It still feels like a fever dream, but we now know the identity of Gareth Southgate’s successor as the new England manager – and he’s German! The man tasked with ending 58 years of hurt for the Three Lions is the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel, initially on an 18-month contract.
4 Key Challenges facing New England Manager Thomas Tuchel
Tuchel will take charge from January, leaving the final two Nations League games in November in the hands of interim coach Lee Carsley. It isn’t the first time that the Three Lions have appointed a foreign manager of course, but giving the job to a man from England’s fiercest footballing rivals still feels like a bold step.
Tuchel is a proven winner, but what will he need to do to deliver England’s first international trophy in six decades? We’ve taken a look at four key challenges he will face in his new role.
New England Manager: Marginal Gains
There were plenty of successes from Gareth Southgate’s eight-year tenure as England manager, most notably reaching consecutive finals of the European Championships. Southgate was also able to unite a fractured nation behind its football team for the first time in a generation, building a feel-good factor rarely seen in the media. Managers are judged on trophies however and in that respect he fell short, perhaps just lacking that killer edge against the very best sides.
The fact that Southgate was promoted from the academy set up led to plenty of speculation about the profile of the next England manager, but in Tuchel the Football Association have boldly and bravely opted for a proven winner. With the exception of his first role at Mainz, Tuchel has won trophies everywhere he’s gone and he has shown a real ability in tournament football, most notably outwitting Pep Guardiola with underdogs Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final. England had one hand on the trophy before letting Italy back into the Euro 2020 final through tactical naivety and Tuchel will have to show he has the cutting edge his predecessor lacked.
New England Manager: Selection Headache
Tuchel inherits a national set up that couldn’t be in much better of a place, with arguably one of the most talented generations of players that we’ve ever seen. Each of Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Jack Grealish have shown themselves to be top level attackers to name just six, but there are only four conventional spots available in England’s front line.
The biggest problem for Tuchel to solve revolves around the number 10 shirt, which each of Palmer, Foden and Bellingham having a strong case due to their outstanding form at club level. It’s a debate that we’ve seen before, most notably when Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were all accommodated in unconventional roles despite three not going into two. There is no right answer to this question, but it could be that the solution involves the combination of players that make up the best unit, rather than the side that purely showcases the most talented players in the squad.
Carsley tried just that against Greece, opting for a star-studded line-up that featured Bellingham and Foden as false nines and the experiment spectacularly failed, with England slumping to an embarrassing defeat at Wembley. Tuchel will know that at some point the time will come that he will have to leave players out in the best interest of the team and how he deals with that will likely define his tenure.
New England Manager: World Cup Challenge
There have been murmurs in recent days that England could face a tough World Cup qualifying draw should they fail to overhaul Greece in the Nations League, but that is extremely unlikely. There were genuine fears that Tuchel’s men could be vulnerable to a killer draw for the next World Cup, with the seeding for the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico affected by what happens in the current edition of the Nations League.
England are far from shoe-ins to seal automatic promotion back to League A and should they fail to do so they would face a two-legged promotion play-off next March – prompting fears they could be dragged into pot two. The top pot will feature 12 teams, with each of the Nations League quarter finalists (those who finish first and second in each group in League A) all getting in regardless of their world ranking.
The remaining four places will be decided on the FIFA men’s world rankings in November. England currently sit fourth in the standings and considering there’s just one eligible team above them at the time of writing, they are all but guaranteed a berth.
New England Manager: Playing the Media
One of the toughest aspects of Tuchel’s new role will revolve around his ability to deal with the English media, which can be savage at the best of times. Lee Carsley has found out the hard way that being England manager brings with it a scrutiny like no other and his inability to give a clear answer about his intentions arguably cost him his shot at getting the role permanently.
A full Irish international as a player, Carsley immediately found himself under the spotlight due to his decision not to sing the national anthem on the touchline, an issue which quickly hit the desk of the new manager at yesterday’s press conference. Tuchel is a charismatic and thoughtful operator however and he passed his first examination with flying colours, much like he did when in charge of Chelsea during a hugely uncertain period surrounding the ownership.
His appointment was rather embarrassingly referred to as a ‘DARK DAY’ by the Daily Mail earlier in the week and you feel it is something that Tuchel will have to get used to – though it is a challenge which he seems more than up to navigating.
By Nick Seddon
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