The English FA wants England manager Gareth Southgate to sign a new contract that sees him at the helm till 2024. The gaffer is reluctant to go into contract talks till after the World Cup qualifiers in November.
England has been through a slew of managers before arriving at Gareth Southgate. In the last 20 years, the Three Lions have had six different managers. Sven Goran Eriksson stayed the longest.
In 2001, the FA hired Goran Eriksson. Steve McClaren took over. Steve took over in 2006 and lasted just a year before Fabio Capello took over the reins for the next three years.
Stuart Pearce, Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce all came before Southgate, who is about to outlast Goran Eriksson on the job.
Contract postponement
England is in the middle of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but the England FA wants to accelerate contract talks with Gareth Southgate. The gaffer is not keen to be bogged down with contract talks and has postponed any discussion till November.
As per Evening Standard, he said that his future does not constitute any distraction.
Though Southgate still has 14 months left on his current deal, the FA wants to be sure he is in for the long haul with Euro 2024 as the target.
Southgate is approaching five years on the job and is about to be the longest-serving coach since Bobby Robson between 1982 and 1990.
In line with the above, the bookmakers have odds in favour of Southgate keeping his job until after the World Cup at the very least.
Southgate’s achievements
England has not won a major trophy at senior level since their 1966 World Cup conquest. In almost five years at the helm, Southgate has had near misses in his attempt to win England their next major trophy.
While not a glorious tenure, he has brought hope to the Three Lions, and with each step, they have come closer to achieving their dreams.
At the 2018 World Cup, he led his team to a fourth-place finish after losing their final two games. They lost 2-1 in the semi-finals to Croatia and also to Belgium in the third-place playoff.
The team came close to winning England its first Euro tournament when they stayed unbeaten at Euro 2020 till they lost to Italy via penalties in the final. Southgate also led England to a third-place finish at the UEFA Nations League in 2019.
The current England team is perhaps the most exciting crop that England has produced in a while, and the FA believes that Southgate is the man to take them to the promised land.
Mark Bullingham, the FA chief executive and technicalctor John McDermott will head the contract discussions with Southgate.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
