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5 frontrunners to succeed Hodgson at England

Paul Childs / Reuters

Place your bets.

Roy Hodgson steered England to its most embarrassing major tournament exit Monday - outfought and outfoxed by minnow Iceland in Euro 2016's Round of 16 - and stepped down shortly afterward.

Naturally, it prompted the British bookmakers to refresh their odds for who will assume control next, and many in the Twittersphere to air their opinions of who should take over.

Here are five potential successors to the departed Hodgson:

Gareth Southgate

You can't imagine many punts for Southgate on Teesside. The Euro '96 penalty blooper steered Middlesbrough toward relegation in 2009 - a fate it only recovered from this year - before going on to produce some uninspiring punditry.

Well, that was until he took the England Under-21 helm from Stuart Pearce in 2013. He successfully tweaked a side that had developed a stale style of play under his predecessor, and has now overcome an inauspicious beginning to ease his side into the 2017 European Championships.

He's an under-the-radar and inexperienced option, but a favourite with some bookmakers nonetheless.

Alan Pardew

"Hey Alan, it's (FA chairman) Greg Dyke on the phone."

There's a sense that there's no bigger supporter for Pardew's England credentials than Pardew himself, but there's been evidence of a decent man manager beyond the smarmy grin and touchline tomfoolery - which is requisite in the next appointment.

His early-day transformations of Reading, Newcastle United, and Crystal Palace were superb, but the momentum of his teams does seem to wane.

Despite this, he's the second favourite with some bookies to oversee the Three Lions next.

Eddie Howe

With the help of some replenished coffers, Howe has managed to lift Bournemouth from the lowly doldrums of the English football league pyramid to the top flight. It's an incredible achievement for a gaffer who's still just 38.

His tendency to ask his teams to attack could see the likes of Dele Alli thrive, but Howe's inexperience and brief unsuccessful stint at Burnley could make the Football Association think again.

While it'd be a risky appointment, it could be the most popular one on this list among England fans.

Harry Redknapp

Second chance for 'Arry?

There's probably no available manager who'd relish taking the English job as much as Redknapp. Cruelly overlooked when the FA favoured Fabio Capello in 2008, the wheeler-dealer is now working part-time cash grabs like a consultancy role with the Central Coast Mariners and helping out Jordan's national team.

He's a popular character in England, but not necessarily a step forward. Redknapp's love of big man-small man strike partnerships and a 4-4-2 formation isn't exactly progressive.

Guus Hiddink

Guus Hiddink has been sent in to tend to Chelsea egos twice, following the respective sackings of Luiz Felipe Scolari and Jose Mourinho, so Blues owner Roman Abramovich certainly recognises a man who can build belief in a squad.

Given the lack of options in Britain, the FA could be encouraged to look overseas for the third time. At 69, however, Hiddink would only realistically offer a stop-gap option.

English, young, tactically astute, popular, and successful - the FA can't have it all.

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