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Island mentality British coaches need to broaden their horizons or risk being left behind

The Guardian

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November 15, 2024

Sporting have had eight Englishmen, a Scot and a Welshman in the dugout over their history but the last of those was Bobby Robson in 1992.

- Will Unwin

Island mentality British coaches need to broaden their horizons or risk being left behind

Rúben Amorim is the latest coach to head from Portugal to England on a well-travelled route in recent years but, for a long time, it was popular going the other way. Sporting have had eight Englishmen, a Scot and a Welshman in the dugout over their history but the last of those was Bobby Robson in 1992.

Vic Buckingham, Fred Pentland and John Toshack ticked off most of Spain between them but now British coaches abroad are a rarity. The England men's national team have recently appointed Thomas Tuchel, causing much consternation among certain factions who wonder why a homegrown solution could not be sought. One of the key issues is that no domestic manager can boast the experience of working and winning in different countries like the German.

Liam Rosenior and Will Still are the only Englishmen managing teams in the top five European leagues outside their homeland and, if we are being honest, apart from a passport, the invention of the computer game Football Manager and a spell working with Preston's under-14s, Britain cannot claim much credit for Still's progress. He was born in Belgium to English parents and educated at a French language school, Ligue 1 is his natural habitat. Finding others to follow Rosenior's riskier path is where Britain is struggling.

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