Sam Allardyce’s disastrous stint as the head coach of the England national side has seen the squad go into their next couple of qualifiers under the caretaker manager Gareth Southgate, but FA will know that he cannot be the man leading them into the world cup in a couple of years. There are a number of candidates short-listed for the position and with the Premier League season in its infancy, it will be hard for them to lure any of the top managers who are involved with clubs to dump on them the mess that is the England national team.
However, one name that is doing the rounds as favorites to land the job is Arsenal’s legendary manager Arsene Wenger. The 66-year old has completed 20 years at the club earlier this month and is one of the most experienced managers in world football. He has won the Premier League title and the domestic cups with the club in his time in the country and has helped Arsenal assume an important position in Europe. His experience and approach to the game make him a superb option for the national side but there are a few reasons why it might turn out to be a disaster.
Obviously, the lack of international experience will be right at the top of the list of such reasons. In his time, AS Monaco and Arsenal are the only two big teams that he has taken charge of and he has no experience what so ever of managing an international side. Unlike in the domestic season, the International games will not keep him and his team busy every week and it is not something that does not suit the Frenchman’s style of play. Wenger has his own philosophy of how to get a team to victory and it is not something that will rub off on the squad in a years time.
He needs to work with his players day in, day out, and get them to buy into his methods before they can be effective on the field. England do not really have such time. They need someone who will steady the sinking ship and get them to their best all before the World Cup in 2018. This makes Wenger a bad option for the Three Lions and their future.
But that is not the only reason why Wenger is not perfect from the job. Getting in a French national to lead the England side can fast turn into a suicidal decision. Wenger in his time at the club has shown enough patience with the English internationals at the club but he knows the game in the country and has not really trusted too many homegrown players in recent times. Theo Walcott remains the only England international to make it regularly into the starting XI at his club this season and that is not something that bodes well with the FA. He is a respectable servant of the game but England needs a manager with a different set of attributes.
The Emirates outfit will be ready to table a contract extension at the end of the year and will surely add a couple of digits to his wages to lure him. The FA will find it hard to compete with such number financially and are better advised to look at alternatives before it is too late.
Do you think Arsene Wenger is the right man for the England job?