Football Food For Thought / Nik Wardle / 15 December 2007 /

Terry Venables is in with a shout which could break the FIA's precedent of having an Irishman in charge.

Terry Venables has been installed as the clear favourite for the Republic of Ireland job by Betfair customers at [2.58]. A close friend of his has said Venables "fancies" the job and a number of figures related to the international side, including Roy Keane, have backed him for the post. But what the FIA have to decide is whether Venables has still got what it takes to handle a big job.

Much of Venables' reputation has been built upon his success at Barcelona and in taking England to the semi-finals of the European Championship. The first was in the mid-eighties and the second in the mid-nineties. Since then he's failed to take Australia to the World Cup, had unsuccessful spells upstairs at Crystal Palace and Portsmouth, didn't last long at Leeds and was assistant to Steve McClaren at England. Yet still, he remains the overwhelming favourite. Much of this is down to his ability to promote himself. You do wonder where the leak came from that he wanted to bring Owen Hargreaves on just after England had equalised against Croatia. Still, he has a wealth of experience - in stark contrast to the recently departed Steve Staunton.

Another available manager with stacks of international experience is Roy Hodgson. He almost took Finland to their first appearance at a major finals and took Switzerland to the World Cup in 1994 and the European Championship two years later - getting a draw in the opening game against Venables' England. He's managed in Italy and in England, yet is out at [18]. Although his relatively long odds are probably due to the fact many think Venables is a cert.

I'm surprised that Liam Brady has such short odds of [4.2]. He was one of Republic of Ireland's greatest ever players but it's been over a decade since he last held a management post - and both his management jobs at Brighton and Celtic were largely unsuccessful. He's believed to have expressed his interest in the role and must be hoping the FAI wish to appoint an Irishman.

Other candidates include another former Republic of Ireland great, David O'Leary ([21]), who is likely to want the post but his dour spell in charge at Aston Villa may count against him and Gerard Houllier ([25]) is available and has won the French league at Lyon since his departure from Liverpool.

Englishman and World Cup winner Jack Charlton is the only foreigner to have occupied the post to date - if you call Mick McCarthy 'Irish' - but this time around I'd be surprised if they didn't. It's right that Venables is a contender for the role but I think for what Roy Hodgson's achieved in the past and at Finland, he deserves to come into the reckoning.

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