Thomas Tuchel is currently leading England into the World Cup, but things could have turned out very differently if former Newcastle and Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew had been handed the role.
Tuchel is now at the helm.
Former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew, known for his dancing, has stated that he was approached about the England manager's position before Gareth Southgate was appointed.
Pardew, who now spends his time discussing (mainly himself and) football on Talksport, was asked during a conversation about Graham Potter's Swedish team on Hawksbee and Jacobs earlier today whether he had ever been considered for an international management role.
While most would assume Pards would never have been in the running among the elite of the elite... it appears someone thought differently, yet still opted for Gareth Southgate instead (which, looking back, seems like a fairly sensible choice).
Pardew made a bold assertion.
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Without specifying exactly who he spoke to, the former 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 might have been...
Although the call never progressed beyond that, one can't help but wonder what life would have been like under a man whose greatest managerial achievement is losing the FA Cup final as Palace boss, and losing the Bulgarian League Cup in 2021/22 as CSKA Sofia's manager.
Oddly enough, Pardew then issued a major complaint about England's current manager, Thomas Tuchel.
The 67-year-old, 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.”
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