Not according to fans
After three months on the hunt for a new manager of the men’s England football team, the FA have found one – Thomas Tuchel, a German known to followers of English football as the man who guided Chelsea to winning the Champions League in 2021 after just a few months in charge.
England fans have reacted positively to the appointment, with six in ten (60%) seeing it as a good choice, against just one in eight (13%) who see him as a bad replacement for Gareth Southgate, who resigned in July after England’s defeat in the Euro 2024 final.
Tuchel’s appointment hasn’t been without controversy. The Daily Mail’s back page on Wednesday declared that the appointment of a German manager was “a dark day for England”, going on to state that “international football should be the best of ours versus the best of theirs”. This sentiment was endorsed by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who asked “why can’t we have an English manager?”.
But while some may see the nationality of the manager as key, England fans largely aren’t bothered, with two-thirds (67%) saying they don’t mind whether the England manager is English or not. Only three in ten (30%) have a preference for the manager of the national team to be English.
The view of fans is not actually distinct from the British public as a whole, 62% of whom also aren’t fussed by the nationality of the manager, with only a quarter (26%) feeling the team should be led by an Englishman. Desire for an English candidate is highest among Reform UK voters, at 42%, but even then, 47% disagree with Farage’s view.
So what do fans want most in a manager?
When asked to tell us in their own words the single thing that matters most in an England manager, with answers then categorised by YouGov’s AI-powered Topic Quantifier model, 27% of England fans said winning trumped any other trait, with only 8% thinking that nationality in itself is key.
Aside from the desire and ability to win games, managerial skill was also brought up in various other guises, including 8% who most value competence, another 8% who want someone with good experience, a further 8% saying they want a manager who plays tactical or entertaining football, and yet another 8% prioritising somebody who utilises England’s footballing talent well in team selections.
A capability to lead England effectively is also desired, with 7% of fans identifying an ability to unite the team as key for a good England manager, alongside 4% who favour general leadership skills.
England fans say Southgate did well as England manager
Regardless of controversies, Tuchel will have big boots to fill, with fans hoping he can get a step further than Gareth Southgate, the only England manger to get the men’s team to two major tournament finals.
All things considered, seven in ten England supporters (69%) think Southgate was a decent manager of the Three Lions, including a quarter (23%) feeling he reached the level of a ‘great’ manager. One in five fans (21%) view Southgate’s tenure as average, with just 8% of the opinion that he was a bad or terrible manager.
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