Should the England Manager be English?

If you’re even a little bit interested in football, you’ll know the name Thomas Tuchel by now. You might have known him as the boss of a major Premier League club or most recently, as the new manager of the England men’s team.

After Gareth Southgate stepped down in July the national team had been without a permanent boss, so the news of new management certainly got people talking. One topic in particular was the debate around whether England’s new manager should themselves be English.

What’s our verdict

Ultimately, at FootballWINNERS we are of the opinion that in an ideal world the manager of the national team would be English. However, we understand the reality is that there are much greater factors that play into this and quite frankly, we don’t have anyone more qualified for the job.

Tuchel is only the third non-British manager to be appointed so naturally it was going to get people talking. But the latest stats highlight that the vast majority of fans are simply not bothered, with 67% stating that they don’t mind whether the England manager is English or not[1]

What really matters

When it comes to football management there are things we absolutely can’t compromise on if we want to be victorious. We need:

  • A winner – someone who will take us to the top
  • Someone who has experience managing at a high level
  • Someone that is able to get the very best of the amazing bunch of players within the squad
  • Someone that the players will respect, listen to and look to for guidance
  • And finally, someone who is tactically astute

And the fact of the matter is, taking the above into consideration we have the only man suitable for the job – Tomas Tuchel.

When England fans were asked what the one most important thing was for the manager of the England team, only 8% of people actually voted for nationality. Instead, unsurprisingly 27% said winning trumped any of the other traits[1]. In recent years, as a nation we have all come together experiencing the elation of making it to the final (twice!). We want someone who can take us that one step further and maybe Tuchel is just the man to do it.

[1] Does the England Manager have to be English?