ENGLAND'S LOST MANAGERS

SAM TODD LOOKS AT THOSE WHO TURNED DOWN THE CHANCE TO MANAGE THE THREE LIONS OVER THE YEARS...

- SAM TODD

THOMAS Tuchel was only too willing to jump into the England managerial hotseat. However, it has not always been the case that those offered the opportunity to lead the Three Lions have wanted to do so. A lack of experience, a preference for club management and other loyalties have been just some of the sticking points. Here are some who decided that it was better to give the England job a swerve:

Jimmy Adamson

Thomas Tuchel might want to put a second star “on our shirt”, but the person responsible for the first wasn’t always destined to be Sir Alf Ramsey.

Jimmy Adamson, the Burnley title-winning captain turned manager who was assistant to Walter Winterbottom at the 1962 World Cup, was offered the England job at Winterbottom’s suggestion when the Three Lions boss was replaced following a quarter-final defeat to Brazil at the finals in Chile.

However, he declined the role citing a lack of experience. A reluctance to leave the emotional comfort of Turf Moor, as well as his wife’s uncertainty about moving to London, were also said to have been factors in the decision.

As a result, Ramsey took charge on a full-time basis with complete control over selection (the team had been chosen by an FA committee under Winterbottom) and led England to become world champions.

Adamson, who later managed Sparta Rotterdam, Sunderland and Leeds United as well as his beloved Clarets, retained an interest in the national side in the years leading up to the 1966 Wembley triumph and had used a newspaper piece in 1963 to suggest Ramsey needed regional advisors to assist him, proposing Bill Nicholson in the South, Stan Cullis in the Midlands, Alan Brown in the North-East and Harry Potts in the North-West.

Bryan Robson