Rumor: Next England Manager Thread Discussion

In which it surely end up being Potter unless he really doesn’t want it. It’s hard to see in the end the FA snubbing him for Tuchel.

 

I hadn't thought of Pep becoming a British Citizen but it would make sense. The whole thing with not being to fond of Spain and it also would solve the whole being a foreign coach thing. Of course I doubt it would happen but stranger things have happened.

 

FA still see Guardiola as top candidatehttps://t.co/bXg9bSldp6

— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) October 14, 2024

 

It’s going to be a big disappointment for a lot of people when after all this talk Graham Potter is announced. .

At the bottom it mentions the FA have spoken to Tuchel.

 

What is the actual point in building St George's Park if we are happy to appoint foreign managers?

 

This whole process is a farce.
Even if Guardiola does leave City at the end of the season, he won't announce it now in November - everyone saw what happened to Liverpool last year. So even in the highly uncertain event that Guardiola does leave City in the summer AND signs for England, there will be uncertainty until May at least.

Not to mention that you have to be severely deluded to expect a miracle from a star club coach of his calibre. Not just because you devalue your own team, if you only consider "the best coach in the world" capable of leading them to success, but because there has been no precedent in recent times of a club coaching legend in the downward trajectory of his career leading a major national team to success, especially in a foreign country.

Guardiola is known for his intricate tactical systems that require players to have a deep understanding of their roles. The national team has limited time to train together, which might hinder the players’ ability to fully grasp his strategies. Moreover, given his success at club level, there would be immense pressure for him to deliver immediate results. The intense scrutiny and hysteria from media and fans would create a stressful environment, not to say he lacks experience in international management, where dynamics and player management differ significantly from club football.

And then there's the fact that even if, against all odds, Guardiola manages to make England the team he wants them to be, the thing about national team football is that they can still be beaten on penalties by a mediocre but solid Italian or Argentine side. And then there's the fact that even if, against all odds, Guardiola manages to make England the team he wants them to be, internation football has the way, that it can still be beaten on penalties by a mediocre but solid Italian or Argentine side.

So it would be incredibly stupid to go all in for Guardiola, although at least Pep fanboys will have plenty of time to dream.

 

Sky Sports' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol suggests the idea of two manager systems for national teams - could it work? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/w7qXY8yGtw

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) October 14, 2024

 

Can just see it now he walks into the announcement press conference in a Pep mask and then someone from the FA whips it off like at the end of a scooby doo episode.

 

All excellent points. I think there's the potential for the environment to get really toxic under Pep with the hysteria and expectation, as you say, and the fallout of him not winning anything would be massive and even potentially very disillusioning.

It's interesting you note about his downward trajectory, which I don't think anyone has pointed out before. He's obviously still elite, but I do feel as though other are catching up to him. His record against other big six sides since the start of last season is quite bad. He's certainly not the ideal man for a one-off game atm. City as a whole have generally looked less impressive in the last year or so.

I also kind of just want him gone from English football. As the rest of the world is starting to move away from rigid positional play styles, it's annoying to keep seeing us keep moving further into it. We're only going to be playing catch-up down the line.

 

I agree with most of this but think it might get toxic under anyone. All the plausible candiates have flaws which could make things toxic one way or the other.

 

Yeah, even if it is Pep, the idea of employing a Spanish coach to manage England doesn't fit quite right for me. As much as our players have improved technically over the last 8 years, our game is still much more closely aligned to the faster, more athletic powerplay of the Germans and Dutch - and sense says we should be trying to be the best version of who we are, rather than morphing into some awkward Anglo-Spanish hybrid.

 

Absolutely. Slow, patient possession-based football is isn't particularly suited to this squad and it's definitely not suited to our footballing culture (and hopefully never will be).

 

Sun Sport: Stop messing with us Pep! #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/loZFGBD43u

— George Mann (@sgfmann) October 14, 2024

 

The Times Jonathan Norcroft lists Guardiola, Tuchel, Ancelotti, Rogers and Mourhino as plausible targets for the FA. He says the FA would look odd if they hired Howe or Potter because they not world class trophy winners,

 

I mean yeah, toxic is the default for us. It's pretty much always negative but there's levels to it. Imagine all the "even Pep can't win with England" comments, people painting us out as a lost cause etc. Would be unbearable.

 

Oh it would but ar least that would not fully start until a while in. I think Tuchel and Potter could have it worse from the start.

 

Some good points from Hussar, Horris and Inter but I'm not sure this situation with Pep could really be described as a farce. Is it not the same as the women did with Wiegman who went to on to great success? I think it's a gamble rather than a farce.

Who exactly do you guys want to be the next manager?

Personally I'd be delighted with Pep but also would be happy to see Potter get it.

 

For me, if we're going for a big name, highly-decorated manager then I'd want Tuchel. I know there are negative aspects surrounding his appointment too, but he fits the bill of an international manager better than Pep imo.

Potter I'm fine with. I think at this point I don't really have a preference between those two, I just want someone in. Beyond that it gets very murky.

If none of Tuchel, Potter or Pep want it, which is a realistic outcome, I haven't a clue what happens then. People will hate it but I genuinely think at that point the best bet would be Sean Dyche. I do think there's a fairly high ceiling on that appointment, albeit with a very low floor too.

 

Dyche woule a very fascinating appointment, it could work but it could be a massive disaster and ir won’t exactly be very popular.

 

Loves English football, admires English players - he finished the 2023 Champions League final with as many on the pitch as Ferguson

Guardiola will be thinking long and hard about the FA’s approach

https://t.co/TOH87MTUPU

— Jack Gaughan (@Jack_Gaughan) October 15, 2024

 

One thing I would say, is that England’s failure to produce coaches exists in other sports as well. The cricket team have had Bayliss, Mott and now McCullum. The rugby side had Eddie Jones.

This is obviously something that has deeper roots than a failure within football. We need to seriously look at as an entire sporting culture why we are seemingly unable to produce elite coaches.

 

There are tonnes of top minds in English football but many of them never rise to the top. There's a trend at the moment of many promising coaches abandoning club football and setting up their own coaching academies through lack of opportunity.

English culture (outside of football) is riddled with nepotism and elitism, and that seeps into football. It's so hard for a coach who isn't a former pro or doesn't have good connections to go far. I remember reading years ago that the FA fast-tracks former pros through the coaching license courses as a priority, I don't know if they still do but it wouldn't surprise me.

I'm not saying that there aren't big improvements still to be made, there definitely are, and I can't speak for rugby and cricket, but if we didn't produce good coaches somewhere in the pipeline I can't see how we'd be able to produce the volume of good players that we have been doing lately.

 

I think in rugby there are elite coaches but maybe politics involved mean we somehow lose coaches like Farrell to Ireland or Shaun Edwards to France. I mean if we want to compare then I would say the FA and RFU are run by idiots.

 

Can't speak about rugby because I don't follow the game. But in English Cricket an outsider always seems to be the favoured choice.
But even more worryingly in the 4 additions of the Hundred there have basically been no English coaches, which is inexcusable.

 

Other sports as well. British Rowing dominated for 20 years under the German Jurgen Grobler. A lot of British Athletes have non British coaches as well.

It’s a big problem and not one that can be easily solved.

Other than being English do Eddie Howe or Graham Potter actually have to do with the St George’s park system. Howe did his badges in Ireland apparently. Potter learned in Sweden.