'Pragmatic' England manager Sam Allardyce yet to decide on Wayne Rooney

Steve Bruce in talks with FA but Allardyce remains bookies' favourite for England job

19 July

Hull boss Steve Bruce has become the second manager to be interviewed by the FA as the hunt for a new England manager gathers pace.

The former Manchester United defender is said to be "very keen" on the job. According to the Daily Mail, he has "had a formal discussion about his ambitions" with members of the three-man headhunting team tasked with making the appointment.

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"There is a possibility of him teaming up with either Alan Shearer or Rio Ferdinand, two players with stellar international reputations," adds the paper.

The search for a new manager is being led by the FA's technical director Dan Ashworth, chief executive Martin Glenn and vice chairman David Gill, but it is not known if Bruce has met all three.

"At least one of them is believed to be out of the country," says the Mail. "All three interviewed [Sam] Allardyce, who is still the favourite with the bookmakers".

The headhunters are expected to put forward their preferred candidate at a scheduled board meeting on Thursday, reports the Daily Telegraph.

"It is anticipated that the trio will have spoken to all of the realistic candidates, including Eddie Howe, who is in America with Bournemouth, and Jurgen Klinsmann, before the board meeting," says the paper.

A decision could be made quickly as the FA, the managers involved and their current clubs are eager to escape the uncertainty caused by the vacant post.

Sunderland manager Allardyce remains the favourite, but Matt Hughes of The Times says Bruce deserves to be on the shortlist.

"The Hull manager has built up a respectable body of work during 18 years in the dugout that has featured more hits than misses," he says. "Four promotions, one relegation, a sacking and an FA Cup final is the shortest summary of his CV – but he has yet to prove himself at the highest level.

"Bruce may not be an elite manager, but after a succession of dismal tournament failures by England the FA may be right to abandon the fiction that the players are all world beaters too."

Sam Allardyce may be England's next manager as lack of funds rule out top foreign coach

19 July

Managerless England have slipped to 13th in the Fifa world rankings after their humiliating Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland, and are now below Wales, who have rocketed 15 places to 11th after their run to the tournament's semi-finals.

Tournament winners Portugal are up to sixth in the list, one place above the side they beat, their hosts France, although Belgium, beaten 3-1 by Wales in the quarter-finals are still ranked second on the list, one place below beaten Copa America finalists Argentina.

Northern Ireland, who made the knock-out stages of Euro 2016, have fallen two spots to 28th while the Republic of Ireland who got to the same stage of the competition are up two places to 31st.

Scotland have fallen to 50th after failing to qualify for the tournament.

England's slide down the rankings comes amid reports that Sam Allardyce is closing in on the vacant manager's job, with his current club reportedly looking for a replacement.

Allardyce's position as favourite has been strengthened by claims that the FA is unwilling to pay extra to hire a foreign coach.

"Although the FA was open to the idea of appointing an overseas coach for the third time, a shortage of 'suitable' candidates – and an unwillingness to pay top-of-the-market rates as they did when hiring Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello – has left the Sunderland manager firmly in pole position," says The Times.

"The FA accepts that the game’s A-list coaches are now far beyond its reach and, rather than compromise on a second-tier overseas candidate, it is increasingly minded to go English."

The FA must choose the next man from a "fairly uninspiring list" says Owen Gibson of The Guardian. And it must choose carefully.

"A successful England is vital to a successful FA," he writes. "Wembley has remained remarkably full over the past two years, partly because of some impressive marketing and partly because England fans are, contrary to reputation, a pretty loyal bunch. But that is not to say that will remain the case."

Fifa Rankings

1 Argentina

2 Belgium

3 Colombia

4 Germany

5 Chile

6 Portugal +2

7 France +10

8 Spain -2

9 Brazil -2

10 Italy 2

11 Wales +15

12 Uruguay -3

13 England -2

28. Northern Ireland -3

31. Republic of Ireland +2

50. Scotland -7

Why Sam Allardyce could be the right man for England

13 July

Sam Allardyce is in line to take over the England job following an interview with FA vice chairman David Gill.

