A Wing and a Prayer?

Has Thomas Tuchel arrived as the England Manager on a wing and a prayer? That does not stamp on the Tuchel CV, Lufthansa and all that, fly on those wings, a German managing England, who cares, Thomas feels English, the supporters will love Tuchel, straight talking, the inner belief, the fuel to ignite those smouldering fires, a character of laughter, wittiness, a presence which is only afforded to the chosen few.

The work has begun, will Thomas succeed, the CV says yes, marked elite, save a prayer for me now, that was not etched in Tuchel’s first squad training on intro to meet and greet, two World Cup qualifying matches of note, a few surprise squad selections, we have to trust, in Thomas we do, that’s the mantra. To amble free v Albania 2-0 and Latvia 3-0, two victories on the manager’s early bounce, to be sniffed at, not on these lines, teams set up to deny, England would not be denied, the ‘New England’ the Tuchel path, in Thomas we have to believe, hope and glory, come on England, no false dawns this time around, ‘Let’s go’. England did the regardless of the opposition, the customary two goals from England’s stalwart record goal scorer Harry Kane set the talisman’s figures up to an astonishing 71 goals, no introduction requires, the Bayern Munchen acquainted times, Tuchel and Kane. To Harry’s critics, bow down, you are witnessing greatness, enjoy these moments, no negativity, positivity is the driver, to hit that pinnacle you have to work bloody hard and Harry does all of that.

For many supporters the coming of any two week international break is a disruption to their Premiership diet, but to argue that England are one the best supported countries worldwide. Tuchel entered the fray to instil width to attack the opposition on the blades of grass hugging the touchlines, to run with the ball of first intent rather than opt for the sideways pass which is drilled into many players. Tuchel on first selection earmarked the tasks to Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden, to suggest there are better alternatives in the squad, as for Foden who works as the inside man in the midfield areas, wing play wizardry is not the Foden forte. Tuchel went with experience of a safety net value to ensure those winning results of the mindset.

For Tuchel to continue with this mindset he needs to look at the array of talent at his disposal, players who can adhere to instructions, to listen, learn and implement, players who could bring to the breach, Bukayo Saka, Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eza Hudson Odoi Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon. It will become a refreshing path to take rather than the Gareth Southgate safety first, furtive favours brave hearts, it’s time to go for the oppositions jugular, the fact that Harry Kane tends to drop off the centre-forward role to a degree would create the space for the wide players to work in behind the opposition, for space to be freed up on Kanes movement to move the defenders from their block zoned defensive positions to cause a disturbance, to open up on chances to be created with designated midfield players to enter into the penalty box lines. Wing play has been blindsided in the coaching manual to a degree, Tuchel stated that he was puzzled why players were not moving the ball quicker forward and to carry the ball, of course Tuchel knows why, to box clever with the media to get his point across, the modern game is to play the sideways pass, Tuchel knows this. Pep Guardiola’s philosophy always comes into the equation, total football or boring sideways football on intro to English football, to suggest that Guardiola is trying to change that dynamic.

For players to work wide is a gut buster and to say that players would prefer to shy away, take the easy option, play the ball inside, Tuchel is working against the grain. Wingers stretch the opposition, the problem lies with managers thinking they’re a luxury, that was never the case in the Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney heydays and we saw the damage they inflicted. Tuchel knows that to have a solidified defence alongside the midfield, then the rest belongs to the dynamic change that Tuchel is seeking in those forward areas. These are the early signs of Tuchel’s DNA onto team England, more will transpire on the countdown to the 2026 World Cup.

The Strain Game

At second glance the Burnley manager Scott Parker could be mistaken for Scott Tracey from Thunderbirds are go, but that bird is moving fast across the summit of the Championship with Burnley sitting top of the table (at the time of writing). Scott spoke of the strain of management, many without the insight would think that it’s all cosy cosy for the leader of the pack, but the management pressures can be intense, an unforgiving environment, a different type of pressure to managers facing a relegation dog fight, but either side it does not relent, quote Parker “It’s an emotional strain if you let it consume you”. Parker stated that he has trained the mind with the help of a psychologist on a weekly basis. Scott previously sacked by Bournemouth August 2022 for questioning the club’s transfer policies stated that the cherries were ill-equipped at Premiership level, of the technical director is not a good operator then it is the manager’s head that is on the block, and so it proved for Parker, link to article Feb 24^th 2025, Sir Jim Part 2, links to exit Lopetegui.

The press and pundits alike railroaded Parker, referencing to his management career being over, Scott knew of his qualities, and that he would return, a man of principle and of a healthy bank balance can say it as it is, for Burnley, Thunderbirds are go with Scott at the seat, not to be ejected.