The jury is out on Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as England football manager.
Following the announcement that Thomas Tuchel will be taking over from Gareth Southgate as England manager, we polled 1,004 men’s football fans in England to find out what they really think of the FA’s choice.
The results indicate that the former Chelsea boss has some work to do if he wants the whole nation to get behind him.
According to our survey, just 53% of respondents are excited (1) by Tuchel’s appointment as England manager, with just less than 1 in 5 (19%) saying they are very excited.
Meanwhile, fans aren’t completely sold on Tuchel’s ability to lead England to victory at a major tournament.
Less than 3 in 5 (56%) of those we surveyed think football will finally come home under Tuchel, while over 2 in 5 (44%) aren’t so optimistic.
Should the FA have hired an English manager?
The FA’s decision to appoint a German manager as the head coach of the English national team has been met with some criticism from the public.
Our survey reflects this sentiment.
In fact, almost 3 in 5 (59%) men’s football fans would have preferred the FA to have hired an English manager as Southgate’s successor, with Eddie Howe (22%), Steven Gerrard (15%) and Frank Lampard (15%) topping the list of English managers respondents would want to see in the role.
That said, of those we surveyed, over 4 in 5 (82%) agree that Tuchel’s experience of managing English football club, Chelsea, will stand him in good stead as England manager.
What’s more, almost 7 in 10 (68%) admit that they are more confident in Tuchel’s ability to win a major tournament than Gareth Southgate’s, and over half (54%) think that the FA’s choice is a good move when it comes to the reputation of English coaching. (2)
Tuchel’s own reputation as an excellent tactician is getting fans excited to see what’s in store.
In fact, men’s football fans surveyed were most likely to say that they are most looking forward to seeing a new tactical approach (29%) when Tuchel officially takes over in January.
Under pressure
It goes without saying that Tuchel will be under intense scrutiny in his new role. Not least because the first major tournament we will see him coach England through is the 2026 World Cup.
Those we surveyed have high expectations.
In fact, 7 in 10 (70%) say they expect England to reach the semi-finals or higher (3), with just over a fifth (21%) saying they expect him to win the tournament.
Time will tell if he is up to the task.
1‘Very excited’ and ‘Somewhat excited’ responses combined.
2 ‘Very positive’ and ‘Somewhat positive’ responses combined.
3 ‘He must win the tournament’, ‘Guide the team to the final’ and ‘Reach the semi-final’ responses combined.
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