Sam Allardyce is the obvious candidate to replace Roy Hodgson as England’s manager if the Football Association (FA) decide to go with a home-grown candidate for the job, former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has said.
A three-person panel of the FA has been tasked with finding a successor for Hodgson, who resigned following England’s humiliating defeat to Iceland in the 2016 European Championship.
Gareth Southgate, the England under-21 coach, Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe, Hull City’s Steve Bruce and former England manager Glenn Hoddle are among those who have been linked with the job by the British media.
Ferguson, however, said Sunderland manager Allardyce’s experience of coaching in the English top flight should make him the front-runner if the FA decide to appoint a local. Ferguson told Sky Sports:
Sam’s the best English candidate because he’s in the Premier League... They have to have someone with the capabilities, the tactical awareness and the feel for the national side.
A 13-time Premier League winner with United, Ferguson felt the gruelling domestic club schedule had played a role in England’s disappointing Euro campaign.
The league programme English players go through – to then play a major tournament after that makes it impossible. In Germany, they have a rest in December and January and teams who play in a better climate must be better prepared than English players.Alex Ferguson, Former Manchester United Boss
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