Sam Allardyce has lambasted the FA for appointing Thomas Tuchel as the new England manager. Former Chelsea boss Tuchel was confirmed as Three Lions boss on Wednesday and will begin his duties in January.
Interim manager Lee Carsely will take charge of the country’s Nations League games next month, having filled the role since Gareth Southgate stepped down in the summer. Southgate’s eight-year tenure, which included two Euros finals, was preceded by Allardyce, whose England reign ended after one game due to comments he made in a sting operation.
Tuchel won the Champions League as Chelsea manager and will be tasked with leading England to glory at the 2026 World Cup. However, Allardyce has slammed the FA for overlooking English managers and named four other candidates he would have considered for the top job.
“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 said on 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.”
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. Interim boss Carsley won the U21 Euros with England last year, while Gerrard is in charge of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq and Lampard has been out of work since his temporary spell at Chelsea in 2023.
Allardyce believes that the Premier League’s global appeal has hampered English coaching, but 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,” he explained.
“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.
