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| Ben Wyeth Photography |
As one would readily expect in the aftermath of Fabio Capello's abrupt resignation from his post as England manager, the speculation about just who will take the reigns of England in advance of Euro 2012 has begun in earnest and undoubtedly won't die down until the FA has chosen his replacement. Of course, this rampant speculation will only be replaced by almost perverse over-analysis and hyperbole once the selection has actually been confirmed.
As if according to script, the usual names have been bandied about as leading candidates for the vacancy. The bookmakers, if not most of England, would assume that Harry Redknapp is the most likely person to take the job, but I would be quite wary of assuming that his appointment as the king of English football is all but a formality. While the England job is often portrayed as the Holy Grail amongst English managers, let us not forget that Redknapp is currently in charge of a Tottenham Hotspur squad that is just on the heels of the Manchester clubs in the Premier League race while also maintaining a solid grip on spot in next season's Champion's League. To walk away from such lofty heights as that at this stage of the season would be nothing short of madness, even if it is his country that is theoretically calling. The fact that Redknapp has apparently ruled out taking on the England job in addition to his duties with Tottenham would seem to cast further doubt upon his appointment being imminent. Sure, Redknapp could feasibly take over after Tottenham's term is finished, but that would make for a bit of a rush job for him to prepare England for the task at hand this summer, wouldn't it?
If not Redknapp, then just who would be next on the FA's presumed shortlist? Stuart Pearce has been given the responsibility of managing England in their upcoming friendly against the Netherlands, but there is absolutely no way he would be allowed to hang around in that role beyond then. Alan Pardew has been doing a fantastic job with Newcastle this season, though it's fair to say that his hiring would hardly inspire any jubilation in the country. Sam Allardyce, who has been linked with England in the past, has already ruled himself out of the England race, and like Pardew, his hiring would probably be more likely to be fodder for the groans of a population rather than positively charged pandemonium up and down the countryside. Roy Hodgson, whose name has also popped up, is another Englishmen who would do little to ignite the fanbase, to say the least.
With England at an apparent crossroads as Euro 2012 nears on the horizion and perhaps facing a dearth of truly viable English managerial candidates should Harry Redknapp indeed not take the job, there is one name, perhaps out of nowhere to some, that comes to mind for me: that of Brendan Rodgers.
Granted, Rodgers is not actually English, as the FA apparently wants, but he is indeed British thanks to hailing from Northern Ireland. If he were to somehow be the new England man he would have to answer to his naysayers and those doubting if his CV is indeed extensive enough to take on the monumental task of England, but I would be keen to think that the combination of his youthful energy as a man on the right side of forty and his footballing acumen would more than make up for any experience he might lack at this point in his career. If he can get so much out of so little with Swansea this season and have them playing a free-flowing, creative style as opposed to the "survive at all costs" mentality often exhibited by newly promoted sides, one would have to think that maybe, just maybe, he could coax some positive performances out of a squad that, while hardly as technically gifted as either Spain or Germany these days, is at least good enough to compete with the best on their day.
This is not to say that he would simply stroll into the England dressing room and have his rule of the roost amidst some of the sizable egos that reside there, but the fact that he himself is not too far removed from this generation of players in age might allow him to relate to them better than Capello ever could and vice versa. The likes of Rooney, Bent, Young and their forward minded compatriots could hardly find issue with the free range Rodgers' attacking preferences would afford them.
Yes, Rodgers did just sign a new contract to stay in Swansea until 2015, but only the most naive of fans would fail to realize that modern contracts are often barely worth the paper they are typed on. If the FA wanted him they could get him, and if Swansea wanted some form of compensation for their troubles, the FA could write the check and hardly bat an eye at the amount. In the wake of the turmoil facing England at the moment, Brendan Rodgers would be the fresh face and new outlook that England so desperately need if they are to pull themselves out of this rather embarrassing time and approach any sort of success in Poland and Ukraine this summer. Who knows--Leon Britton, he of Swansea fame and the Premier League's leading passer statistically this season, would maybe even get a cap or two as well before it was all said and done!
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