Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher has ignited an age-old debate on Twitter. The 44-year-old pundit posted “The England manager should always be English!”, sparking a feverish discourse over the issue.
The debate has become a hot-button topic again due to Gareth Southgate admitting he is “conflicted” over his England future. The head coach, whose contract would take him through the 2024 European Championship, has not confirmed an early departure yet. But talk has still turned to possible replacements as Three Lions consider the possibility of a new era dawning.
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Carragher is one of many to stick their head above the parapet in favour of an English replacement. He is well-placed to cast this opinion, having played for domestic appointments like Kevin Keegan and Steve McClaren, as well as coaches from abroad like Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
Hiring an English coach used to be a given. The national side went 131 years, from its inception in 1870 to the dawn of Eriksson’s reign in 2001, without hiring a foreign head coach. This view remains the norm across much of the world to this day. A foreign manager has never won a World Cup, and most nations usually opt for a coach of their own nationality.
The reasons for this are manifold. The international game at its core is a way to pitch the footballing qualities of one country against another. Traditionally, this has extended to coaches too.
There is also the matter of familiarity. Particularly before the modern era, football was more localised. Players didn’t move abroad as much and before the dawn of the internet, there were few opportunities to even watch players from abroad.
A domestic coach was appointed because they would be the most well-versed in the local style. Brazil had Brazilian coaches because they had grown up playing and coaching a rich, dribble-heavy attacking style. England appointed English coaches because they were immersed in the more direct, physical, unfussy football of the nation.
In 2001, the move to bring Sven in was controversial to say the least. But it was also reflective of the times. Recent domestic picks like Keegan and Glenn Hoddle had failed to get the most out of a talented squad. Meanwhile, the Premier League had seen the English game become more globalised. Suddenly the best players in the domestic divisions were no longer uniformly English. Introduced diverse, international tactical ideas seemed natural given many of the players were coached by foreign managers at their clubs anyway.
However, while we have moved to a more unified style, where even the Brazil national team is populated with a vast number of Premier League players while England boast a Borussia Dortmund midfielder as one of their finest talents, national identity is still seen as important.
This can be limiting. For all the merit to Carragher’s proclamation, the remit of finding an English manager is a tricky one. The coaching pathways just aren’t there in the modern game. Graham Potter taking the reins at Chelsea was seen as an aberration because he is a rarity. Usually, English coaches only land top jobs if they had remarkable careers as players. There is no clear production line for coaches in this country to learn their craft and take on the best jobs.
England is one of those “best jobs” without question, and wanting to fill it with an Englishman is admirable. But which Englishman? The aforementioned Potter is unlikely to want to abandon Chelsea so soon, having only taken over this season. Eddie Howe is doing great things at Newcastle United, but the St James’ Park revival feels like the sort of long-term project he’d want to see through.
Southgate’s assistant, Steve Holland, is a richly-experienced coach. He has been alongside Gareth since 2013, when the ex-Middlesbrough manager was in charge of the under-21s. But his last senior management gig was at Crewe Alexandra in 2008. While he knows this group of England players inside out, will he have the necessary authority and leadership required to do the most pressurised job in management?
Under-21s manager Lee Carsley doesn’t look ready for the promotion just yet. Steven Gerrard would relish the role, but his disappointing spell at Aston Villa might not fill the FA with confidence over his appointment. His erstwhile midfield partner Frank Lampard also hasn’t dazzled, while Wayne Rooney’s managerial career has been spent at too low a level to jump into the hotseat.
So with English options thin on the ground, would hiring a foreign coach be so bad? England’s only senior international football success since 1966 was the work of a Dutch manager. Sarina Wiegman led the Lionesses to triumph at Euro 2022. Wiegman’s nationality was certainly no barrier to her inspiring the England side to a historic triumph.
The names on the international side of the debate are certainly more appealing on face value alone. Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel is out of work after being sacked by Chelsea. Mauricio Pochettino, finalist of that competition with Tottenham Hotspur and latterly of Paris Saint-Germain, is also available. Jose Mourinho has expressed an interest in international management, but seems more likely to combine his Roma duties with the Portugal job if reports are to be believed. Luis Enrique has been let go by Spain but remains an elite level football manager.
But Southgate himself has shown that box office isn’t always the key. Eriksson and Capello both took the job with far superior managerial CVs, but neither came close to what the incumbent has achieved. International management is a world away from the club game and nobody since Sir Alf Ramsey has governed that differential like Southgate.
That settles the debate, at least as far as I’m concerned. Jamie Carragher is right, England should be managed by an Englishman. One specific Englishman in fact: Gareth Southgate. His achievements thus far, and a World Cup exit that was largely not his fault, have warranted another go. Perhaps after Euro 2024 another candidate will have emerged. Or perhaps Howe or Potter, both worthy of the role, will be in a situation to take it. But for now, England have the English manager they need.
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