"?The coveted yet daunting England managerial position is now up for grabs again and speculation and debate surrounding the next potential manager is as rife as ever. Since Big Sam vacated the hot seat there's been no clear favourite to redecorate his St Georges Park office and help him pack his belongings.
No thanks to the bad timing of Allardyce's fall from grace, few managers are available. Arsene Wenger's contract is up at the end of the season, but it may be unrealistic to expect him to walk away from Arsenal at this point of the campaign. As many of the top managers moved to the Premier League this summer, there's a lot left to be desired with the available foreign managers.
There is however, a man that keeps emerging from the backdrop and he's certainly not a "?big name'. Sitting in his office in Dean Court is a young Eddie Howe possibly thinking he could pull off one of the biggest coups in football.
His name certainly doesn't say immediate success or trailblazer, but could that be exactly what England needs. Glen Hoddle, Alan Pardew and Gareth Southgate are the current English favourites for the position but none of these names strike fear into opponents either, yet many England fans think an Englishman should be selected. They may have a point; no team in World Cup history has won the event with a coach who isn't a native of his team's country.
So is there an English manager that has better credentials than Howe?
Since returning to AFC Bournemouth in 2012, Howe has a remarkable 48.19% win record despite managing the league minnows. In comparison, at current club Crystal Palace, Pardew has a 43.84% win percentage, whilst Hoddle hasn't passed the 43% mark in club football and Southgate could only manage 29.80%.
After ruling himself out the running, even Wenger stressed the importance of England promoting a manager within their ranks.
He said: "It is very important (that the manager is an Englishman), I have always said that.
"A country like England, with a huge football passion... and as well the structure of the national team (it) looks to me (that it) demands a guy from your own nation is the leader."
The doubters would say that the 38-year-old has far too little experience to be in the hot seat, with only 382 games managed at two clubs. Yet he has achieved just as many or more honours than his English counterparts in less time (promotion to Football League One 2009-10, promotion to the Championship 2012-13, the Championship winners 2014-15 with AFC Bournemouth).
If there was a suitable apprentice, Howe is that man.
He demonstrated last season that experience means little when bringing in or improving English players. There were 51 Premier League debutants, 15 of them were for Bournemouth and seven of those were English.
Clearly Howe has a good relationship with his players, once luring Charlie Austin, Danny Ings, Sam Vokes, Kieran Trippier and Ben Mee all to his former club Burnley within nine months and most famously, managing to secure England international Jack Wilshere on loan at Bournemouth.
But less experience begets less expectation, which begets less pressure. The England national team may be the hardest job in football, neither the managers nor the players cope well with the pressure or expectations.
Mourinho once said: "England is the kind of team [from whom] I am always expecting something good but I am never surprised when things go wrong.
"If England is world champion, it's not a surprise for me. If England is knocked out in the group phase, it's not a surprise for me."?
Next England manager odds:
Southgate 6/4
Bruce 4/1
Wenger 10/1
Howe 12/1
Sven 100/1https://t.co/c6WDxCZv7i
England may benefit from the lack of pressure that may come with hiring Howe. The days of sports psychologist surrounding the squad could be over, and free flowing football could emerge. Big Sam even said in the undercover Telegraph sting that the England players have a psychological barrier and can't cope with the pressure.
Gareth Southgate has a good chance of getting the job if the qualifiers go well after a long period of hiring for experience by the FA. But maybe whilst young players are getting an opportunity in the England setup, a young manager should too.