Craig Bellamy's success on shoestring budget puts FA's Thomas Tuchel gamble in perspective
In six matches, Craig Bellamy’s Wales are unbeaten and their win over Iceland last week ensured promotion to the top tier of Nations League football.
by Andy Dunn · The MirrorCraig Bellamy’s annual salary as Wales manager is not widely known but most estimates have it around the £500,000 mark. Right now, he is worth every penny.
In six matches, Bellamy’s Wales are unbeaten and their win over Iceland last week ensured promotion to the top tier of Nations League football.
Bellamy’s Wales is an attractive side that, in the main, enjoys a lot of possession and looks well-coached. Most of Bellamy’s backroom staff are part-time, having other day-to-day jobs to fulfil. And that is understandable. In a lot of cases, you could actually make an argument for the international manager’s job being part-time.
Thomas Tuchel starts work on January 1 and will not have to pick his first squad until the middle of March. He will then have another ten weeks or so before he picks another squad. It will then be another three months before his next one.
In his first eight months as England manager, Tuchel will have supervised the team in four matches and earned well in excess of £3million.
Of course, Tuchel’s £5million-a-year annual salary is not really an annual salary. He is being paid £7.5million to try and win England the World Cup in 2026.
No-one expects Bellamy to win the World Cup for Wales, which, perhaps, explains the discrepancy in wages. But it is still striking.
What is also striking is that Tuchel appears to be recruiting staff. Surely, St George’s Park should be able to provide highly competent staff for Tuchel to work with. He already has a full-time assistant in Anthony Barry and it now seems Hilario will hook up as a new England goalkeeping coach. Is there an easier job in football?
Jordan Pickford and his two back-ups rock up for duty, having had specialist coaching for every day of their working lives. What are they going to learn from Hilario? It remains to be seen whether Hilario joins on a full-time basis but if he does, it will be laughable.
During Lee Carsley’s enjoyable six-game tenure, Tim Dittmar helped with the goalkeeping coaching. Dittmar has been with the FA for over a decade and is head of coaching across all men’s development teams. That is how the FA should work.
Don’t forget, the FA is a not-for-profit organisation, whose income goes back into the game at all levels. That a substantial part of that income will now go to Tuchel and his staff has been put into perspective not only by Bellamy’s promising start with Wales but by Carsley’s rousing end to his interim spell.
Eight goals scored and none conceded - albeit against limited opposition - in two handsome victories, players and supporters loving his brand of football. What was there not to like?
Obviously, if Tuchel takes England to the ultimate success in the summer of 2026, few - if any - will be bothered about how much it has cost.
But before he has even contemplated those four matches in eight months, Tuchel’s appointment is looking more and more like a very expensive gamble the FA did not need to take.
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