STAN COLLYMORE

OF the names in the frame to replace Sam Allardyce in the long term as England boss only two stand out: Arsene Wenger and Gareth Southgate.

And given that all the signs suggest Wenger, who yesterday celebrated his 20th anniversary as Arsenal manager, will extend his stay at the Emirates beyond the end of this season, then my old team-mate looks to be the only man for the England job.

Beyond Gareth, who is there, really?

Glenn Hoddle keeps getting mentioned by those who played for him, but he reminds me of David Moyes when I hear him on TV, in that I’m not sure how across the modern game he really is.

There seems to be a Messiah complex about Glenn that he has never been quite able to get past.

Yet, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp and even Ronald Koeman all bypassed him a long time ago.

Do people not remember the pig’s ear Hoddle made of Wolves, for example?

Knowledge

SAM ALLARDYCE was just silly, really, and my thoughts have echoed most people’s this week. Namely, why would a man who has just got his feet under the table on a job that pays £3million a year, his dream job, be entertaining strangers who were offering potentially dodgy deals in the Far East? Don’t get me wrong, £400,000 is always a lot of money, however much you earn. And for multimillionaires, even billionaires, there’ll always be a thrill in making a few quid extra. Or so I’m told. But in his position, he’d have been better served saying: “Of course I’ll deliver your keynote speech – providing you pay that sum to charity.”

But if you’re going to go for him you might as well go for Gareth, as he has a proven track record working in the FA with the young players who are England’s future.

Gary Neville is another former player who some fans would like to see anointed.

But, with the greatest of respect to him – as he’s somebody I like touching the screens and bringing the analysis on Sky – there is no comparison between the work done by him and Gareth to put themselves in a position to manage the national team.

Gareth is about a million times more able and capable. He has done the knowledge, good and bad, and bounced back from his experience with Middlesbrough – which started well, but didn’t end that way.

Gareth, or ‘Nord’ as we used to call him because he has a nose like Denis Norden’s, needs to be given a chance.

I sent him a text the other day congratulating him and wishing him well, and I had a really nice reply in which he told me – and I’m not breaking any confidentialities here, before you say it – he was massively up for the challenge and going to give it his all.

I played with Gareth at Crystal Palace and again at Aston Villa. I’ve known him since I was 20 and he has always been the quintessential straight-batter and straight talker. He’s a very honest man who, since Boro, has travelled the world, visiting clubs, taking a lot of knowledge on board and speaking to a wide range of managers. On the back of that he has done a fantastic job with England’s Under-21s.

Modernity

They have done very well under Gareth’s tutelage and he has nurtured some very promising young talents, players who are already integral members of England’s senior squad and who are going to be crucial to our national team’s future.

What I want to see from him now he has this chance is no more Mr Nice Guy, if he wants the job then he must really go for it. It may not be the most exciting appointment in terms of personality, but there are many national teams out there who don’t have exciting bosses yet they are very good coaches.

He has embraced modernity by going abroad and being part of the FA – I saw him in Lens during the Euros where he was doing match reports for UEFA, so he’s well connected, too.

And as long as he finds his personality, which he will, then I would be delighted to see him go beyond the four games for which he has already been installed.

There’ll be just the one bit of advice for him if he does: don’t accept any invitations to be a keynote speaker.

Mind you, knowing Gareth, if he ever did it’d be somewhere like Carshalton Cricket Club so there’s no need to worry about that.