Eddie Howe’s hint he could succeed Gareth Southgate as England boss shows job is more attractive than ever before

EDDIE HOWE, the bookies’ favourite to become the next England manager, is an avid fan of the 80s Norwegian pop group A-ha.

And while this may not be a ringing endorsement of his personal tastes, the idea of Morten Harket & Co performing a secret gig for our brave Three Lions at the next World Cup is surely still an improvement on Ed bleeding Sheeran.

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Eddie Howe is a candidate for the England job[/caption]

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Gareth Southgate stepped down from the role after Euro 2024[/caption]

Howe’s response to links with the England job wasn’t quite a ‘take on me, take me on’ plea to the FA.

The Newcastle boss insisted he has an ‘unwavering’ commitment to his club, that he is ‘happy’ on Tyneside, which is ‘the best place’ he could be.

But then came the caveats.

Asked if he would still be Newcastle manager at the start of the season, Howe replied: “As long as I’m happy in the position that I’m in.

“As long as I feel supported by the club and free to work in the way that I want to work, yes. That is the crucial thing.”

This was not typical of Howe — usually extremely measured in media interviews — and it sounded like a prime example of a man speaking to two conflicting audiences simultaneously.

There were hearts and flowers for the Toon Army — the self-styled ‘loyalest football supporters the world has ever seen’.

But for the FA — who want an English successor to Gareth Southgate — it was also a major suggestion that Howe might be open to a move.

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Howe has been unsettled by a summer of boardroom upheaval in Geordie Arabia — the arrival of sporting director Paul Mitchell and the departures of Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, who had provided the key link between Howe and his Saudi paymasters.

There are also Profit and Sustainability restraints, which mean Newcastle’s inevitable rise to the Premier League summit is likely to be a long-term project.

But this was still a bold public statement to make for a man who has just failed to qualify for Europe at the club with the  richest owners in world football.

Howe ought not to be in a position to call any shots — and he surely wouldn’t be doing so if there wasn’t an England job that’s probably his for the taking.

Last week, SunSport revealed Howe had stated his long-term ambition to manage England in an interview conducted before Southgate’s resignation.

And the fact that Howe clearly holds some interest in succeeding the outgoing Three Lions chief is a huge compliment to Southgate.

Because eight years ago, this wasn’t a job the boss of a filthy-rich top-flight club would have regarded as any sort of step up.

Especially given that Howe would have to take a hefty pay cut if he were to leave Newcastle for England.

Not since the launch of the Premier League has the national team been truly regarded as  ‘bigger’ than the biggest clubs.

Although, admittedly, there have been fewer Englishmen operating at top clubs over these past three decades.

It’s 42 years since Bobby  Robson and Brian Clough duked it out to succeed Ron Greenwood — and Clough, a two-time European Cup-winning genius, was left unfulfilled by never having managed his national team.

Southgate has raised the status of the England job back to those levels by leading his team to two Euros finals, a World Cup semi-final and quarter-final, and by changing the national-team environment.

The FA are right to prefer an English  successor and, given  Howe is pretty much the only English candidate whose Prem record must be regarded as an overall success, he is the best man for the job.

While his Newcastle predecessor, Steve Bruce, referred to Howe as ‘the fella who got Bournemouth relegated’, he had previously guided the Cherries from the Football League basement to the top flight, then led Toon to the Champions League in his first full season at the North East club.

Howe possesses many of Southgate’s better qualities — a good man-manager and an able media communicator — but also a tendency for the more positive footballing approach which England will need if they are to finally win a trophy.

Some in the FA had hoped  Howe would part ways with Newcastle at the end of last season, avoiding the need to pay compensation to the Saudis.

But the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to Howe’s candidacy.

Even if the dressing-room playlist might still not be an easy listen.

TEE ‘N A FAG

Dan Brown finished joint 10th at The Open – and enjoyed a smoke along the way

SMOKING isn’t big or clever but plenty of sportsmen — and many more managers and coaches — still do it. Although only privately.

So it was amusing, and strangely heartening, to see English debutant Dan Brown leading The Open with an oily rag on the go while standing on the tee at Royal Troon.

Darts and snooker stars used to puff away while playing and there were plenty of elite football bosses — including World Cup winners Cesar Luis Menotti and Marcello Lippi — who used to light up in the dugout.

Meanwhile, cigarette companies would sponsor F1 teams and several major sporting events.

But now golf is pretty much the only major sport where smoking on the go is still vaguely acceptable.

A major boon for all those treated as social pariahs due to unfashionable addictions.

RAY HAD ALL FANS ALL SHOOK UP

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Ray Reardon mentored Ronnie O’Sullivan[/caption]

IT’S easy to forget just how famous leading snooker players were in the 80s.

On a childhood holiday, I watched Ray Reardon play at Butlins in Barry Island and it felt like watching an Elvis residency in Las Vegas.

Reading obituaries to the legendary Welsh cueman — who has died aged 91 — reminded us of a life far more varied than those of most sportsmen.

Reardon was not just a six-time world champion, and mentor to  Ronnie O’Sullivan, but a man who defied death in both of his 

previous careers as a coal miner and a policeman.

He was also a better entertainer than any holiday camp Redcoat.

SHO FAITH

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Shoaib Bashir took five wickets as England beat West Indies[/caption]

THERE was a Test match to be won at Trent Bridge on Sunday and — in the fourth innings, when the pressure is always on a front-line spinner — Shoaib Bashir went and won it for England.

The 20-year-old off-spinner isn’t even first-choice for his county Somerset.

But after decimating the West Indies at Nottingham, he has three five-wicket hauls in his first five Tests.

If England are to have any chance of regaining The Ashes in Australia 18 months from now, the continued progression of Bashir will be crucial.

PAR BLIMEY

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Paris is hosting the Olympics this week[/caption]

THE Olympic Games are always a joyous opportunity to showcase some weird and wonderful sports — and stop us from obsessing about football for a fortnight or so.

But the best thing about boarding a Eurostar and travelling to watch the Paris Olympics live and in person will be not having to view wall-to-wall cheerleading TV coverage on the BBC.