SoccerNet Live

Despite facing vehement calls to resign, McClaren is putting up a brave front and insisted he is confident of reaching next summer’s finals and that he is the right man to lead England through qualifying campaign for the World Cup.

Audacious statements from a man secure about his own talent but it appears to be misplaced. England’s hopes depend on both Russia and Croatia dropping points to rescue his skin. If Russia demolish Israel this Saturday, it will condemn England to the humiliation of playing Croatia in a friendly match.

I had hoped that the argument over McClaren’s England job can be put to rest after this week. Whether England will be on the plane to Euro 2008 is immaterial, there is no escaping the fact that McClaren is not the right person for this role.

Now, I do not expect McClaren to resign on his own accord (thus his defiant attitude), that will be foolish and being uneasy on his own wallet. Rather he is looking forward to being sacked by the FA. The severance paycheck is waiting for him and once he banked it in, he can then settle for the role of a club manager, see how relaxed Erikkson is these days.

Four years under Erikkson as No. 2 has not been in vain, McClaren has picked up, if not the tactical acumen, then at least the money making skills, from the master. When Erikkson was told by the FA to go after the World Cup debacle, he demanded full compensation for the remaining two years on his 4.1 million pounds-a-year deal.

Same goes for McClaren. He is testing the patience of the FA and the nation by his incompetence and it is only a matter of time before he forces their hand to ask him to go. That will be in breach of the contract since he has done “nothing wrong”.

Here lies the conundrum. To pay him a king’s ransom or to endure the ridicule of a wrong appointment all the way till 2010. I trust that the FA is “rich”, else why will they perennially settle for bungling managers? Brian Barwick, the chief executive who, after failing to court Scolari, insisted that McClaren’s was always his No 1 choice, had to take some responsibility.

The FA should appoint people on a meritocratic basis. Candidates with the proper credentials, passion and talent. That rules out most, if not all English managers. It is the best man for the job. Why persist with an Englishman to coach the England team mentality and settle for the mediocre, instead of wooing the winners?

Nobody was in favor of this appointment right from the start. McClaren did perform reasonably as the no.2 but when he is thrusted with heavier responsiblities, he cannot live up to expectations. After following the England team under Erikkson for over 4 years, he should know on an intimate level the strengths and weaknesses of each player. A game plan should have developed in his mind by then.

As a club manager, he won the Carling Cup but that is a competition which none of the major teams are interested in and most often use it as an opportunity to throw their reserves into the fray.

For a Euro qualifying group featuring minnows and with Croatia (10th) and Russia (16th) as the main threats, nobody expected a tricky qualification. But under McClaren, it was painful to watch. Against Macedonia, Estonia, and Israel, England was superb but when faced with more credible opposition, England’s inadequacies were exposed.

Some discussions have pinpointed the players as part of the problem. Indeed, some players have accepted the blame, most notably Gerrard who threw his weight behind McClaren, even if Euro 08 is a sham.

He said: “I’m certainly backing the manager, I’ve got a lot of faith in him. There is no point changing managers every five months or every year. You need continuity and I feel we are moving in the right direction.”

Owen echoed Gerrard’s comments, saying: “I think every player you would ask would back the manager, that is a natural thing to do. We think he is the right man for the job.”

To a certain extent, it is true that for all the resources McClaren have at his disposal, if the good players who impress at club level don’t integrate at national level, then it is as good as zilch.

But that should not deflect from the main issue. McClaren is not enough of a strong personality to deal with this, we need a person who commands as much presence as the superstars and who will be willing to wield the axe on any player who is not performing.

Backtracking his earlier decision and recalling Beckham to rescue England is a bad call. Becks was not in fine form for LA Galaxy and this action smacks of a desperate and clueless man grabbing at straws.

After this misadventure, will the FA finally wake up and save the fans from angst by appointing someone who is a proven winner to do this job? Mourinho or Scolari, anyone?

Popularity: 8% [?]