Thomas Tuchel being German doesn't matter - but new England manager's 'difficult' character and nomadic career should've set alarm bells ringing at safety-first FA

After the news broke on Tuesday that Tuchel was in talks to succeed Southgate, much of the initial discourse surrounding the German's potential appointment centred on his nationality, which was as ridiculous as it was unsurprising, given a certain section of England's support still insist on singing stupid songs about past wars.

However, England have a group of world-class players and what they need is a world-class manager to get the best out of them. Nationality really shouldn't come into it.

Of course, in an ideal world, there would be a string of attractive English candidates for the job - but there isn't, as the sad truth of the matter is that we are not talking about a country renowned for its top tacticians. Indeed, Chile has produced more Premier League title-winning managers than England.

Unfortunately for the FA, there is no Bob Paisley or Brian Clough working in the top flight these days, and no Vic Buckingham or Bobby Robson enjoying success overseas, meaning they can hardly be blamed for exploring all of the options available to them - irrespective of the colour of their passports.

What's more, the FA can hardly be accused of overlooking English coaches. They had Southgate at the helm for eight years and even stood by him when he should have been sacked following the 2022 World Cup quarter-final loss to a France team that was there for the taking.

It's not as if the English-born Carsley wasn't given a golden opportunity to stake his claim for the role either. He was put in charge for six very winnable Nations League games, but a seemingly seamless succession plan failed because of the caretaker coach's horribly ill-advised gamble against the Greeks.

It was almost inevitable, then, that the FA would decide to put their faith in Tuchel, who was unquestionably the most attractive option on the market, with former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp having just taken on a role with Red Bull and Pep Guardiola still under contract to Manchester City until the end of the season. Certainly, the mere idea of the FA even considering the claims of Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard should have been enough to make every England fan wince.

Tuchel, by complete contrast to the two former Three Lions midfielders, is a proven elite-level coach with an excellent CV, having won trophies with four clubs from three different countries.

However, Tuchel also has a history of falling out with those around him - which should have been a red flag for the notoriously conservative FA, suggesting desperation prompted them to press the panic button.

At PSG, for example, Tuchel won the Ligue 1 title and also reached the Champions League final - an achievement that has since been cast in a very positive light by the failings of those that followed him at the Parc des Princes.

However, he lost his job just four months after the 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in Lisbon because of a long-running and very public dispute with his employers over recruitment, with Tuchel sacked on Christmas Eve 2020 after once again questioning the way in which the club was being run.

"To be completely honest, during the first six months, I said to myself: 'Am I still a manager - or am I a politician in sport, a Minister for Sports? Where is my role as manager in such a club now? I said to myself: I just want to coach," Tuchel explained in an interview with Sport1 the day before his dismissal.

"I love the game and I can get this satisfaction in many ways as a manager. Sometimes, it is very easy, sometimes, it is a big challenge, because a club like PSG has a number of influences in it aside from the focused interest of the team... I only love football. And in a club like this, it is not always just football."

Was Tuchel right about PSG? He'd undoubtedly say so - and with some justification, too. The club's Qatari owners have since essentially admitted that their old strategy wasn't working by doing their best to rid themselves of their "flashy, bling-bling" reputation.

However, it's also worth noting that PSG was hardly the first time Tuchel had clashed with colleagues.

As Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said after Tuchel's Signal Iduna Park exit in 2017, the Bavarian is "a fantastic coach" but also "a difficult person" to work alongside.

It was, therefore, inevitable that Tuchel would fall out with Todd Boehly & Co. at Chelsea, given Chelsea's new owners recruited recklessly after taking over at Stamford Bridge in 2022.

Of course, few blame Tuchel for that particular dust-up and he's still held in the highest regard by the Blues' fanbase, who were impressed by his brutal honesty and deft dealings with the media. Tuchel also enjoyed his time in west London enormously and admitted only last year that he was more appreciated as a coach in England than his native Germany - which undoubtedly played a big part in his decision to take over the Three Lions.

It's also been rightly pointed out that transfers aren't an issue in the international arena, meaning that with England Tuchel will be solely focused on improving the players available to him - which is undoubtedly a positive for everyone involved.

One major worry, though, is whether Tuchel can make as instantaneous an impact as he's had at previous clubs - such as Chelsea, with whom he won the Champions League less than five months after replacing Frank Lampard - without the benefit of daily sessions with his players.

After all, we're talking about one of the most demanding and meticulous managers in the game today. As Axel Schuster, who worked with Tuchel at Mainz, told GOAL: "He is an obsessive leader who wants to push every player to the absolute limit. To a point where you think: This is no longer possible. He wants them to overcome resistance and fears.

"In doing so, he appears very self-confident. But he is allowed to do that because he has an extraordinary understanding of football. So, he presents his views to his players with a special conviction. He doesn't play roles. He acts the same way everywhere."

What you see with Tuchel, then, is very much what you get. And the same pretty much goes for almost everything you've heard or read about him too.

Tuchel is clearly an extraordinarily talented tactician - he proved that by outwitting Guardiola in the 2021 Champions League final - but is also a challenging personality, which is why he's usually only successful in short spells. The intensity that gives him an edge over opponents can also be too much to take for his own players and colleagues over a sustained period of time.

England captain Harry Kane may have enjoyed his season under Tuchel at Bayern Munich, which bodes well for the renewal of their working relationship, but not many members of the squad were sad to see him leave the Allianz Arena after a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign that ended with the Bavarians failing to win a single trophy across a single season for the first time in 12 years.

Joshua Kimmich clearly had his own issues with Tuchel and his coaching team, chief among them the fact that the manager didn't deem him good enough to play in his preferred position in front of the back four. However, it shouldn't be forgotten that several other stars reportedly disliked Tuchel's allegedly pragmatic approach to the game, which was shown up by the scintillating - and successful - style of play implemented by Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.

At the end of the day, the FA and England's long-suffering fans just want to win and Tuchel has a track record of delivering success - and fast. Being charged with winning a World Cup inside 18 months might well suit him, and the players could conceivably benefit from not having to deal with his demands day in and day out.

However, those pining for Southgate after being horrified by the Carsley car crash last week would be well-advised to remember that while Tuchel is as cautious as they come, the wheels always come off eventually - and usually sooner rather than later.