Tuchel ‘regret’ over England decision revealed as ‘very little has changed’ since Southgate
Why has Thomas Tuchel not transformed England within two games? ‘Very little has changed’ since Gareth Southgate (and in terms of qualifying that’s fine).
Rash call
If you watched the most England qualifying campaign win imaginable and came away thinking, ‘Wow, that Marcus Rashford fella really is poor’, then congratulations(?) for you are Charlie Wyett of The Sun.
‘MARCUS RASHFORD was given another chance by Thomas Tuchel – but again failed to shine.’
No-one particularly ‘shone’ in a home victory over Latvia; The Sun’s player ratings have no player higher than 8/10, and only Reece James and Eberechi Eze scaled those particular heights.
‘If you were to scribble down your starting XI for next year’s World Cup, Rashford would not be included.’
If you were to scribble down your starting XI for next year’s World Cup you’d largely be wasting your time. About five players can be absolutely sure of their place in the line-up and there is a squad to fill beyond that.
But of course Rashford is the target here so have at it.
‘He created six chances according to the stats – but it did not feel like it.’
Yet he did. Stats are not everything but it’s a bit weird to cite them before immediately dismissing them because they don’t suit an agenda.
‘Rashford is not the only player to fail to cause havoc in the final third during two lacklustre England performances.’
Well indeed. But Mediawatch won’t wait around for the opinion pieces questioning the hopes of any other player of establishing themselves in England’s starting line-up 15 months from now.
MORE ENGLAND REACTION FROM F365
👉 England player ratings v Latvia: James puts nepotism claim to bed, Eze shines in place of boring Bowen
👉 Feeling ‘incredibly bad’ for England player who was messed around by Tuchel
Apples and oranges
‘It is still enough for many fans simply that he is not Southgate. And anyway, the only question that really matters, the only comparison that counts, is will Tuchel be Alf Ramsey? Can he do what Sir Alf did? Will he lift that World Cup trophy in the USA next year?’ – Oliver Holt, Daily Mail, March 22.
‘These are early days in his tenure, of course, but so far, very little has changed since the end times of Gareth Southgate’s reign’ – Oliver Holt, Daily Mail, March 25.
Comparing Tuchel with Southgate is pointless and doesn’t ‘count’…unless you have to write about another game the success of the new manager’s reign absolutely will not be based on. At that point, comparisons ahoy.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
But saying ‘very little has changed since the end times of Gareth Southgate’s reign’ is daft for a few more reasons:
1) This is a World Cup qualifying campaign, so little changing since the end times of a reign which wrought 28 wins, six draws and a single defeat in 35 qualifying games across eight years is absolutely fine, thank you.
2) This is literally Tuchel’s first England camp; what revolutionary ‘change’ were you expecting and why did it take a 3-0 win over Latvia to make you realise it wasn’t coming?
3) Not a great deal had to change ‘since the end times of Southgate’s reign’; his last game was the Euro 2024 final so while there was a need to try something different, it wasn’t even nearly necessary to rip everything up and start again.
The whole idea behind appointing Tuchel is that he could bring enough to get them over the line but in terms of England qualifying for tournaments, nothing needed to change.
‘Thomas Tuchel was supposed to come in like a whirlwind. So far, he has been more like a light breeze.’
It’s his first camp.
‘Some days ago, Tuchel was asked what had been missing under Southgate, he did not hold back. He mentioned identity, clarity, rhythm, freedom and expression.
‘Maybe Tuchel is starting to regret that criticism because you could have levelled exactly the same thing at this England team against Latvia.’
Probably not. Tuchel was talking specifically about England at Euro 2024 so if those things are still lacking under his coaching at the 2026 World Cup then ‘regret’ might creep in. After two games – and wins to nil – it feels unlikely.
‘There were glimpses of mild progress.’
And if you expected more from games against Albania and Latvia then that is largely on you; the former drew with Croatia and lost by a single goal to both Italy and Spain at the Euros, while the latter only lost 1-0 and 2-0 to the Netherlands in their last World Cup qualifying campaign.
‘Tuchel has used up one of his six international camps now. There are only five more before England fly to the USA for next year’s World Cup. The England coach needs to start making progress fast.
‘That, after all, was the rationale for him not starting the job until January. He wanted to make an instant impact and hit the ground running. That simply hasn’t happened. He has two wins from two games but wins were never the issue under Southgate.’
There we go. It has taken a while but Holt has shown his hand; another couple of routine wins and the next complaint will be that he works from home or sees his children too often.
The rationale for him not starting until January was to “recharge fully” and avoid being bogged down by Nations League fixtures. Who ever said Tuchel chose to start in January ‘to make an instant impact and hit the ground running’?
‘Under Tuchel, England were supposed to win with style. So far, there has been no sign of that improvement.’
They have played two games.
‘Maybe soon, people will start asking again whether this is not about the manager and whether we should be looking at England’s latest golden generation.’
Two games. Two wins! What on earth would have been written if England lost? Or even just conceded?! This might be the earliest and most unnecessary root-and-branch review ever.