The Sunderland manager was spotted outside Gill's home on Tuesday after he flew back to the UK from the club's pre-season training camp in Austria. Sky Sports reports he also met FA technical director Dan Ashworth and chief executive Martin Glenn.

"The 61-year-old left Sunderland in a tracksuit on Tuesday lunchtime, with the club stating he returned to carry out transfer business," says Sky. "However, he was later seen entering and leaving Gill's Cheshire home via a chauffeur-driven Mercedes.

"With the formal interview process now underway, the FA is reported to be keen on talking to Eddie Howe, Steve Bruce and US Soccer manager Jurgen Klinsmann, with Ashworth, Gill and Glenn expected to carry out more interviews in the next few days."

But could they have already found the right man?

Allardyce is hardly a glamorous figure and failed to win over the fans at his two biggest clubs, Newcastle and West Ham. However, he does appear to have at least some of the right credentials, aside from his Englishness, says Gerard Brand of Sky Sports.

"Putting 100 per cent qualification campaigns and friendly wins in Berlin aside, an England manager is almost entirely judged on his ability to get the most out of 23 players over a six-week period every two years," says the journalist. "The short, sharp, business end is where Allardyce prevails. The business end is where England always perish."

But what about his style of play, often derided as agricultural? "In international football, style is becoming less and less relevant," argues Brand. "As England proved, technique and possession doesn't get you where it once did, while heart, team spirit and fight does."

However, it cannot be overlooked, says Oliver Kay of The Times. "There is one very obvious starting point for the FA in dealing with Allardyce: could England, under him, play a style that is acceptable not only to a critical media and public but to a governing body that has spent the past few years preaching about implementing a new, possession-based philosophy?"

The answer, he believes, is yes, partly because the FA is changing its tune on the importance of possession after the Iceland debacle.

What's more there are parallels between Allardyce's style and that of the Leicester side that won the title. Claudio Ranieri's side prospered with "a well-conceived game plan underpinned by resilience and an indomitable spirit - the same kind of traits that have defined Allardyce’s teams", says Kay.

And while he may not appear to be the ideal candidate for many fans, he has high-profile supporters.

"The backing of Sir Alex Ferguson and leading members of the League Managers’ Association such as Richard Bevan and Howard Wilkinson has thrust Allardyce to the front of the queue," reports Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph.

Insiders are "increasingly convinced" that the FA will only go for another candidate if the appointment of Allardyce falls through, he adds.

Another string to Allardyce's bow is his willingness to mentor an assistant as his potential successor. "That may leave the door open for a return for Gary Neville, should he want it," says Law.

Steve Bruce and Sam Allardyce favourites for England job

12 July

Steve Bruce has said he's honoured to be mentioned as a future England manager and believes that whoever gets the job should be an Englishman.

The Daily Telegraph claims that the Hull City boss is "on the FA shortlist and is expected to be interviewed in the coming days". His biggest rival is likely to be Sam Allardyce, the Sunderland manager who according to BBC Sport, is the "favourite to succeed Roy Hodgson".

The Beeb says that Allardyce has yet to be contacted by the Football Association and nor has Bruce who, at 55, is six years his rival's junior. Speaking to the Hull Daily Mail about the possibility of leading the Three Lions, Bruce said: "It's highly flattering and I'm honoured to be linked with it. To manage your country, there's no bigger job... it's the pinnacle isn't it?"

Bruce, who last season guided Hull back to the Premier League after a season in the Championship, may not appear to have the pedigree to take on arguably the most challenging managerial job in world football. But he believes he has one crucial advantage over his rivals for the role: "There's no-one more patriotic than I am," he declared, adding that it's his belief the FA should appoint a homegrown coach.

That's also the opinion of West Ham co-chairman David Gold, the former employer of Allardyce. "I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him [for the England job]," he told BBC Radio 5 live. "I think the most important thing from my point of view is that he's English. Sam of course fits that bracket. You can rely on Sam meeting all those criteria."

Allardyce was first interviewed for the England job in 2006 after Sven-Goran Eriksson's departure but the FA went for Steve McClaren, an appointment that was as disastrous as the decision to hire Roy Hodgson.

