Walking through the Wembley tunnel yesterday, it felt symbolic and sad to see that the proud place where Sir Alf Ramsey’s bust rested on a plinth was boarded up. It was to do with the huge hoardings placed between the dressing-rooms for the weekend’s NFL game. No disrespect was intended by anyone towards England’s greatest manager but his temporary disappearance felt indicative of events at the FA and in the adjacent auditorium where the FA had just unveiled Thomas Tuchel.
Mark Bullingham and Thomas Tuchel.
The FA owed it to the England players to appoint the right manager, regardless of nationality, to organise them and guide them over the line at the 2026 World Cup. Fair enough. The years of hurt have gone on too long, England need a finisher of a coach, a specialist at the tactical demands of winning, and Tuchel’s track record confirms that.
The FA also owes it to all the English coaches aspiring to reach the top, dreaming of following Ramsey, to improve the pathway. It should embarrass the FA that for every English holder of the elite coaching Pro Licence (around 400), Germany and Italy have three times as many, and Spain eight times as many.
Mark Bullingham, the chief executive of the FA, admitted yesterday that it turned to Tuchel because the quality of English contenders was not good enough. Which begged the question as to whether the FA even spoke to Eddie Howe at Newcastle United? The outstanding English candidate should have been their first port of call. Maybe they simply didn’t want to take on the Saudis, Newcastle’s owners who would have made life very difficult for the FA to get hold of Howe.
Beyond Howe, there were few English contenders. “We would love to have more English coaches managing in the Premier League,” Bullingham began. But then added, “Our pathway is really strong.” He tried to back that up by saying, “There are a lot of fantastic young coaches around and obviously Anthony (Barry, Tuchel’s assistant).” Barry’s a highly-regarded coach, btu there is a huge difference between coaching and managing. Steve McClaren is a very good coach, but not a very good manager.
There are undoubtedly some hugely promising English managers around like Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough, Will Still at Lens, a reviving Scott Parker at Burnley, Liam Rosenior at Strasbourg, Liam Manning at Bristol City and Wayne Rooney rebuilding his managerial reputation at Plymouth Argyle. But if you look at the EFL, there’s the quality of Regis Le Bris (French), Carlos Corberan (Spanish) and Danny Rohl (German) amongst other foreign coaches honing their craft at English clubs.
Bullingham then acknowledged the scarcity of quality. Some potential managers prefer the comfort and safety of the TV studio. Jamie Carragher always seemed destined for management but headed into punditry. Frank Lampard is looking to get back in. Steven Gerrard rebuilds in Saudi. And so the Premier League has only three English managers, Sean Dyche, Gary O’Neil and Howe. The FA claims Kieran McKenna (Northern Ireland) and Steve Cooper (Wales) as “home-grown” because of the time they have spent in the English system. Russell Martin represented Scotland but is Brighton-born and played solely in England. But there aren’t many.
Graham Potter is Premier League level and currently looking at the right opportunity to get back in. But the fact remains that there are five Spanish managers in the Premier League to three English. When the Premier League was formed in 1992 the FA hoped it would help the national team but it has become a league of nations. The academies, in fairness, play their part in developing English playing talent. The FA, even with the excellent St George’s Park, has to do more to accelerate the coaching pathway, starting with the cost.