How the ‘impossible job’ changed: why managing England no longer defines football’s greatest pressure

It became part of the national lexicon after the 1994 Channel 4 documentary, 'An Impossible Job', which showed in raw detail the pressure Taylor was under during England’s failed World Cup qualifying campaign.

Media and England fans described it as the ‘impossible job’ long before that documentary aired, such was the tabloid scrutiny around Robson’s later years.

More recently Gareth Southgate inherited that same label, though he slowly changed the thinking and must be credited with proving that the job wasn’t the poison chalice many assumed it to be. Think about that label today in comparison with the task facing a typical Premier League manager, and it no longer holds weight for the England boss.

In today’s game, the real pressure lies with club managers, not international ones. Club football has become a constant storm. Managers face up to three matches a week, six press conferences, growing media demands, endless analysis, social media in overdrive and owners who expect instant results. A bad fortnight can cost someone their job.

Even the more measured owners are dragged into the chaos because everyone is competing with everyone else all the time. It’s a treadmill that never stops.  

Set against all that, the current England job looks different. Yes, the pressure is intense at times, especially around tournaments – but it’s not relentless. It comes in bursts. There are training camps, matches, media duties, then a period of calm where everything quietens and Thomas Tuchel has time to think and plan. That rhythm matters.

It’s one reason this summer could be interesting for Tuchel. One thing he’s reportedly cool on are the daily press conferences that FIFA and UEFA demand during major tournaments, but beyond that he may find he enjoys the overall pace of international management. Especially once he has experienced the job in full, through qualification and tournament phases. There are fewer fires to fight, more room to prepare for the games that really matter. And with the spectacle of a World Cup and the variety a global press pack brings, the whole experience has a different vibe.

The greatest show on earth. He might just get the taste for it.  

And if he doesn’t, and eventually returns to club football post-2028, the next group of English coaches waiting in the wings looks strong and will be better for their club experiences.

Eddie Howe has already shown he can build and improve teams in a modern, analytical environment. Liam Rosenior and Michael Carrick are younger but cut from a similar cloth: thoughtful coaches with clear ideas, strong player relationships and a willingness to be brave in their approach, even if their journeys are still developing.

All three could be excellent England managers in time but may first find themselves tested by the impatience that defines the club game. That shouldn’t deter them. Anyone who understands the sport and looks properly at their coaching work will recognise the quality. At international level, they may find more freedom to work in line with their principles.  

The Football Association also deserves credit here. Once seen as a ball and chain with a stuffy approach and a narrow view of who should lead England, it has modernised. Far more open-minded when surveying the market for a head coach, the FA is now a much more stable, supportive taskmaster than many club owners.

The England set-up is clearer, better organised and increasingly less political than it once was. While there’s still work to do, particularly on the latter point, there is no meddling from administrators in football matters. The suits leave the tracksuits to it; something that absolutely cannot be said everywhere in the club game. That stability matters. Many Premier League owners talk about long-term planning, but few actually deliver it.  

Another big difference is squad selection. At club level, choices are tied to transfer fees, wages and contracts, further complicated by profit and sustainability rules. A manager may want a certain player but can’t afford him, or worse is under pressure to play someone because the club spent £80m on him and wants to protect their investment. With England, none of that applies.

Tuchel has already made clear he won’t hesitate to bench or even drop big names if they don’t meet expected standards on the pitch and in training. The England manager simply picks the players who fit the plan. That freedom is powerful, especially in an era where data dominates the sport.  

At club level, the analysis is so deep and so widespread that teams often cancel each other out. Everyone studies the same patterns, signs similar types of players and prepares for games in almost identical ways. One senior analyst at a Premier League club summed it up neatly: “If Arsenal do it, we do it.” Once every club copies the same methods, it all becomes even more uniform – something increasingly evident in the Premier League.

A London-based football AI company has already built a virtual model capable of delivering an extremely accurate half time team-talk based on metrics from the opening 45 minutes. When every club has that sort of tech stack, the game risks becoming even more predictable and a football equivalent of Kramer vs Kramer. 

International football still sits slightly apart from that world. With less time to coach, simple plans can beat complex ones. The ability of players can matter more than marginal gains. And globally, different nations move at different speeds, with different ideas and different player pools. International football doesn’t suffer from the same copy and paste tactical culture the Premier League has grown into.  

Tuchel still has a huge job to do – and still faces plenty of scrutiny – but it’s no longer the most punishing job in world football. The ‘impossible job’ label simply hasn’t kept up with the reality. It’s now a myth, a lazy moniker.

Tuchel has already done the truly impossible jobs: leading Dortmund, Chelsea and Bayern, where he was judged three times a week, where a slight dip becomes a crisis, and where the noise never stops.

The England job asks for something different: clarity, preparation and good judgement. Hard, yes – but no longer impossible. In fact, for the right manager – Tuchel now, or a progressive young coach in the future – it might be exactly where the modern game makes the most sense.