Sam Allardyce hits out at FA over Thomas Tuchel and names four England alternatives
Former England manager Sam Allardyce has criticised the FA's decision to appoint former Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel and has named who he would have picked as Three Lions boss
Sam Allardyce has slammed the FA‘s decision to appoint Thomas Tuchel as England manager.
The ex-Chelsea manager was confirmed as Three Lions boss on Wednesday. Tuchel will begin his duties in January alongside new assistant coach Anthony Barry, while interim manager Lee Carsley will continue to oversee England’s Nations League fixtures next month.
The journey to appoint Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor lasted a few months after the manager decided to step down following Euro 2024. Southgate’s eight-year tenure began on an interim basis as a replacement for Allardyce, who left his post after one game in charge due to comments made to undercover journalists.
Tuchel, who was most recently in charge of Bayern Munich last season, won the Champions League and Club World Cup during his time with Chelsea. However, Allardyce has dug out the FA for not appointing an English coach and named four other candidates he would have preferred as the new England boss.
READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel speaks for first time after being confirmed as new England managerREAD MORE: How Thomas Tuchel's England could line up as new Three Lions boss set to make three bold calls“England is the best or one of the best jobs you can get. Even though I was only there a short time, it’s still one of the best jobs you can get, you can’t deny that if you’re an Englishman,” Allardyce told talkSPORT. “The problem with the FA is they’ve gone against everything that they were doing in terms of building and developing their own from within.
“For me, that could have been Lee Carsley. If not, they could have gone all out for Eddie Howe or even Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard in the end because you’ve got a quality squad.
"You have to be up there or thereabouts, I think, for anybody to consider you as the English national coach,” he added. “I think that’s why I would have picked Eddie Howe and gone all out for it.”
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Howe has earned plaudits for his work at Newcastle, guiding the Magpies to the Champions League in 2023. He is one of five British coaches currently managing in the top-flight. While Allardyce believes that the Premier League’s global appeal has hampered English coaching, he is adamant that the FA have made the wrong decision in appointing Tuchel.
“The problem is the Premier League nullifies the development of English or British coaches because it’s so difficult to get in there now,” Allardyce said. “The whole world wants to play and manage in the Premier League. It is a difficult job but it’s very disappointing that we’ve gone down this road. This short-term look for success route instead of development from [Southgate] onwards.”
England will end their Nations League campaign with games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland next month. Officially taking charge in January, Tuchel will name his first England squad in the March international break.
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