was a rocky road for much of 2023-24, but things seemed to be turning around by the season’s climax, with Chelsea finishing sixth. Then Pochettino left.
That means he’s another who’s free to speak to the FA and, like Southgate, he has a reputation for being loved by his players, which you feel goes a long way particularly in international football.
Jürgen Klopp
There has been a lot of talk about the former Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool manager being an option, and it’s understandable to see why.
Klopp did a phenomenal job during his time in England, winning almost every trophy possible with Liverpool, including ending their 30-year wait for a league title. He also led them to three Champions League finals, winning one, while amassing over 90 points in three different seasons as he went to battle against Pep Guardiola and Man City with regularity.
Liverpool’s high-energy attacking style under Klopp was almost exactly what England haven’t been under Southgate, and the German also knows how to get the best out of the lesser-spotted Trent Alexander-Arnold.
On top of all that, he’s available… isn’t he?
The 57-year-old left Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season, citing sapped energy levels and a desire to take a break from the game for at least a year. He has been out of it for less than two months, so it seems unlikely he’d u-turn quite this quickly. Even though he did take the Liverpool job in 2015 soon after leaving Dortmund, he at least waited until the October.
Klopp has reportedly already turned down the chance to manage the United States men’s national team, and it would be a surprise if he were to cut short his planned sabbatical this quickly to come into a role with such high levels of scrutiny, even if it is less time consuming than a club job.
It would be quite funny to see him turn to the Wembley crowd and admonish at them for making paper planes, though.
Outside Shouts
Sean Dyche
It’s perhaps surprising to some that Dyche isn’t higher in the list of favourites. The Everton boss may have taken a while to get going at Goodison Park but considering what he had to go up against in terms of fighting relegation as well as points deductions, he has impressed.
Whether at Watford, Burnley or Everton, Dyche has always been able to get the best from his players, though often arguably with results over style – which would be argued was Southgate’s problem.
Dyche likes his English players, though. The last 45 instances of a Premier League team having 9+ English players in a starting XI have all been managed by Dyche (41 at Burnley, 4 at Everton).
Gary O’Neil
O’Neil doesn’t have much managerial experience, but he has done well at both Bournemouth and Wolves, to the point where he has already been linked with some bigger jobs in England.
It was a surprise to see Bournemouth overlook O’Neil after he had saved them from relegation in the 2022-23 season, but he was soon appointed by Wolves.
By 25 February 2024, Wolves had won as many Premier League matches (11) in 26 games that season as they did in 2022-23. It was also the quickest they’d scored 40 goals in a top-flight campaign since 1971-72 (23rd game). They finished the season poorly but were hampered by injuries and ultimately never really in danger of relegation.
Frank Lampard
The first name on this list who actually played for England, but recent underwhelming managerial gigs at Everton and Chelsea mean Lampard’s name isn’t really in the running.
In May 2023, Lampard became the first English manager to lose 10 games in a row while in charge of a top-flight team since Arthur Cox in February 1988 with Derby County.
His big-game experience could be a factor, while his punditry work perhaps earned him a bit more respect from fans and showed he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to discussing tactics.
Maybe he could just play himself in midfield in an emergency… no but seriously, Lampard could be an option as manager.
Steven Gerrard
You can’t talk about England and Lampard without mentioning Gerrard.
Like his former international teammate, Gerrard’s managerial reputation has taken quite a hit in recent years. After doing an excellent job at Rangers where he won the league to stop a decade of dominance from Celtic, as well as making a good start with Aston Villa, things went downhill quite quickly for Gerrard, who now finds himself managing Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League.
Maybe Gerrard and Lampard could be hired as joint managers to see if they can finally work together for England. We’d suggest if so, the FA make sure they also finally bring in Michael Carrick to help them out.
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