TROY DEENEY
Thomas Tuchel getting the England job was no betrayal by the FA – he gives us the best chance of winning World Cup 2026
The leading English candidate proved out of reach
ON the day Thomas Tuchel was unveiled as England manager, I was on an LMA course with 20 people who all aspire to be elite football bosses.
Some were currently in charge of league clubs, some out of work, some who recently retired as footballers and others who are coming towards the end of their playing careers.
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Most of us were English and all of us were in a classroom at St. George’s Park, the national football centre, on the ‘pathway’ which might ultimately lead to the job Tuchel has just accepted.
You might imagine that there’d be plenty in that room on Wednesday who were upset or angry that the FA had decided to give their top job to a foreigner.
But that was not the case.
The majority, including me, believed the FA have made a good decision in appointing the former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain manager to lead the Three Lions into the 2026 World Cup.
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Football is a very cosmopolitan world and so those involved in the modern game don’t think too much about nationality.
To rail against a German getting the England job is outdated thinking.
While there were some differences of opinion among those of us on the LMA course, I don’t think any of us felt that the English coaching community had been snubbed or betrayed by Tuchel’s appointment.
Many of us felt it was encouraging that Tuchel had got the England job having failed to win a trophy at Bayern Munich last season.
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The idea that football managers can suffer a downturn in fortunes in one job, then rise again, is a positive.
Of course, in an ideal world, the England manager would be English.
But we are not living in an ideal world.
Thomas Tuchel England Press Conference
The FA were right to be pragmatic and not obsessed by the idea of an English boss.
Gareth Southgate did a fine job as England manager. He did everything but win a trophy.
Now, with an excellent squad of players, who have a genuine chance of success at the World Cup in America, what the FA need is a proven trophy-winning manager.
And at the moment there simply aren’t any English managers who have won a major trophy.
Eddie Howe is a very good Premier League boss and I suspect the FA would have gone for him if they could have easily afforded to pay compensation to lure him away from Newcastle.
But even Howe has never won a major trophy.
Inside FA's thrilling chase for Tuchel
THE FA’s path to securing Thomas Tuchel's signature was not a straightforward one.
They tried to lure Pep Guardiola from Manchester City over the summer.
They even made contact with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti after deciding to target trophy-laden foreign gaffers.
The FA’s determination to go international was summed up by their decision NOT to interview Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.
Initial talks with Tuchel saw him express a slight interest in replacing Gareth Southgate.
But he was waiting to see what would happen at Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag’s future under the spotlight.
Man Utd owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe eventually decided to stick with Ten Hag - and that opened the door to the FA getting their man.
Read the full story on England's thrilling pursuit of Thomas Tuchel.
So to give England the best chance of winning the World Cup, they had to go for an available, world-class manager — and so Tuchel looks like the best realistic candidate.
One English coach I met at St George’s Park this week said that while he didn’t believe the FA were wrong, he hoped that Tuchel failed, so that the FA didn’t go for a foreign boss again.
I’d never want England to fail but I understand his point.
For me, the fact that Tuchel has been given just an 18-month contract is good thinking too.
This contract is just for the World Cup and if England win it, or if the working relationship is an obvious success but the team comes up just short at the tournament, then Tuchel might sign a new deal.
If not, he goes and the next England boss will probably be English.
I’m not a massive fan of the FA but I think they have got this right.
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Now Tuchel, who officially starts work in January, has five months before his first match in charge and he must use that time to observe and to speak to all the major figures in the English game - the club managers and the players themselves - and formulate a firm plan.
One crucial thing is that Tuchel does not pick on reputation.
That he picks the best team, rather than trying to fit in all of the best individuals.
He can be a hardline boss who knows his own mind and so he mustn’t be afraid to drop the biggest names if he decides that is the best thing for the team.
I’m a massive fan of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane but that includes them too.
I wrote about my personal admiration of Lee Carsley after his first couple of games as the national team’s interim boss — and I still believe that he is an excellent coach.
But I don’t think the FA have treated him well — especially during this last international break when Tuchel had already signed a contract but Carsley was having to keep schtum about his own future.
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Carsley is too honest a bloke to deal with those sorts of questions. He isn’t comfortable being vague or telling lies.
His experience as interim boss shows you there is so much more to elite management than merely being a good coach.
Personally, I’ve completed my Uefa A licence and will be doing my Pro Licence next year.
But the LMA course I mentioned is about the rest of a manager’s job, essentially it’s about ‘managing up’.
It’s about dealing with directors of football and club owners — which, given my own brief experience as manager of Forest Green Rovers last season — is proving invaluable.
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I may or may not end up getting anywhere close to the job Tuchel has taken on.
But please don’t think that those of us who might ultimately aspire to the England job are frothing at the mouth and raging about the appointment of a German.
Southgate vs Tuchel records compared
THOMAS TUCHEL
Augsburg II 2007-2008
P34 W 20 D8 L6 Win percentage: 58.82%
Mainz 05 2009-2014
P184 W72 D46 L66 Win percentage: 39.13%
Borussia Dortmund 2015-2017
P107 W67 D23 L17 Win percentage: 62.62%
Honours: DFB Pokal
Paris Saint Germain 2018-2020
P127 W95 D13 L16 Win percentage: 74.8%
Honours: Ligue 1 X2, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, Trophee des Champions x2
Chelsea 2021-2022
P100 W60 D24 L16 Win percentage: 60%
Honours: Champions League, Super Cup, Club World Cup
Bayern Munich 2023-2024
P61 W37 D8 L16 Win percentage: 60.66%
Honours: Bundesliga
GARETH SOUTHGATE
Middlesbrough 2006-2009
P151 W54 D43 Win percentage: 35.76%
England U21 2013-2016
P37 W27 D5 L5 Win percentage: 72.97%
Honours: Toulon tournament
England 2016-2024
P102 W61 D24 L17 Win percentage: 59.8%
Honours: Euros runners up, 2020, 2024
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