Thomas Tuchel is leading England at the World Cup, but it could have been a very different story had former Newcastle and Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew been given the job.
Pardew's Revelation
Former dancing Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has claimed he was sounded out for the England manager's job before Gareth Southgate got it. Pardew, who now spends his time talking about (mainly himself and) football on Talksport, was asked if he'd ever had the chance to manage internationally during a chat about Graham Potter's Swedish side on Hawksbee and Jacobs earlier today.
And while most would assume Pards would never have been considered in the realms of the elite of elite . . . it seems that someone else thought otherwise, but still went with Gareth Southgate instead (which, in hindsight, seems quite a sensible decision).
A Bold Claim
While not clarifying exactly who he spoke to, the ex-Newcastle boss said: “Well, I got an inquiry when I was, uh, manager at Newcastle. I can't remember what period it might have been. (Maybe) when Gareth was getting the job, I can't remember. But it wasn't no more than that. I didn't go for the interview at the FA, you know, and put my tie on and that. It was more or less kind of just, you know, 'you're in the frame' and 'we're looking at it,'.”
What Could Have Been
While the call never went any further than that, one does have to wonder what life would have been like under the man whose greatest managerial career achievement is losing the FA Cup final as Palace manager, and losing the Bulgarian League Cup in 2021/22 as manager of CSKA Sofia.
Criticism of Tuchel
Strangely, Pardew went on to issue a major complaint about England's current manager, Thomas Tuchel. The 67-year-old, who was speaking from his couch at home . . . not the United States where the World Cup is taking place, said: “But I, you know, genuinely feel a little bit upset that we have a German manager still because obviously, as an LMA (League Manager's Association) member, I want an English coach there. I do wish him very, very well, of course, but, uh, I still think we've got coaches and managers in this country that could do the job.”
