The FA’s number one target is without a shadow of a doubt, Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe

In the aftermath of Sam Allardyce being unveiled as England manager back in July, Gary Lineker tweeted that “Every major football nation has a homegrown manager. Think its right for England also. Therefore, Sam Allardyce was the best choice.”

Some agreed with Lineker’s sentiments, others didn’t, whilst some, still in shock after the Euro’s debacle, were just glad to see the back of Roy Hodgson – England had hit rock bottom and it surely couldn’t get any worse? Well not initially anyway.

With Hodgson resigning in the minutes after Iceland had inflicting England’s most embarrassing major tournament defeat ever, attention soon turned to his successor, an Englishman too.

Allardyce’s reign as Three Lions boss ended on Tuesday night, just 67 days after being appointed – Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.

Allardyce was the favourite; Gareth Southgate distanced himself from the post, whilst names such as the AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe were also mooted and therefore considered contenders.

Southgate fitted the profile of an FA ‘yes man’, although with Hodgson and Steve McClaren, ten years previous of a similar ilk proving unsuccessful appointments, the race to take on a chalice now lauded as the most poisonous in international football was seen a two-horse race between Allardyce and Howe.

Realistically, the number one contender was the former Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland man as Howe was ultimately viewed as a future England manager and a potentially risky appointment, whereas Allardyce was the safe choice.

So it was no surprise, that 68 days ago, Allardyce was entrusted with the job of rescuing England from their lowest ever ebb and initially, both he and the FA made all the right noises.

Dream job, right man, something I’ve always wanted, a headline makers dream. Although on Monday, Allardyce was making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

“England manager for sale” screamed the front page headline of the Daily Telegraph.

Allardyce had been secretly filmed by undercover reporters who made out they were Far-East businessmen who wanted to profit from player transfers and wanted the England manager to help them do this.

They offered Allardyce £400,000 for his advice, although he did say that this would have to be given the FA’s seal of approval. The secret tapes also saw Allardyce make less than complimentary comments about Hodgson, his former assistant Gary Neville and the FA spending millions to redevelop Wembley.

For me, what ‘Big Sam’ did was hardly the crime of the century, in fact there wasn’t any crime committed, although the fact he talked about avoiding loopholes in regard to third party player ownership was honesty with a huge dollop of naivety, the latter being something a man in such a well paid and high profile job just can’t display.

Some have called it media entrapment, and whilst the way Allardyce was set-up, especially by a publication such as the Daily Telegraph is questionable at absolute best, the FA said last night, they must uphold their integrity and Allardyce had clearly overstepped the mark and unsurprisingly left his job and English football is a laughing stock again.

Someone has to pick the pieces up however and Southgate has been handed the reins for England next four matches, with it obvious that the FA has a number one target, but he is already employed and would need a lot of persuasion to leave his current employment. That man, without a shadow of a doubt is Howe.

Despite ruling himself out as the FA picked up the pieces of Hodgson’s sorry demise, things are different now as he is the only credible choice, whether he’s ready or not, if the games rulers go English with their next permanent boss.

As long as the manager provides winning football, it shouldn’t matter who he is, but the FA seem under intense pressure to appoint a homegrown manager, although the problem being that they are few and far between.

When the bookies favourites include Steve Bruce and Alan Pardew then it’s clear to see the cupboard isn’t exactly bursting at the seams with credible candidates, although Howe is most definitely plausible as he ticks all the boxes required.

Howe’s side currently sit 15th in the Premier League after last weekend’s 1-0 win over Everton – Photo: Kieran Clarke / Offside.

Good football? Check. Media savvy? Check. Miracle worker? Big check if his Bournemouth tenure is anything to go by, and before you start crowing about the money sloshing around at the Vitality Stadium now, initially Howe had nothing and the money he did have prior to Premier League promotion he spent wisely.

As is often the case, it’s fine having a wealthy owner, but if you don’t have the right man to spend it, then trouble will be just round the corner – think Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, for example.

The FA are long-term admirers of Howe’s achievements to date and only last week, when interviewed by Lineker for the BBC, Howe said that he would never say no to the England job as it’s the ultimate. He went onto add that his focus, naturally, was only on Bournemouth and whilst the comments were interesting, yesterday’s events have brought them into prominence.

Howe wouldn’t be alone in not saying no to England, even I with half a season in charge of Swanage Town in the Dorset League would jump at the chance, but it’s not that cut and dried for Howe.

He has to evaluate if the time is right in what is only a burgeoning managerial career to date to leave a club where he is adored by supporters, and can do little wrong, to one which will a pressure cooker environment from day one.

The appointment of Allardyce was clearly seen as one which would steady the ship until Howe was ready, although the ingenuousness nature of ‘Big Sam’ which led to his downfall has meant that the brightest English manager for years may be thrust into his ultimate job earlier than he or anyone else expected.