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Bahrain boss Peter Taylor – who had two spells as head coach of the England Under-21s and took charge of the England national team for one game – would like to see Spurs manager Harry Redknapp take the hot seat although he was ‘disappointed’ Fabio Capello has left so close to a major tournament.
The Italian was in charge of England for more than four years but stepped down from his position following a disagreement over the removal of Chelsea’s John Terry as his captain.
Current assistant Stuart Pearce will take charge of England’s friendly against the Netherlands later this month in a similar way Taylor once stepped in to hold the fort. With Capello gone, its football association has just three games and four months to find a new boss before the start of the European Championships.
“I’m disappointed with the timing,” said Taylor. “Capello deserved to take the team to the finals to show that he can be a top international manager after the poor showing in the World Cup Finals in South Africa.
“Also, the new man coming in will have different views and ideas and it’s not what is needed after a team qualifies so well.'
Before Taylor joined Bahrain in 2011 he was a well-respected TV soccer pundit and spent a lot of time analysing the England camp. He added: “As much as I respect Capello I felt we should have a British manager because of the culture. We are all different and before South Africa Capello didn’t know how to prepare English players for a long tournament – the English are different to the Italians, we find camps difficult whereas the Italians have always been used to it.
“I want Harry Redknapp to step in because he gets on with ‘big name’ players and is media friendly so the majority of the press will want him to succeed.
“He also plays good football with width and pace – nice football and counter attacking football – just what the international scene is all about.”
If not Redknapp, his second choice would be West Brom coach Roy Hodgson who has managed the Swiss national team. Taylor described him as a ‘tremendous coach that will organise the team’.
Stand-in boss Pearce also gets his nod of approval. “One of my proudest moments was being the caretaker manager of England in November 2000 against Italy,” said Taylor.
“It was a friendly so there was less pressure and I decided to pick a young squad which went down very well with the media and the public.
“Although we lost the game 1-0 the team received lots of praise. I loved every minute of it, which I intended to do as I knew Sven Goran Erikson was coming in to be the permanent manager, and I’m sure Stuart will do the same thing.
“Stuart, in fact, would be the third name on my list because he has done very well with the U21s and he has been working very closely with Capello and lots of countries promote their U21 manager which makes sense when it comes to continuity.
“England and Holland matches are always good games so the build-up will be busy and with just a few days preparation which will go so quickly, my advice to Stuart is simply ‘enjoy it’.”
Taylor was acclaimed for handing the inspirational David Beckham the captain’s armband for the first time and Pearce’s decision on who will lead the team will also be vital in the circumstances.
FA chairman David Bernstein said he expected ‘to move quickly’ but refused to comment on rumours linking Tottenham boss Redknapp with the vacancy. “We have to do it properly and get a shortlist together,” said Bernstein.
Redknapp says he is ‘flattered’ to be put forward for the England manager’s role and admits it is the ‘ultimate job for an Englishman’.
However, he claims it would be ‘very difficult’ to manage England part-time while remaining Spurs boss.
Taylor found success in the kingdom winning the 1st GCC Games in Manama, the first time Bahrain’s national team had won a regional competition in its history. Bahrain beat arch rivals Saudi Arabia 3-1 in a one-sided final. Taylor received plenty of praise from the players, fans and officials for his achievement.
Two months later, he successfully led Bahrain to clinch football gold in the 2011 Arab Games in Doha, beating Jordan 1-0 in the final with a last-gasp goal by striker Ismail Abdullatif.
However, he faces an uphill struggle to help the team find FIFA World Cup success and will need a big-scoring miracle to make the next stage of the qualifying rounds.