Two Englishman and two shambles, prompting some within the English game to call for the FA to follow English rugby and cricket in appointing an overseas' coach. If the FA does heed those calls the most likely candidate is Jurgen Klinsmann.

Currently in charge of the USA team, the German took his country to the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup and is regarded as a more innovative coach than either Bruce or Allardyce. According to the Telegraph the FA wants "to appoint an Englishman, although they have not completely ruled out a foreign manager".

Steven Gerrard lined up for coaching role with England

4 July

After Friday's superb 3-1 defeat of Belgium, Wales will now meet Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in the Euro 2016 semi-final on Wednesday.

But while the Welsh are preparing for the biggest game in their history, England continue to sift through the wreckage of their campaign, which saw manager Roy Hodgson step down.

It's now seven days since the Three Lions were humiliatingly dumped out of the tournament by Iceland and the post-mortem into the team's most disastrous result for half a century has led them to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.

According to Sky Sports, the 36-year-old midfielder is set to "discuss an England coaching role with the FA", as well as having his say on who should be given the task of resurrecting the nation's football fortunes.

Gerrard is currently playing his second season for LA Galaxy in the MLS, but The Sun says he could cut short his stay Stateside because "his family have struggled to settle there".

It adds that FA chief executive Martin Glenn is keen to tap into Gerrard's experience as someone who won 114 international caps and he is "seen as having a bright future with England".

Gerrard is being tipped to work with Liverpool's Under-21s when he returns home. However, according to the tabloid, the FA are ready to offer him a job in the youth development system, which "could be the first step to him being involved with the senior England team in the future".

That may raise eyebrows in some quarters. Gerrard, who was part of the fabled "Golden Generation", achieved little during his 14-year England career, with a World Cup quarter-final in 2006 the best he managed alongside his fellow underachievers Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry.

There have been calls in many quarters in the past week for England to look further afield and follow in the footsteps of the England rugby and cricket teams by hiring foreign coaches. Turning to Gerrard may seem symptomatic of the short-sighted insularity that was the hallmark of Hodgson's catastrophic four-year tenure.

As for Gerrard, he has said coaching appealed. Asked by Sky Sports about his plans at the start of this year, he said: "I am going to carry on with my punditry work and try and move around clubs and gain more experience, going to watch managers and learning more.

"I am basically available from November, December 2016. Everyone in the football world will know I am available and hopefully I will be 75 per cent into my coaching badges."

Stuart Lancaster will not pick new England football manager

01 July

With Gareth Southgate out of the running and the players' preferred candidate, Arsene Wenger, said to be unwilling to take the job, England's search for a new manager is already in choppy waters.

Claims that failed rugby boss Stuart Lancaster could be involved in the decision have only added to the sense of confusion.

There were reports on Thursday that Lancaster, who led England's rugby team to the humiliation of a group stage exit at last year's World Cup, would help advise the FA while the hunt for a replacement for Roy Hodgson gets underway.

According to the Daily Mail, the FA is "turning to other sports in a bid to end the malaise that has created a culture of failure within the England football team".

It adds: "The decision to approach Lancaster might raise eyebrows but clearly a technical team at the FA headed by Dan Ashworth believe there is value in talking to him about the difficulties he endured."

Cycling chief Dave Brailsford is also set to have his say on the situation, claims the paper.

The two men are members of an FA "advisory group", reports The Times, but they will not be directly involved in the selection of Hodgson's successor.

"Lancaster's stock may have fallen since the World Cup last autumn, when he resigned after England failed to make it into the knockout stage, but many of his ideas about coaching and performance planning still hold sway."

The paper says the group's role is to "provide support on making improvements to coaching and the facilities" at England's national football centre, St George's Park, in Burton.

Meanwhile, it continues, Dan Ashworth, the FA technical director, chief executive Martin Glenn and David Gill, the vice chairman, are due to meet "to discuss the qualities they would like the new man to possess, as well as the timetable they are working to".

