Next England manager odds: Graham Potter among favourites for job if Gareth Southgate sacked

Joe Wright

Next England manager odds: Graham Potter among favourites for job if Gareth Southgate sacked image

Gareth Southgate might have a contract that runs until after the next European Championship in 2024, but the England manager knows he is on thin ice.

The defeat to Italy on Sept. 23 saw the Three Lions relegated from the top tier of the UEFA Nations League as their winless run in 2022 stretched to five games.

England have gone more than 450 minutes without a goal from open play and, if they fail to get a positive result against Germany at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 26, the atmosphere among the home fans could turn toxic.

Southgate admitted before the match: "Contracts are irrelevant in football because managers can have three-, four-, five‑year contracts, and you accept that if results are not good enough, it is time to go your separate ways. Why would I be any different? I am not arrogant enough to think that my contract is going to protect me in any way."

With the 52-year-old's future unclear, who are the leading candidates to become the next permanent England manager?

MORE: Comparing Southgate's England record to past Three Lions managers

Next England manager odds

The favourite to be the next permanent England manager is Graham Potter, with SkyBet pricing him at just 2/1 to take the role. Those odds seem particularly short given that Potter has only recently taken over from Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea head coach. Tuchel himself is 16/1 to take the Three Lions job.

Next favourite is Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe at 3/1. Former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino, who is out of work at the moment, is at 5/1.

Next permanent England manager odds

*Updated as of September 26, 2022

Candidate Current club/team Odds (SkyBet)
Graham Potter Chelsea 2/1
Eddie Howe Newcastle United 3/1
Mauricio Pochettino Unattached 5/1
Steve Cooper Nottingham Forest 6/1
Arsene Wenger Unattached 12/1
Brendan Rodgers Leicester City 16/1
Lee Carsley England Under-21s 16/1
Thomas Tuchel Unattached 16/1
Steven Gerrard Aston Villa 18/1
Frank Lampard Everton 20/1

MORE: UEFA Nations League 2022 fixtures, results, tables, standings and what's at stake in 2023

Gareth Southgate during England's 4-0 defeat to Hungary

What is Gareth Southgate's record as England manager?

With 48 victories from 75 matches in charge, Southgate has a win rate of 64 percent as England manager. Among permanent Three Lions managers to take charge of at least 10 matches, only Fabio Capello (66.7 percent) has a better record.

Southgate, unlike Capello, has performed well at tournaments with the national team. He took England to their first major semifinal since 1996 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where they were eliminated by Croatia. Then, in 2021, he steered England to the Euros final, their first at a major competition since they won the World Cup back in 1966. They were defeated on penalties by Italy at Wembley Stadium following a 1-1 draw.

However, recent results, coupled with an uninspiring style of play, have seen critics round on Southgate. The defeat to Italy stretched England's winless run in 2022 to five matches, just one short of their worst such run, set back in 1993. Should they fail to score against Germany on Sept. 26, they will be on a four-game scoreless run for the first time since 1981.

Previous permanent England manager records

*Minimum of 10 matches in charge of England

Manager Years in charge Matches managed Wins Draws Losses Goal Difference Win %
Walter Winterbottom 1946-1963 139 78 33 28 +187 56.1
Alf Ramsey 1963-1974 113 69 27 17 +126 61.1
Don Revie 1974-1977 29 14 8 7 +24 48.3
Ron Greenwood 1977-1982 55 33 12 10 +53 60
Bobby Robson 1982-1990 95 47 30 18 +94 49.5
Graham Taylor 1990-1993 38 18 13 7 +30 47.4
Terry Venables 1994-1996 24 11 12 1 +22 47.8
Glenn Hoddle 1996-1999 28 17 6 5 +29 60.7
Kevin Keegan 1999-2000 18 7 7 4 +11 38.9
Sven-Goran Eriksson 2001-2006 67 40 17 10 +67 59.7
Steve McClaren 2006-2007 18 9 4 5 +20 50
Fabio Capello 2008-2011 42 28 8 6 +54 66.7
Roy Hodgson 2012-2016 56 33 15 8 +65 58.9
Gareth Southgate 2016- 75 48 13 11 +109 64

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.