During the daytime of Thursday 10th October, Gareth Southgate confirmed that he would not be considering a return to management of any description. A few hours later England comprehensively fell apart at the seams against a well-marshalled and grieving Greece side at Wembley. As a professional musician, I applauded Southgate, at that moment, for his statesman-like stature, oratory and most significantly his timing. Lee Carsley, the interim coach looked clumsy at best and a calamitous buffoon at worst, with every utterance that followed. Watching the team achieve an away victory against a profligate but durable Finnish team did not give us, as fans, the reassurance that we desperately needed, if anything confusion was spreading faster than a viral outbreak. Something needed to be done to stem the disarray, Tuchel was appointed; I am entirely satisfied with that outcome.
There is a lot of white noise about us not hiring an English coach, but clearly those in the frame were either unsuitable or unavailable. We also had the Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola debate but the reality is that neither of them, at this point in their lives, wanted the job. I expect Pep to sign an extension at Manchester City or disappear for a sabbatical and Jurgen is with Red Bull. So, it's Thomas Tuchel an experienced, multi-lingual warrior who, as a sales trainer pointed out, is a closer, especially when the stakes are high and intensity is red hot. His knowledge of the inner workings of the Premier League and the real-time mindset of the players involved is invaluable. He is a true leader as well as a terrific 'on the grass' coach. No-one should ever forget how he calmly assumed the challenging stewardship role as the public face for Chelsea Football Club during the diplomatic difficulties involving owner Roman Abramovich's swift sale and departure. I was fascinated by the fact that the F.A. would not let him wear a neck-tie for his first press conference; he knows the significance of protocol, sadly the F.A. got that one wrong! But, the critical asset he possesses is that critical edge. He and his England team will continue to frustrate and stress us out during the tournament, if we qualify, but he will drop under-performing players regardless of who they might be; and that may push us closer to our target. I am very excited.
I am not even going to waste any energy discussing his German passport! As Gary Neville would say, we wanted the best in class, and we've got our man. Now the players must believe, step out and deliver. I will watch with great interest, Come On England!
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