The prospective pool to replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United recently took a huge credibility hit as Thomas Tuchel took the England job.
There were even suggestions that Tuchel to England moved quickly due to Man Utd’s presence and their potential interest in the German to replace Erik ten Hag.
However, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co chose to back the Dutchman and Tuchel will take England to the 2026 World Cup, starting on the job at the start of 2025.
Man Utd fans were upset about the club dithering and losing out on another big name but German football expert Raphael Honigstein has now explained why missing out on Tuchel is actually in the club’s best interest.
Man Utd dodged a bullet with Thomas Tuchel
Of all the managers available and out of a job at the time, Thomas Tuchel stood head and shoulders above any due to his status and pedigree.
Having won league titles in multiple countries and the Champions League in remarkable circumstances with Chelsea, there was no doubting his record.
However, according to Honigstein, that still didn’t make him a slam-dunk candidate for a job in club management due to the unique challenges it poses.
Honigstein spoke on the Rest is Football podcast and said Tuchel is uniquely positioned to be at his best in international management because it’s free of interruptions and squabbles over recruitment.
He said: “At every previous club, he always had issues at some stage with the people above him. [At England job], there is no one above him who will say, ‘We’re gonna buy this player or that player, or play that guy’. These things have rubbed him the wrong way and bothered him in recent jobs.
“He will have full control in England. He will relish the power that comes with being the one and only person who matters when it comes to the squad.
“He is outspoken, can be quite stubborn, and a little bit too honest for his own good at times. All these things come to the fore when there are differences in opinions with the people above him.”
A bad fit for Man Utd
If there’s one thing the new Ineos regime at Man Utd has made clear, it’s that the manager is not going to be given the all-powerful authority at the club anymore.
There is a proper, qualified executive team at the club and the manager will have to work with them to get the best results for the club.
In such a system, a head coach who knows and wants to work with people above him is the ideal candidate instead of one who is willing to crash and burn over a disagreement.
The latter is the kind of coach Tuchel seems to be from Honigstein’s comments which is why even if he had arrived, it would have, at most, been a one or two-year stay at best.
Now, not every manager who comes to Old Trafford needs to be here for long as the era of Sir Alex Ferguson is long finished but Tuchel hasn’t had any stability in any job since leaving Mainz.
It’s not a desirable trait in managerial candidates, especially for a team like United who are in a rebuilding phase under a new regime with many young players.
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