The three men are believed to admire Arsenal boss Wenger, but The Sun says he is not interested in the job. "The Frenchman is willing to talk to the FA's three-man panel," it reports. "But he has concerns over the FA's infrastructure and is not keen on international management."

Instead, it says Jurgen Klinsmann is the favourite for the role.

The former Germany and current US manager does not impress Graham Ruthven of The Guardian, however.

"Contrary to what England need right now, Klinsmann is not a tactician," he says. "Nor is he a uniting figurehead... He's not much of a philosopher either, despite his public persona as a new age thinker. As USA boss he has struggled to impose a style of his play on his team because he has no style of play."

Southgate rejects England job, Laurent Blanc in the frame

30 June

Gareth Southgate has ruled himself out of the running for the England manager's job. The former Aston Villa and England midfielder, who is currently in charge of the Under-21s, had been installed as the bookies' favourite following England's ignominious Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland on Monday and the subsequent resignation of Roy Hodgson.

According to The Sun the Football Association was "confident" Southgate would take over from Hodgson, if only on a short-term contract as they scoured the four corners of the earth for a coach willing to take on arguably the most challenging role in international football.

But it and The Guardian both report that Southgate has rejected the FA's advances. The 45-year-old not interested in the job on a full-time basis and "would be reluctant even to consider accepting the position on an interim basis", says the Guardian.

The news is an "embarrassment" to the FA, in the eyes of the Sun, given that chief executive Martin Glenn declared on Tuesday that Southgate was “a pretty obvious one to pick” as a caretaker manager.

If Southgate had been ready to act as a stop-gap manager he would have taken responsible for rebuilding the squad's morale ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign, which begins in September against Slovakia. But, like many others, he was unable to see how coaching England would "benefit his future career", believing it would more likely damage his reputation given England's long track record of failure.

The Guardian says that Southgate will see out the final year of his contract as England Under-21 coach "before pursuing an opportunity back in club management to further his development".

The paper adds that Southgate's decision "represents another significant setback for the FA" as they try to restore credibility to a team who have become the laughing stock of international football.

Earlier on Wednesday the Daily Telegraph reported that Arsenal were "confident" that manager Arsene Wenger wouldn't be tempted to pick up the poisoned chalice. The paper says that Wenger "is expected to be sounded out for the job and... he would not be opposed to the idea if the timing is right". But with a year to run on his Arsenal contract, next summer is the earliest that the Frenchman would be available with the Gunners regarding "suggestion of a job share over the next season as a complete non-starter."

That could leave the door open for another Frenchman with the Sun reporting that former Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc "is a contender". The former Manchester United defender has just left PSG and with his fluent English he could be the man the FA require.

'Fragile' Hodgson surprised by England 'slings and arrows'

29 June

The England squad returned home on Tuesday afternoon, landing in Luton to rain and grey skies, a fitting metaphor for the mood of the nation, and The Sun took pleasure in informing its readers that Eric Dier, Gary Cahill and Dele Alli "all looked glum as they arrived back", which provided a change from the "smirk" seen on Roy Hodgson's face earlier in the day.

The former England manager is being ripped apart by the press in the wake of England's astonishing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Iceland - with the Sun calculating that he pocketed £13m during his four years in charge of the Three Lions, "meaning he earned over a million for each goal scored at a tournament".

More damaging to Hodgson's reputation are the rumours that he lost the England dressing room over the course of the European Championships. The Daily Mirror was one of several media outlets to report that England's senior players "had doubted Hodgson's ability and questioned his team selection in the latter stages of the competition".

As the stories spread on Tuesday, England captain Wayne Rooney took the unusual step of releasing a statement to the Press Association rubbishing the idea: "In response to recent media reports, I'd like to say that is completely untrue. On behalf of the players, we completely supported the England manager, but we understand his reasons for stepping down. We had absolute faith in the build-up and throughout the tournament."

Hodgson faced the press on the squad's arrival in England, an experience he clearly didn't anticipate having resigned the previous evening. "I don't really know what I'm doing here," he said at a news conference called by the Football Association. "But I was told that it was important for everybody that I appear and I guess that is partly because people are still smarting from our poor performance. I suppose someone has to stand and take the slings and arrows."

