Sam Allardyce Was Right Man for the Job, but England Must Go in a New Direction

There was something distinctly Shakespearean to Sam Allardyce’s very swift demise as England manager. It was a job he coveted for so long, yet his inherent instincts, his toxic intuition, betrayed him. It was like he couldn’t stop himself, unable to stem his urges like so many William Shakespeare protagonists. This was a tragedy for the modern football age.

But regardless of whether Allardyce’s exit as the national-team manager was the right course of action or not, English football must now plot a way forward from this nadir. It’s only 10 weeks since the last search resulted in the appointment of the former Sunderland and West Ham United manager, but the Football Association must find the energy to do it all again.

Gareth Southgate has been handed the job on an interim basis for the next four games (against Malta, Slovenia, Scotland and Spain), but it seems unlikely a man so synonymous with English footballing failure will be given the country’s top job, as harsh a conclusion as that may be. A long-term figurehead must be found with the 2018 World Cup already starting to come into focus.

So who next? Allardyce, from a purely footballing perspective, was the right man for the job following Roy Hodgson’s resignation.

England showed in their humiliating Euro 2016 exit to Iceland that they needed an organiser and a maximiser in charge. They needed someone who would offer strong leadership, and for all his glaring faults, Allardyce brought those qualities.

What’s more, he was English. Allardyce was a simple sell to the sport’s traditionalists who believe national teams should be managed by coaches of that nationality. But the FA will be struggling this time if it is forced to pick from the domestic talent pool once again—the field has never been weaker.

Looking past Southgate, Steve Bruce is the favourite to land the position, with the former defender out of work after resigning as Hull City manager earlier this season. Then there’s Alan Pardew and Eddie Howe, the great white hope of English football’s next generation of coaches. Glenn Hoddle’s name has also been mentioned, …

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