Micah Richards clashes with Gary Lineker about Thomas Tuchel's England appointment

Micah Richards clashed with Gary Lineker on an "emergency" episode of The Rest Is Football podcast to react to the announcement of Thomas Tuchel becoming England's new head coach.

The German was officially confirmed by The FA on October 16 after it emerged talks were at an advanced stage the day before with reports then claiming the deal was done.

Since the official announcement, some have questioned why a German boss has been appointed for the English national team job with the majority of England fans on social media leaping to Tuchel's defence.

And on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football, which was recorded on October 15, Richards sided with those fans, saying he's not bothered about Tuchel's nationality.

"I was of the opinion that you don't need an English manager, just go out and get the best person for the job," he said.

"We have to all agree that Tuchel is a winner, no matter where he comes from, he could be the difference between winning and losing. I understand why he's been given the job and I'm excited to see what he can bring.

"Tactically, he can bend in any direction, no matter who he's playing against."

Lineker said Lee Carsley's comments about hoping to get his job back with the U21s and that the senior England role should go to a manager who has won trophies were telling but Lineker would have given the job to him.

"I genuinely believe that national team football, particularly with the big nations, I think the manager should be from the country that they are," he said.

"I don't think it's imperative, I'm not going to lose sleep about it but my personal preference would be England has an England coach.

"I would have given it to Lee Carsley, I've seen enough to suggest to me that they really trust him and he's imaginative enough to produce something that is a joy to watch, is entertaining, that is front footed football.

"Whether I would pick a non-Englishman or not is irrelevant, it doesn't really matter that much because no-one will care one iota if England somehow manage to win the World Cup. Put us out of this f***ing misery of God knows how many years of not winning anything."

- YouTubeThomas Tuchel has signed a deal with The FA to become the new England manager. The 51-year-old German has signed an ...

And Alan Shearer sits somewhere in the middle it seems.

When asked if he was "comfortable" with a German head coach leading England, Shearer said: "If he's the outstanding candidate, yeah. It would be a little bit of concern about the pathway for English coaches.

"If they didn't act quick now, they weren't going to get one of the outstanding candidates for the job because there's every chance that that vacancy (at Manchester United) could become available soon.

"There's no doubt he's got an incredible CV, what he's won and his experience, not only managing at the highest level but working with superstars but this is going to be a very different test for him. It's a bold move from The FA, there's no doubt about it.

"In reality, with the England manager, we need a trophy, it's as simple as that and we need a manager that can deliver that.

"I really hope that they have spoken to English managers, I'm reliably told they didn't speak to Eddie Howe or they didn't sound him out, which is a big surprise for me as he would be the outstanding English candidate."

Tuchel will start his new role on January 1.

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