That someone was quite rightly Hodgson who, though he was no longer smirking, wallowed in self-pity, seemingly oblivious to the depth of the country's anger at the humiliating defeat to Iceland. "I'm very fragile today," he whined. "One particularly bad game has caused a lot of damage."

If only it was just one 'bad game', but the fact is England have gone backwards in the four years of Hodgson's stewardship and he leaves the national team at its lowest point since they lost 1-0 to the USA in the 1950 World Cup.

The now ex-England manager agreed that the Three Lions were not in the best shape, telling the press: "They've got a major bridge to repair."

It's not a bridge that needs repairing, it's a morale. Still, the sight of Hodgson shuffling out of his last England press conference is a step in the right direction.

New England boss: Southgate, Wenger and Hughes in the frame

28 June

After the debacle of Euro 2016 and Monday night's humiliating defeat to Iceland, England must look to the future and the World Cup qualifying campaign. This kicks off with games against Slovakia followed by Malta at Wembley in just over two months' time.

The first task is for the Football Association to appoint a new manager, but outstanding candidates are thin on the ground. There could also be a root-and-branch review of the domestic game after yet another disaster at a big tournament.

FA chief executive Martin Glenn will this week outline the process for replacing outgoing manager Roy Hodgson. He is also "set to announce plans to make wholesale changes in the game – including the introduction of a winter break for club football – in the wake of England's latest failure in a major tournament", reports The Times.

Glenn believes "significant changes" are necessary for "the national team to compete effectively with the top nations in the world", says the paper, which also predicts that England Under-21s coach Gareth Southgate will be appointed as caretaker boss until a permanent replacement can be found.

Southgate is also the leading candidate for the permanent job and has been installed as the bookies' favourite. But it would be an underwhelming appointment, says Daniel Taylor of The Guardian.

The former Middlesbrough manager does not appear to have the "mix of expertise and experience that makes him the ideal candidate to replace Roy Hodgson", he says. "This is the problem facing the FA: none of the candidates on the betting-shop chalkboards can be classified as stand-out names."

Gary Neville is also in the frame, but Harry Redknapp, who came close to getting the job in 2012, is unimpressed by his credentials.

"How the hell can he be considered after the job he did at Valencia?" he writes in the Daily Telegraph. "He should be culpable, he has never coached proper players and it would just be jobs for the boys if he was to be appointed."

Ruling himself out of contention, Redknapp adds: "The FA are seriously going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat because there don't seem to be any obvious contenders out there."

Jose Mourinho and Brendan Rodgers are newly employed elsewhere, while Roberto Martinez and David Moyes have seen their reputations tarnished in recent seasons.

"Some will advance a case for Sam Allardyce who, unlike many of the other candidates, has come off the back of an impressive season by keeping Sunderland in the Premier League," says Taylor of the Guardian. "[Bournemouth manager] Eddie Howe's star continues to be in the ascendant. Steve Bruce is another possibility but Alan Pardew would be unlikely. Alan Shearer is a more left-field option but the former England striker turned pundit plainly wants to be involved."

There have, however, been calls for Arsene Wenger to be offered the role. "The idea of England going for a second-rate home-grown manager just to appease a ludicrous notion of nationality is doomed to fail," says Chris Bascombe in the Telegraph.

Memories of Fabio Capello have "contaminated too many minds", he adds: "Look at what Trevor Bayliss (cricket) and Eddie Jones (rugby) have achieved so quickly on the back of dismal major tournaments. Get the best man, regardless of the passport."

Other names in the frame include Jurgen Klinsmann, Glenn Hoddle and even Slaven Bilic, while Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail calls for Mark Hughes to get the nod.

The Stoke boss may be Welsh but has several key attributes: "He knows about the international scene. He is tactically aware and not afraid of his own opinion. He might even rattle a few cages at the FA. He creates teams with balance. He has great knowledge of the pool of players he will be selecting from and its limitations. He thinks deeply about the game, speaks well, has a background to command respect from a squad of millionaires. He can be a distinguished frontman for the national game."