After a whirlwind 48 hours or so, it’s official: Thomas Tuchel is the next England manager.
Set to take over from Lee Carsley, who has been put in charge of the Three Lions following Gareth Southgate’s exit after this year’s Euro 2024 heartbreak, the German will become the new England boss starting next year.
Reports around Tuchel’s appointment started ramping up over the weekend after the likes of the BBC and Sky News confirmed the decision, The Football Association (FA) and England have now revealed the 51-year-old as the new head coach.
Make no mistake, this is a massive appointment by the FA .
Given that the ex-Chelsea manager has won the Champions League, Club World Cup and FIFA’s Coach of the Year in 2021, not to mention a Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich, a German Cup with Borussia Dortmund; two league titles and a domestic treble with PSG, it’s fair to say his pedigree speaks for itself.
Having left Bayern at the end of last season, the much-admired coach has been linked with multiple top jobs, most notably Manchester United as pressure continues to mount on Erik ten Hag, but he’s now taken an even more high-pressure role – arguably an ‘impossible’ one, as many people still see it.
Thomas Tuchel. Our #ThreeLions head coach from 2025. ???????
As detailed in an official statement , “The confidential process, which saw several candidates interviewed, was led by FA CEO Mark Bullingham and men’s technical director John McDermott, and saw Tuchel identified as the preferred appointment.”
It has been reported that the national football body is playing the long game and “prepared to wait” for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola but, in the meantime there arguably isn’t a more qualified and successful coach available on the market right now than Thomas Tuchel.
As part of the decision, Tuchel will be joined by internationally renowned Liverpool-born coach Anthony Barry as his assistant manager, who started out his coaching career at Wigan Athletic before joining his new gaffer at the likes of Chelsea and Bayern. Tuchel had this to say about the project ahead:
Looking forward to starting the journey together ?
The well-acquainted pair are also set to bring a small backroom team along with them to St. George’s Park, with a further coaching update expected in the near future.
After quietly signing his contract on Tuesday, 8 October, Tuchel is set to start work as the new England manager on 1 January 2025 ahead of the qualification process for the following year’s FIFA World Cup, due to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Meanwhile, interim coach Carsley will remain in charge for the UEFA Nations League group stages which are set to conclude in November before returning to take charge of the England under-21s.
What do we reckon, then – are you happy with the appointment?
Daniel Farke is urging fans to not get ahead of themselves following last night's massive win over Sunderland as Leeds gave their prospects of a Premier League return a massive leg up.
Returning to the top of the table after a last-gap 2-1 victory over the North East side, Leeds United now lead the league on 72 points as promotion back to the top flight is looking increasingly likely.
But we all know how football goes, especially in the Championship...
With that in mind, although Farke confessed it was "a great night for everyone connected to Leeds United", he was quick to remind his players, staff and supporters that there's still a lot of work to do.
"I never thought I would ever get a yellow card for celebrating"
Daniel Farke shares his thoughts on getting booked for celebrating Leeds' 95th minute equaliser ? pic.twitter.com/tfLxXjE6AK
Speaking after the full-time whistle and when everyone had just about caught their breath back, the 48-year-old said: "These types of wins are the best kind you can have in football for the supporters and the whole group."
Despite being booked for joining in the celebrations and seeming rather puzzled by the decision, the German head coach went on to describe the victory as "priceless points", and "a great night for everyone connected to Leeds United."
However, being fully aware of how fine the margins were and continue to be, he warned everyone to avoid getting carried away, adding: "We haven't won anything yet."
In case you weren't watching for whatever reason, it was a tense home outing against fellow playoff challengers, who took the lead through Wilson Isidor in the first half.
Nevertheless, a brilliant brace came from a somewhat unlikely yet increasingly less surprising source as Pascal Struijk notched his fourth and fifth goal of the season within just over a quarter of an hour - the fans just had to wait agonisingly until the very last quarter or so.
"This is the best Leeds side I've seen in the Championship, the substitutions changed the course of the game" ?
Andy Hinchcliffe praises Leeds and Daniel Farke after their late win over Sunderland ⚪ pic.twitter.com/9NgHcNcje0
Struijk's stoppage-time winner in the 95th minute understandably sent Elland Road into raptures which, as you can see, have been described as some of the best the league has seen in a while.
As Farke says, there's still a long way to go and Leeds won't want to rely on the bare minimum amount to qualify for the playoffs; with 42 points still up for grabs this campaign and teams on their tail, the next few months are going to be stressful.
You can hear Daniel Farke's post-match interview in full HERE and watch the rest of the highlights from a blockbuster finish and a fantastic start to the week for Whites down below:
Featured Images — Sky Sports/Leeds United (screenshots via YouTube)
Sport
Northern Superchargers fixtures confirmed for The Hundred 2025
Danny Jones
The fixtures for The Hundred 2025 have officially been revealed and we now have confirmation as to when we can expect to see Northern Superchargersgetting underway.
One of the fastest-growing competitions not only in cricket but sport, in general, this is just the fifth year of The Hundred but it’s promising to be the biggest and most ambitious yet.
Moving back to its traditional summer slot – set to take place throughout the month of August – well over half a million fans are expected to enjoy the action up and down the country.
You can find the full list of Northern Superchargers fixtures for this year’s Hundred schedule here:
Getting their campaign underway with the first double-header against Welsh Fire on Thursday, 7 August at home in Headingley, it's going to be a brilliant day of cricket - hopefully with plenty of sun to boot.
The Superchargers' first away game comes against Nottingham's Trent Rockets on Sunday (10 August) before heading down South the following Wednesday (13 Aug).
2024 alone saw a global women’s cricket attendance record shattered and with the double-header fixtures set to return, more history beckons for the tournament.
If you’ve never been along to The Hundred before, game days feature plenty of pre-match pageantry and fanfare before the women’s teams get the toss first.
Although there’s music, food and drink to be enjoyed throughout the day, one of the best parts about a day at The Hundred is the entertainment, with other games, activities, competitions and live performances before, during and after the break.
"You get fantastic crowds to play in front of at the biggest venues, with great support. I have absolutely loved being a part of the Superchargers", he continued.
"Captaining last year was a great experience, as was working alongside Freddie [Andrew Flintoff]. We have a great group of players that we will hopefully manage to retain for this year’s competition.
"We'll be looking to build on the momentum we have started to gather as a squad over the last few seasons."
You can get ready grab your tickets on pre-sale and found when general admission goes live HERE.
Danny Jones -
16th October 2024 
