Gary Neville says the Football Association should face “difficult questions” after overlooking “outstanding” English candidates in favour of appointing a foreigner as England manager.
Thomas Tuchel was officially unveiled as the third foreign manager in England’s history on Wednesday morning, with the German following in the footsteps of the late Sven-Goran Eriksson from Sweden and Italy’s Fabio Capello.
Ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel will commence the role on January 1, 2025, by which time interim manager Lee Carsley will have returned to his post as head coach of the England Under-21s.
Neville was part of an all-English coaching staff when, between 2012 and 2016, he assisted former England manager Roy Hodgson, and he believes the FA have made a “damaging” decision not to appoint an Englishman as Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor.
“I was supportive 20-odd years ago when we appointed Sven Goran-Eriksson but at the end of that period I came to the conclusion that the damage to English coaches was significant and changed my mind”, Neville told Sky Sports.
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“Gareth [Southgate] has restored an element of faith in English coaching and players, he has done a great job, but we have chosen to go down a different route now and there are some difficult questions for the FA to answer.
“What the FA has done does not seem like a strategic decision, it feels like a instinctive decision in light of what’s gone on recently. I think there are some serious questions for the FA to answer in terms of English coaching.”
Neville, who earned 85 England caps, added: “I think we are damaging ourselves. I do think there are outstanding English candidates who could have been appointed.”
Neville went on to namecheck the former Chelsea boss Graham Potter and current Newcastle manager Eddie Howe as two candidates who he would rather have seen handed the reins than Tuchel.
“We are in a rut when it comes to coaching”, Neville continued. “English coaching has one of the worst reputations in Europe. We don’t have a clear identity and have not built a style which is unique to us.
“We have seen coaches from all around Europe come [to the Premier League] and input their styles into our game. We’ve copied their styles without really developing our own style. We need to let English coaches flourish, and St George’s Park was set up to try and do that.
“I thought we’d left that period [of appointing foreign coaches] behind.”
