beIN SPORTS

By Graham Ruthven (@grahamruthven)

If only The FA had planned its search for a new manager like Roy Hodgson planned his exit from his role as England boss. The full-time whistle had barely blown on the humiliating Euro 2016 defeat to Iceland when he produced a statement, seemingly from nowhere, announcing that he was to step down.

The process in finding Hodgson’s replacement has been rather less concise. There is no obvious candidate. There is no man waiting in the wings, and if there was he resigned alongside the England boss of four years (Gary Neville). Such a scenario has led to rampant speculation. 

Finally, however, there is a frontrunner. Sam Allardyce has emerged from the pack to become the favourite to replace Hodgson, with the Sunderland interviewed for the job earlier last week. It would appear The FA have opted for a man so often overlooked for English soccer’s top post so many times before.

It’s the kind of job Allardyce has long dreamed of. He once commented that he was destined to take charge of a team like Real Madrid. The English national team might not be Real Madrid but it will place him at the top of the European game. He will have the chance to pit himself against the biggest and best of the sport. 

Of course, Allardyce isn’t the most obvious pick for such a vacancy. News that he is set to take over as England manager has been met with widespread derision. His reputation isn’t exactly befitting of being the boss of such an accomplished and illustrious national team, let alone one with as high standards as England. 

But English soccer can no longer afford to be snobbish. If their performance at the last two major tournaments it has played - Euro 2016 and the 2014 World Cup - is anything to go by, England must aim to merely hold their own at the top of the international game. Allardyce could be the man to help them do that.

Against Iceland Hodgson’s side were undone by a better drilled, better organised outfit. In fact, if there was a common thread woven throughout this summer’s European Championships it was that the most successful teams were those who were organised best. Portugal were a general unremarkable side, but went all the way by virtue of their defensive structure and dogged stubbornness. 

Unless you’re a side of Germany or Spain’s caliber organisation is a king-maker at international level. England must find that, and in Allardyce they could have someone who can deliver that quality. For the derision he faces, there is a case to be made that the former West Ham, Bolton and Newcastle United boss is exactly the kind of man England needs. 

Could you imagine England losing to Iceland with Allardyce, rather than Hodgson, in charge? He wouldn’t have stood for it and would have set up his side more effectively to deal with the task in hand. There might be something of a glass ceiling with Allardyce, but at present England are coming nowhere near that glass ceiling. 

There are other options out there. USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has been linked with the vacancy, with Steve Bruce’s also mentioned as a potential candidate. Even Arsene Wenger has been asked whether he would be interested in replacing Hodgson. Rather surprisingly the Frenchman refused to rule out the possibility.

But it is Allardyce who suits the job best. This is about more than just giving someone their rightful turn having waited for so long. The 61-year-old might not be the manager that England wants, but he is the manager that they need. No matter whether that sits comfortably with the majority or not.