Thomas Tuchel: Ben Cowling, Lois Balfour, Paul Musgrove and Ian Hubbard react to new Three Lions boss

Thomas Tuchel was appointed as the new Three Lions boss this week – and now Suffolk’s managers and footballing figures have had their say.

Since the new England manager was unveiled a fierce debate has raged; those who believe the national side manager should be English on one side, and those who say it is about results on the other.

In our county, there has been a mixture of opinion, although there in an overwhelming sense that the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager is a good appointment.

Ben Cowling, manager of Haverhill Rovers, said the choice of the new boss was ‘an interesting one’.

“Ultimately the list of available candidates with the correct profile was fairly limited, especially English coaches.

“The FA appear to have conducted a lengthy recruitment process and Tuchel is a proven winner. England have a great group of talent available and I hope that Tuchel is the one to get us over the line.”

Cowling added it was a shame there are so few English managers working at the top level of club football.

Tuchel was given an 18-month contract as Three Lions boss, and Cowling said, ultimately, he would be judged on England’s performance at the next World Cup.

Lois Balfour is Needham Market Women’s record goalscorer, and is now an academy coach with Chelsea’s Women’s side. She also formerly worked as the Football Development Officer at the New Croft, in Haverhill.

She believed Tuchel was a proven winner and a good appointment, and he would be able to steer England further into tournaments and help them close out games better.

“He’s the best person for the job at the time. I think he’s probably the right person,” she said.

“I feel that, with the current situation in English football, I don’t think we have enough quality of English managers to perform at the level of those tournaments.

“If he doesn’t do well we’ll hear that side of it, but it he does we’ll forget he’s German.”

Since the appointment, it has been suggested the FA should have gone for the likes of Eddie Howe or Frank Lampard.

Balfour believed it would be too difficult to get Howe as it is mid-season in the Premier League and is tied down to a contract with Newcastle, while as for Lampard she said he did not quite have the track record as yet to be England manager.

Paul Musgrove is the assistant manager of Bury Town. He thinks the FA should probably have gone for Eddie Howe, but the Tuchel appointment was still a ‘thumbs up’ from him.

He said: “Could they have put their money where their mouth is and gone English, go with someone like Eddie Howe? Potentially, and they probably should have done.

“I think the fact Tuchel wasn’t in a job has played a massive part and his record has been reasonably good, especially looking at knockout competitions, where he’s excelled over the last few years.

“I think the proof is in the pudding and we’ll see an improvement on the last four games.”

He added he did not think Lee Carsley, the interim England manager in the wake of Gareth Southgate’s exit, was quite strong enough for the job, and the FA had been brave to move away from him.

Ian Hubbard is the joint manager of Walsham-le-Willows. He said he was on the fence with the appointment, and he would have loved it if the FA had gone for an English manager.

“I think it would be nice to have an English manager but there’s no one really to go for it.

“Obviously the game has moved on; I do think some managers like Southgate, the further on in tournaments it got, they didn’t know how to close out games like some of the European managers do, they are more advanced at that.”

Hubbard added he thought the likes of Lampard, Howe and Sean Dyche would have been a good choice for the job, but the with the latter two tied down to club contracts it would have been difficult.

In a press conference today, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna said the appointment of Tuchel was understandable and it would give England the best chance of continuing Gareth Southgate’s work and win a World Cup.

Tuchel will take the reins of the Three Lions for the first time on January 1, for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Interim boss Carsley will return to the under-21s.