Frank Skinner has said England's men's team were hindered by a lack of "killer instinct" under Gareth Southgate, and that Thomas Tuchel's more fiery approach could help end a 60-year trophy drought.
In an interview with the Guardian, the comedian said Southgate was "a really nice bloke" and that was the problem, drawing a comparison with 1966 World Cup-winning manager Alf Ramsey, who was "prepared to drop Jimmy Greaves." Southgate led England to back-to-back European Championship finals, losing to Italy and Spain, while earning criticism for conservative tactics. Skinner likened the team to a dog on a lead that was never released.
On Tuchel, Skinner said the German was "quite fiery" and had "a slight madness about him" that may be required to win a major tournament. He suggested Tuchel would not instruct his side to "park the bus" after scoring early, unlike what he perceived under Southgate.
Skinner has co-written a spoken-word piece with former England international Izzy Christiansen and ex-Northern Ireland winger Keith Gillespie, celebrating modern football fandom ahead of the 2028 European Championship, which will be held across the UK and Republic of Ireland. He also marked the 30th anniversary of the song Three Lions, calling it "patriotism lite" at a time when racism was still a significant part of fan culture.
The comments come ahead of the BBC's adaptation of Dear England, which airs on 24 May and charts Southgate's tenure. Skinner said the story was about "decency and compassion" rather than football, but expressed concern over the portrayal of Southgate's penalty miss at Euro 96, noting he had felt unable to refuse a request from Bryan Robson to take the sixth spot kick.
