Gary Lineker has questioned the decision to appoint Thomas Tuchel as England manager and says Lee Carsley “would have fit the bill perfectly”.
The former Three Lions striker would have preferred an Englishman to take over the national side and pointed to the fact the last two major tournaments have been won by coaches that came through their country’s system – Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni and Spain’s Luis de la Fuente.
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Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily, Lineker said: “We’re starting to see some really talented young English coaches – Eddie Howe at Newcastle, Graham Potter, Russell Martin.
“These are coaches now that are actually trying to play out from the back and are more tactically aware. At the moment, they didn’t seem fit to go for an English coach.
“I think Lee Carsley would have fit the bill perfectly. We’ve seen in the last two major tournaments, they have been won by two coaches that have not really coached teams from the league – they have come through the system.”
There has been a lot of discussion following Tuchel’s arrival around English coaches and whether they are good enough to take the top jobs in world football, but Lineker felt interim boss Carsley’s record meant he deserved a chance.
He added: “I think we have got the coaches but they haven’t quite built the trust in them enough for the FA to go ‘we want someone that has won trophies,’ even though the last two major tournaments were won by coaches that had never won trophies for clubs.
“I would have [chosen Lee Carsley]. He won the Under-21 World Cup with a lot of these players without even conceding a goal so he is no question an imaginative coach.”
Carsley will remain in charge for England’s two remaining Nations League games – against the Republic of Ireland and Greece – before Tuchel takes over in the new year.
