Former FA chief: I’d have hired Klopp as England boss in a heartbeat
Former FA chief Alex Horne says he would have “hired Jurgen Klopp in a heartbeat” as the manager who did get the England job, Thomas Tuchel, looks to restore momentum to the World Cup qualifying campaign this weekend.
Horne, who oversaw the hiring of Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson as England managers, believes that former Liverpool manager Klopp would have been on the shortlist to replace Gareth Southgate last year.
Champions League winning former Chelsea coach Tuchel got the nod amid debate over a German leading the Three Lions but his honeymoon in the role ended with June’s 3-1 friendly defeat by Senegal.
Asked about the significance of Tuchel’s passport, Horne – now chair of independent studio Formation Games – said he didn’t “think nationality matters as much as the understanding of the players, the structure of the Premier League, and the nature of the game we play over here”.
He added: “If I can answer in a different way, I would have hired Klopp in a heartbeat because he epitomises an understanding of English football, fandom, the speed and tempo of the game, the players involved in the game. What he did at Liverpool means he would have been on a shortlist.”
Klopp the man for the job?
Formation Games is behind a newly-released football ownership mobile game called “CLUB”, which simulates real football team ownership – from stadium construction to contracts to management decisions to PSR.
Horne believes it can give fans a better understanding of how the sport works, but insists the English game itself is “in rude health”.
“There is a decent success story around the English men’s team,” Horne says. “I am hugely proud of the work Gareth [Southgate] and the team did building on a lot of foundations I set in place from my time [at the FA] from 2004 to 2015.
“The national team is in a place where its relevance has never been higher and its engagement has never been higher. It’s partly the respect Gareth has shown for the game and the system – right from the academy, managers at the clubs and building the bridges. That relationship has never been better.
“Obviously we haven’t turned that into silverware but we’ve gotten closer than we have done, and more consistently. Players want to play for England, which has been a problem in the past.”
England have won all three of their World Cup qualifiers so far, but struggled to a 1-0 away win over Andorra in their last Group K match.