Following the end of Gareth Southgate lengthy stay at the helm of affairs of the Three Lions of England, one would wonder who is the longest-serving England manager as the Watford-born Englishman tactician is close to six years in charge of the team.
England could not go beyond the quarter-finals following the loss to France. The team has, however, shifted from the winter tourney to the European Championship 2024 qualifiers.
The English Men’s National team job remains one of the hardest in football, and, at the same time, every manager would refuse to turn it down.
The dilemma is picking from the talent pool in the country and establishing an unbeatable team is a task for the chosen one.
Here are the longest serving England managers
10. Graham Taylor – (3 years)
Results, results, and results are what English football Supporters are craving for. Graham Taylor brought his A-game to the team as he tried to change the way people see the team.
By and large, his version of football did not go down as expected
9. Don Revie (4 years)
Don Revie left Elland Road to take over as the new boss of the Three Lions with high expectations due to his exploits with Leeds United. However, it was not the same experience for the manager as he could not take the team to the 1978 World Cup.
Apart from the failure to achieve the FA’s set objective, his absence at Elland Road had resulted in poor results. He was in charge of the Three Lions in just twenty games, including the World Cup qualifiers that did not go down with fans.
8. Roy Hodgson (4 years)
Amid high energy following his application in 2012, Roy Hodgson England’s journey was unpleasant.
Facing three major tournaments, Hodgson was tasked with bringing back the glory days of English football.
However, the 2012 European Championship was not the best experience, just like the 2014 World Cup and his second Euros in 2016.
England’s performance at the international level was not the best at the time of his reign.
7. Fabio Capello (5 years)
Italian tactician Fabio Capello is one of the greatest managers in world football and one of the biggest names to have led the English Men’s National team.
Capello was in charge of the team in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, recording a single win against Slovenia, and faced a humiliating defeat to Germany and a dull scoreless draw with North African Algeria.
6. Ron Greenwood (5 years)
Ron Greenwood’s appointment as the manager of the Three Lions brought significant changes, which included the team’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup after a twelve-year wait.
Ron brought changes to the team, including the style of play and the approach to the game. Many English supporters applaud his efforts at changing the face of the team and England at the international level.
At the 1982 World Cup, England won all of its first group-stage fixtures but could not get past the second group stage.
5. Sven Goran-Eriksson (5 years)
Sven Goran-Eriksson had the luxury of having some of the best talents English football had to offer at the time but could not achieve something significant with the team.
He took the team to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where he recorded two wins and a draw in the group stages. He got past Ecuador in the round of 16 before bowing out of the tournament in the quarter-finals to Portugal through the penalty spot.
Eriksson went to the finals, having some of the best talents in the country.
4. Gareth Southgate (7 years)
Arguably one of the best-performing England managers in the 21st century. Gareth Southgate took the team to the finals of the European Championship in 2020 but lost to Italy through the penalty spot.
At the winter world cup hosted by Qatar in 2022, England finished in the quarter-finals following the defeat to Les Bleus of France.
Southgate has brought significant changes to the team and has embraced young players who have formed the core part of the project.
3. Bobby Robson (8 years)
Sir Bobby Robson was largely seen as one of the best managers to have led the Three Lions.
Although England failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championships, he successfully qualified the team for the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
The team advanced to the quarter-finals but lost to Argentina at Estadio Azteca.
2. Alf Ramsey (12 years)
Alf was the second longest-serving manager of the Three Lions. He led the team to lift the 1966 FIFA World Cup hosted in the country.
He remains England’s most suitable manager following his triumph at the world cup finals, which is currently the only major trophy.
1. Sir Walter Winterbottom (16 years)
Sir Walter Winterbottom doubles as the longest serving England manager and the first to lead the team. He spent sixteen years with the team.