FA Want ‘British’ England Manager
One of the influential men who will pick the next England manager, Premier League chairman Dave Richards, wants Sven-Goran Eriksson’s successor to be British.
Richards, Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick and international committee chairman Noel White will present a list of candidates for the job to a full FA board meeting on February 27. Eriksson will quit after this summer’s World Cup in Germany, and the views of Richards would appear to rule out Dutchman Guus Hiddink, but tellingly not former Northern Irish captain Martin O’Neill.
“I do believe it’s time for a British manager – somebody who understands our passion, belief and commitment to the game,” Richards told The Sun. “For me, there’s no distinction between English and British. We are the biggest nation in the world that plays this game and we want someone who can really move us on.”
About the author Alan Hylands
Alan is both a former SOTG editor and former World Soccer editor at the New York Times Company. Football-wise, he wishes he was a younger lovechild of Glenn Hoddle and Diego Maradona (not the short, fat, cokehead, religious nut bit obviously...)
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I am not British!
Martin O’Neill is Irish, not British. If the English want him as manager thats fine, but don’t talk yourself into a corner by calling people British when they obviously ar not.
I beg to differ. Martin O’Neill OBE is from Northern Ireland and is therefore a British citizen. That’s not talking myself into a corner whatsoever as it is fact.
If anyone wants to turn this into an Irish political discussion then I’ll simply close this post for comments as this site is about football, pure and simple.