After seeing Fabio Capello step down due to a “misunderstandment,” Harry Redknapp has seemingly gone from alleged tax evader to the next alleged England manager.

Stan James is the only bookmakers to offer a bet on whether England’s first Euro 2012 game will be managed by a caretaker manager or a permanent manager. They favour the permanent manager option at 2/5 while they give it a 7/4 price that a caretaker will be involved. Personally, I would be stunned if a caretaker manager was in charge at the start of the second biggest tournament that England play.

Last week Harry Redknapp was fighting off the law. There was an account in his name full of money that the government had not seen before. However, after no conclusive was given that he was guilty of tax evasion, he is suddenly kept in the lime light as he is the #1 contender to be the next England manager.

Redknapp 4/11 On to be England Manager

Harry Redknapp is clearly front runner to become the next England manager.

Harry is 4/11 On to be next England Manager

What Harry Redknapp has done at Tottenham has been amazing. Amazing purely because of the consistency of the team’s great performances and continued success. Spurs fans and football pundits alike all agree, Redknapp is doing a great job.

It is no wonder that he is the man that most want to take England’s empty seat. He fits the bill when it comes to pleasing almost everyone; he has proven success, experience, player motivating skills and he is English. Perfect.

It is no wonder that the bookies are so hot on him, especially considering that he has always wanted to manage England. William Hill have him best priced at 4/11. Although the odds seem heavy, it is hard to see anyone else taking the job considering how well this situation would fit for Harry to take over.

There is always the concern that he is happy at Tottenham. The England job comes with huge pressure and Harry himself has never coached at the international level. However, it does not seem like this is too much for a man who could end his managing career by England; something that I am sure he has dreamed about.

Stuart Pearce is the second favourite. The England under-21 manager is definitely a viable option for the FA, although his experience and level of success is nothing like Redknapp’s. Pearce is currently working with the FA which is why he could be promoted to the manager of the first team. He is chalked up at 7/1 by Bet 365 but he has struggled to really impress as the under-21s manager.

With regards to the other managers on contention, someone like Guus Hiddink could have easily taken the role. He has coached in international football before and seen as a legend of the game. However, he seemed to push himself out of the job search because his agent told the media that he would re-instate John Terry as captain. That is definitely one way to screw yourself out of a job, disagree immediately with your bosses. He is listed at 12/1 by William Hill.

Don’t send a foreigner to do an Englishman’s job

Come on people, this country needs an Englishman back in power. We need a “gaffer” who knows what that word means and will fire the lads up at crunch time. Martin O’Neil is doing an incredible job at Sunderland and has a lot of experience under his belt; he is an outsider at 28/1 (Bet 365).

The other man that could be interested in the job is Roy Hodgson. Hogdson made a name for himself after doing a great job at Fulham and currently manages West Bromwich Albion. He is not short on experience or success but his recent failure at Liverpool could be an insight into his inability to handle the pressure. He is a little better priced at 20/1 by Bet 365.

Overall, it would be hard to see Redknapp not take this job. He has always said he wanted it, everyone in the country seems to like him and it makes sense to put an Englishman back in this role. Great footballing people like Wayne Rooney and Alex Ferguson have commented that Redknapp is the best man for the job and so, you have to think he will at least be offered the position.

I got my journalism degree from Mississippi State University and have been offering advice on many sports for a fair few years now. I started off offering tips on tennis during the big tournaments (I played a lot as a junior) and really enjoyed helping out my Dad with tips.

After doing this for a few years, I realised that looking for value could be found in other sports that I enjoyed such as darts, snooker and football. This led to many accumulators no matter what the sport and then offering on advice on anybody that asked.

I am looking forward to putting my ideas down on paper and always appreciate comments from the reader.

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