MP tells FA chairman Greg Clarke he should hire Eddie Howe as next England manager during Parliamentary session

James McCartney MP drew criticism for using Parliamentary time to offer his thoughts on the next England manager

James McCartney MP suggested that the FA should appoint Eddie Howe as the next England manager (Getty)

Greg Clarke, the chairman of the Football Association, was questioned by MPs on Monday over the short reign as England manager of Sam Allardyce, but the hearing took a bizarre twist when the Parliamentary committee started to push for Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe to replace him.

Clarke defended the FA’s appointment of Allardyce following the Euro 2016 debacle, but the former West Ham and Bolton Wanderers manager left by mutual consent after just one match in charge when he was secretly filmed by undercover reporters from The Telegraph, in which he offered advice on how to get around FA regulations and sought lucrative payments in return of giving speeches in the Far East.

The investigation, which delved into alleged corruption in English football, led to Allardyce meeting with the FA and mutually agreeing to terminate his contract, with Gareth Southgate stepping up from his role as Under-21s manager to take the job on a temporary basis.

Clarke attended a Football Governance session on Monday morning along with Robert Sullivan, the FA’s director of strategy, where Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney felt it appropriate to offer his advice on who the next England manager should be.

Referencing the BBC’s interview with Howe, which was carried out by Gary Lineker, McCartney told Clarke that he should consider the current Bournemouth manager as a suitable successor to Allardyce.

McCartney also questioned the level of on-field performances, as he labelled England’s showing in Allardyce’s only match in charge against Slovakia last month as “insipid, bland and uninspiring”.

McCartney’s comments drew criticism on social media with some users claiming the time should have been used for more logical reasons such as investigating the potential for widespread corruption in British football.

Clarke did respond to the case to hire Howe as the next England manager, although his reply suggested that current manager Southgate is not the FA’s preferred choice to take the job.

"We would like an English manager if we can get one,” Clarke said, despite already having an English manager at his disposal. If an English manager was not a suitable option for the FA, Clarke added that the next option would be "someone who has managed extensively" in England. He added that it would be “crazy” to appoint someone with no experience of English football, despite the FA’s recent appointments of Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello who had never worked in the country before being handed the England job.