Thomas Tuchel England appointment leaves serious questions for FA to answer, says Gary Neville
Gary Neville says the FA's appointment of Thomas Tuchel as new England boss begs a question about where English coaching is headed in the future; Neville: "I do think we are damaging ourselves accepting Thomas Tuchel is better than any of our other English coaches"
Wednesday 16 October 2024 16:30, UK
Gary Neville has questioned whether the appointment of Thomas Tuchel fits the Football Association's commitment to an English coaching pathway, despite his status as "the best available manager in the world" right now.
The former England full-back, who was capped 85 times, says there is an element of disappointment that England's top job has gone to an international manager, and that the decision feels "instinctive" not "strategic".
"They probably got the best available coach in the world at this moment in time," Neville said on Sky Sports News. "Fitting that criteria they are absolutely spot on.
"I am not sure it meets the criteria of St George's Park and the belief in English coaches and the growth in the English teams' performances over the last few years.
"Not just the men's, but the women's and the youth teams as well. St George's Park was going to be a hotbed of proving that English coaches could get back to the top of European football.
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"It doesn't feel like a strategic decision it feels like an instinctive one off the back of what's happened in the last two weeks."
Tuchel, who will be assisted by English coach Anthony Barry, starts his England post on January 1, and becomes the Three Lions' third foreign coach after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
He boasts considerable elite-level experience having led Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2021 and also taken charge of PSG and most recently Bayern Munich.
But Neville is worried about a "rut" when it comes to the promotion of English coaches, and a lack of identifiable playing style.
"I don't think Thomas Tuchel should be in any way, shape or form questioned in a difficult way this afternoon when he sits in the press conference because I think that he's a great coach," Neville continued.
"Everybody in our country including myself will wish him all the best and hope we can get over the line and win a trophy, but I think there are some serious questions for the FA to answer in respect of English coaching.
"I do think we are damaging ourselves accepting Thomas Tuchel is better than any of the other English coaches.
"We are in a rut when it comes to English coaching. English coaching is one of the least respected big nations in Europe when it comes to taking charge of a football team. Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese coaches are renowned for their styles of play, for their philosophy.
"We don't have a clear identity as an English nation of what we are anymore. We haven't built a style, we haven't got a coach who's built a style that's unique to us."
Carragher: It doesn't feel right to have a foreign coach
Jamie Carragher believes it "doesn't feel right" to have a foreign coach in charge of England.
He told Sky Sports News: "I'm not the most patriotic of people, the England manager has to be this or that - it's not about England.
"It's international football. The whole point of it, certainly with the major nations who compete for titles is it's our best vs their best.
"Club football is different, we love it. It's different nationalities of managers and players, it's a mix and it's brilliant.
"The thing that makes international football different is it being people from your country.
"It's skewed a little bit different with players, maybe not being born in the country or countries having a foreign coach who has a foreign coach who drags the whole footballing structure up with them, passing on his experience and expertise to the coaches in the system.
"But England being so close to winning a major tournament, and having so much good work going into producing these players and St George's Park, it just doesn't feel right to have a foreign coach.
"That's not just England. That's Germany, France, Italy too. That's my take on it, I'm not going to lose any sleep on it - England have a brilliant manager, but I think he should be English."
Carragher feels Tuchel's appointment is purely in pursuit of winning the 2026 World Cup and thinks the German is likely to return to club management after the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The ex-England defender said: "We've been slightly different to other nations in the past where we've given England managers four-year contracts and when you look at other nations, more often than not they're on a two-year cycle.
"We'll see how it goes between now and then. We're bringing him in because we believe we've got a time now that we think can win the World Cup.
"It probably works for Thomas Tuchel because if I'm honest I think he'd rather coach one of the top clubs in Europe than managing England.
"The fact that it's an 18-month contract, he's probably thinking he'll give it everything to with the World Cup then get back into club management."
