These are not the best times for the England national football team as not much has gone according to plan for some years now. Impressive qualifying campaigns followed by mediocre final campaigns have become the theme of the side lately but this year, the team has already gone through two managers.
After the FA put a full stop to Roy Hodgson’s debacles as an England manager, they could not choose a more vulnerable candidate than Big Sam. The consensus was that he will save the England side, like he has done with many clubs to save them from relegation over the years, but thanks to Telegraph, he did not last for more than game.
It is now rumored that AFC Bournemouth’s young mastermind Eddie Howe, who is fresh from ending Ronald Koeman’s unbeaten run, is favorites to land the job. Having taken the Cherries to three promotions in his two spells as a manager, the 38-year old is the first time after years that a manager as young as he is, is considered for an international job. Howe was impressive in his debut season in the Premier League with Bournemouth and managed to secure a place in the top flight with relative ease.
But the squad he had that managed to hold on to that place is what makes him a great choice for England. He gave as many as 15 players, their debut in the Premier League at the club and has been exceptional in nurturing young talents even in England. Bournemouth is not a club with a top class scouting system and most of the scouting is done by the manager who has shown his great eye for talent. Howe has shown that he believes in his ability to get the best out of his players and this is what has been missing for the Three Lions in recent times.
In the last two international tournaments, England did not look a side confident of its methods and it was evident that they were trying to work as a team but to no effect. Howe is a manager who can change that quickly. He has more self-belief than many managers in charge of bigger clubs and will get his team to believe in their strategy to win.
He has shown some great promise at the Dean Court with all the restrictions that a club of its stature faces but at England, he will be able to express himself and may also grow on to become a top class manager.
Lack of experience is the only factor that might steal this job away from the 38-year old. He is yet to face a European side in his stint as a manager and hardly knows much about the conditions away from the country.
He is more than a capable leader (who can lead the team to success) and a coach (who can get the best out of every player) but thrusting him into what is the most important job in the country is too premature. It is revealed that he is alongside Arsene Wenger and Gareth Southgate in a 3-man shortlist for the job and by the looks of it, he is not at all a bad option. Do you think Eddie Howe is a good option for the England national side?
