THE Gareth Southgate era is almost certainly over.
And unless the FA are seriously bold in their search for his successor, then these last eight years will soon be viewed as a golden age for the England team, lost forever.
There is a natural preference to appoint an English successor.
And in an ideal world, the England manager should always be English. But this is not an ideal scenario.
If, as expected, Southgate quits in the coming days, there would be no obvious English candidate.
So the FA must be ambitious in sounding out the best man for the job, regardless of nationality.
Because England need a manager who would gain instant respect with players, who would be tactically bold enough to take on Spain and a strong enough character to deal with Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid Galactico status, which threatens to cause future issues within the England squad. Yes, when the FA have gone foreign in the past, it hasn’t worked out well.
Yet the problem with Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello was that neither had any previous involvement in English football.
They lacked knowledge and understanding of the football culture — indeed, Capello barely spoke the language.
Now there is a wealth of overseas managerial talent with significant Premier League experience, including Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino, Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel.
Manchester City boss Guardiola and Real godfather Ancelotti are managing the best two club sides in the world and are unlikely to leave their posts to take on Nations League fixtures against Republic of Ireland, Finland and Greece.
But if you don’t ask, you never know.
Whatever it was in Klopp’s life that made him leave Liverpool, the German clearly wants a lengthy break. But England’s next meaningful fixtures are not until March.
As an adopted Scouser, Klopp might not fancy it and he would certainly be a divisive figure among the media. But he is an intriguing candidate. Again — don’t ask, don’t get.
Poch is available and he has helped to nurture a substantial number of England’s players over the past decade — including Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw and Cole Palmer.
The Argentinian would make an excellent England boss. Except that he is Argentinian. Which doesn’t bother us much but does the Argentinians.
Anti-English feeling can still run deep in his native land. Take this job and he might never be able to go home.
Tuchel, a Champions League winner, is available and keen but the German is a combustible character.
The FA, so used to a smooth, clubbable diplomat like Southgate, might baulk at the man who has just left Bayern Munich.
So looking abroad might not work out but it’s an avenue which has to be explored.
Because there isn’t much of a field among English, even British and Irish, bosses.
Graham Potter is the bookies’ favourite but the ex-Chelsea manager, who hasn’t worked for 15 months, is Southgate Lite.
Nice bloke, emotionally intelligent, tactically cautious but without the vast international back catalogue Southgate brought to the job — with 57 caps as a player and spells as Under-21s boss and as an FA backroom operator.
Eddie Howe would have been Southgate’s likeliest successor had he parted ways with Newcastle this summer after a season of regression on Tyneside.
But Geordie Arabia’s overlords have stayed loyal to Howe, who would be unlikely to walk out on such a wealthy and ambitious club, even though he would like a stab at the England job in the future.
After that we are left with Frank Lampard, who fits the profile in terms of international experience and excellent media skills.
The only slight drawback is he doesn’t seem to be a particularly good manager.
Current England U21s boss Lee Carsley — who won the European Championships last summer — is also highly regarded within the FA.
But the Brummie-born former Everton midfielder won 40 caps for Ireland and, at the age of 50, he has never been the full-time manager of a men’s team.
Steve Cooper, a Welshman who guided England’s U17s to the 2017 World Cup and was a success at Nottingham Forest, would have been a serious contender had he not just taken over at Leicester.
Brendan Rodgers is another who should be in with a shout.
The Celtic boss is a Northern Irish Catholic, which matters more than it should with some people.
But he is a forward-thinking, media-friendly manager who would tick a lot of boxes with the FA. England may have reached a second successive Euros final in Germany but in performance terms they regressed from the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
In the Middle East, Southgate’s side played boldly and played well in four matches out of five, including their narrow quarter-final defeat by defending champs France.
That was a game England could easily have won. Sunday’s final against Spain had the same 2-1 scoreline but the gulf between the teams was vast.
Across the tournament, England played well in three halves of football out of 14 and they were fortunate not to meet a world-class team before the final.
Yet still, Southgate’s record of two finals, a semi-final and a quarter in four tournaments is historically excellent.
When you look at potential candidates and the job spec and you consider the preference for an English boss to fit in with the FA’s coaching talent pathway, there is one man clearly best suited to leading the Three Lions into the next World Cup.
And I’m sorry to disappoint you but that man is Gareth Southgate.
MADE A MARC
AFTER Harry Maguire was ruled out through injury, there were obvious concerns about Marc Guehi’s place in the England starting line-up at the Euros.
It felt a big ask for a player with little international experience — and with no previous in European club football — who had missed three months through injury at the back end of the domestic season.
But the Crystal Palace centre-back was mostly excellent as England reached a first final on foreign soil.
Guehi looks like being an England regular for years to come.
ANOTHER NOTE
DURING the Euros, myself and three colleagues made a habit of listening to classic England tournament songs in the car on the way to matches.
Given that three out of the four of us are serious about good music, this was done in an ironic way.
However, I’m still infected by an earworm of England’s 1982 ditty This Time (We’ll Get It Right) as I sit at Berlin Airport departure gate. The squad can be seen warbling it on the right.
So let’s be grateful that the Three Lions no longer head into the recording studios before tournaments.