England games reduced to a farce and waste of time without Thomas Tuchel

The November international break is already widely resented by supporters as one disruption too many to the first half of the Premier League season and, for English fans, this month's camp is likely to rankle more than usual.

The FA’s strange decision to allow incoming head coach Thomas Tuchel to start work in January, with interim Lee Carsley remaining in charge for Thursday’s game against Greece in Athens and Ireland's visit to Wembley on Sunday, has left the Nations League double-header as a farce.

Presumably sensing that this was a good camp to miss, eight players pulled out of Carsley's initial squad on Monday, including Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold; Manchester City pair Phil Foden and Jack Grealish; Arsenal's Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka; and Chelsea duo Levi Colwill and Cole Palmer.

It is comfortably the most withdrawals from an England squad for years, more than the six players who pulled out under Gareth Southgate this time last year in the only comparable situation in recent memory.

It would be unfair to suggest that any of the above are shirking, but naturally leading clubs might have exerted more pressure on their stars to stay behind than usual, when the FA have sent such a clear message that this international break is little more than filler.

There is no incentive for any of England's established players to impress a lame duck interim coach, who will return to the Under-21s job next week, particularly given the intense pressure of the schedule, which is putting more strain on players than ever before.

Tuchel, who last month signed a contract until after the 2026 World Cup, has said he did not want to "lose focus" on the finals by starting work in "another competition", namely the Nations League, and wanted a "clean start" in the impossible job.

The trouble is, there is no guarantee that Tuchel will avoid finishing England's strange Nations League campaign because there remains a chance that they will be forced into a play-off in March if Carsley's patched-up squad drops points this week.

And by keeping Carsley in charge, the FA have surely increased the chances of a distracted England finishing second in their group, which would deny Tuchel the chance to begin the job with either a pair of World Cup qualifiers or top-level friendlies in spring.

Tuchel was appointed with a clear remit to win the World Cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico - "To push [England] over the line", as he put it, following the near misses under Southgate - but he has acknowledged he will be "short of time" with the players.

He will have just six camps before naming a World Cup squad and, in that context, denying him the chance to spend this week with the players - to begin judging them, implementing his ideas on the training ground and relaying his message - feels like an oversight and a huge opportunity squandered. At this level, every day counts.

Tuchel has also said he wants more time to "recharge" after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season, and his assistant Anthony Barry cannot leave his role as Portugal No2 until January.

There is also the question of the FA's duty to Carsley, who was told he would have all three Nations League camps when he took the interim job in the summer.

None of these factors adequately explains Tuchel's delayed start and missing out on valuable time with the squad, especially when the stakes are so high.

For his part, Carsley has given every impression of wanting to return to the U-21s and would surely understand the value of Tuchel having more time with the players.

By the end of this fortnight, England will have played six fixtures since the start of the new season, compared to 11 League games for each top-flight club, making for a stuttering and disjointed start to the domestic season, which will not get going in earnest until next week - when international football is put on ice until March.

If Tuchel was starting work this month, there would, at least, be excitement and intrigue around England's fixtures, as a new era with a bold and exciting aim got under way.

As it is, England's latest camp feels like a colossal waste of time for everyone involved.