After a whirlwind 48 hours or so, it’s official: Thomas Tuchel is the next England manager.
Set to take over from Lee Carsley, who has been put in charge of the Three Lions following Gareth Southgate’s exit after this year’s Euro 2024 heartbreak, the German will become the new England boss starting next year.
Reports around Tuchel’s appointment started ramping up over the weekend after the likes of the BBC and Sky News confirmed the decision, The Football Association (FA) and England have now revealed the 51-year-old as the new head coach.
Make no mistake, this is a massive appointment by the FA .
Given that the ex-Chelsea manager has won the Champions League, Club World Cup and FIFA’s Coach of the Year in 2021, not to mention a Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich, a German Cup with Borussia Dortmund; two league titles and a domestic treble with PSG, it’s fair to say his pedigree speaks for itself.
Having left Bayern at the end of last season, the much-admired coach has been linked with multiple top jobs, most notably Manchester United as pressure continues to mount on Erik ten Hag, but he’s now taken an even more high-pressure role – arguably an ‘impossible’ one, as many people still see it.
Thomas Tuchel. Our #ThreeLions head coach from 2025. 🏴
As detailed in an official statement , “The confidential process, which saw several candidates interviewed, was led by FA CEO Mark Bullingham and men’s technical director John McDermott, and saw Tuchel identified as the preferred appointment.”
It has been reported that the national football body is playing the long game and “prepared to wait” for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola but, in the meantime there arguably isn’t a more qualified and successful coach available on the market right now than Thomas Tuchel.
As part of the decision, Tuchel will be joined by internationally renowned Liverpool-born coach Anthony Barry as his assistant manager, who started out his coaching career at Wigan Athletic before joining his new gaffer at the likes of Chelsea and Bayern. Tuchel had this to say about the project ahead:
Looking forward to starting the journey together 💪
The well-acquainted pair are also set to bring a small backroom team along with them to St. George’s Park, with a further coaching update expected in the near future.
After quietly signing his contract on Tuesday, 8 October, Tuchel is set to start work as the new England manager on 1 January 2025 ahead of the qualification process for the following year’s FIFA World Cup, due to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Meanwhile, interim coach Carsley will remain in charge for the UEFA Nations League group stages which are set to conclude in November before returning to take charge of the England under-21s.
What do we reckon, then – are you happy with the appointment?
The final go-ahead is expected to be given for work to start on a major new £15million sports hub in Holbeck.
Senior councillors are expected to give the approval next Wednesday 11 March at an executive board meeting.
An agreement will be made on a contractor to complete the work which will bring state-of-the-art sports pitches and a community space to the city.
Holbeck Sports Hub will provide three full-size artificial grass football pitches, two multi-use games areas and a building with changing rooms and a café.
Image: Supplied
Work is expected to begin in August 2026 and is set to be built at the site of the former Matthew Murray High School.
The plan is to also provide a home to a new GP surgery as well as a children’s play area and walking and running routes through the green space which sits off Brown Lane East and Ingram Road.
Image: Supplied
Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “We look forward to the work starting on the Holbeck Sports Hub, which will be a significant asset to the local community and residents in south Leeds.
“It will provide affordable and accessible quality sports pitches, providing more opportunities for physical activity and play and spaces to meet up and connect.
“We are also working towards an agreement with a GP practice so that the area can benefit from new high-quality healthcare provision to meet the needs of the community.”
The programme is joint funded by the Football Foundation and Leeds City Council capital funding.
This UK pub chain has announced bottomless Guinness for the 2026 Six Nations
Danny Jones
Guinness and the Six Nations has got to be a match made in heaven.
With the 2026 Six Nations tournament kicking off last Friday Thursday, 5 February – it's safe to say rugby fans across Leeds will be set on finding the perfect place to watch the upcoming matches.
However, we can’t think of many other places offering bottomless black gold in town, let alone anywhere else in Leeds.
So, if you were still unsure of where to watch this year’s tournament, the Social Pub and Kitchen group might have just made the decision for you…
That’s right, this widespread British chain is looking to keep the pints flowing throughout the duration of this year’s competition, thanks to a twist on their standard bottomless brunch format.
Image: Social Pub and Kitchen Group
Running for every single televised meeting between the much-loved half dozen rugby union teams, all 103 of their locations across the country will be providing this impressive offer on pints.
Here in Leeds, the Dry Dock, The Library and the Hyde Park Hotel will be offering the deal.
As well as these nearby venues, there are obviously plenty more around Yorkshire for those slightly further afield.
With a new food menu too, which features several honey-based dishes like the sweet sriracha pizza, chipotle loaded fries, as well as honey chipotle chicken wings, the matchday scran is on point.
So too are the drinks, clearly, and if any of your party wants to stray away from the bottomless Guinness, there are series of special Six Nations-themed cocktails, such as the ‘Midnight in Dublin’, a ‘Peach on the Pitch’ margarita, Baby Velvet, and the bold ‘G-Bomb’.
Yes, we suspect it is as boozy as it sounds.
Running throughout February and March whilst the games are on, we imagine plenty of people will be making at least one Social Pub and Kitchen site their chosen destination for watching all the action.
Even if you happen to be reading this outside of Leeds, you can find your nearest Social Pub and Kitchen and book your table right HERE.
Danny Jones -
16th October 2024 
