Sam Allardyce will go down in the history books as the most successful England manager ever, winning 100 per cent of his games in charge. Yes, just that one!
However, his reign ended swiftly and in disgrace after just 67 days due to an undercover sting by The Telegraph, but just how would the Three Lions fare under the management of current AFC Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe down the line.
Currently, Gareth Southgate is England’s interim manager for the next three games, although Howe has been tipped as a possible future long-term candidate.
Photo: Kieran Clarke / Offside.
Well, there is no sure-fire way of finding out what could have been, however, our friends over at Football Manager have the tools to give us the most accurate answer, so we’ve asked them to have a look into the future for us and find out.
So; lets imagine, 38-year-old Howe has just been appointed Three Lions manager on a permanent deal, how well will the Cherries boss do in charge of his country…
Lets begin with the current 2018 World Cup qualifiers. The former Burnley boss would cultivate a younger England squad during his reign. Although surprisingly; Wayne Rooney, who was booed whilst featuring against Malta at the weekend, is virtually the only experienced star to survive.
However, it turned out to be a genius move as the Three Lions made light work of Group F, recording nine wins from their ten fixtures, drawing the other, to finish the qualifying process unbeaten.
In case you are wondering, it was Scotland at Hampden which denied England a 100 per cent record.
Top performer during Group F’s process? Adam Lallana. The Liverpool midfielder mustered an average match rating of 7.41, whilst Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy bagged five goals to see him take home the top goalscorer honour.
Fast forward to Russia in 2018, Howe’s England are drawn against Ecuador, Czech Republic and Cameroon in the World Cup finals group stage.
Photo: Mark Leech / Offside.
Thankfully they progress to the knockout stages of the major tournament, although the Three Lions are handed a difficult last-16 draw against Poland.
And that, unfortunately, is where the journey ended. Same old England.
A late Robert Lewandowski goal sinks Howe’s side, after Dele Alli had cancelled out Arkadiusz Milik’s opener.
Manchester City defender John Stones is England’s best performer with a 7.51 average rating for the tournament, which also earns him a place in the Team of the Tournament.
Meanwhile Citizens team-mate, Raheem Sterling, and Tottenham striker Harry Kane shared England’s top goalscorer accolade with three goals a piece during the finals in Russia.
