Friday, November 23, 2007

I'll Get Me Croat

Well, poor Steve McClown has been kicked out as England manager. Do I feel sorry for him? Not really... Next Summer is going to be awful, and it's largely his fault. But in reality, he should never have been given the job. As a club manager his record was not particularly good. Getting Boro to a UEFA Cup Final is hardly the greatest achievement in the world. He was chosen as one of the few English managers that actually wanted the job. It will be interesting to see what happens now and who they go for.

When Sven was kicked out, I wanted Capello to be given the job. He's been successful wherever he's been, particularly in dealing with egos. However, his recent stint at Madrid has left his reputation somewhat tarnished. I am less keen this time round to see Capello as England boss.

I am certainly not keen to see Marcello Lippi in charge. Yes, he's a successful coach, but certainly not one I think would get the English playing to their strengths. He would be another Sven - his style is traditional Italian and that just doesn't suit us.

Mourinho... Hmm, I just don't know. Yes, he did bring success to Chelsea... But his team was fairly boring to watch. I don't know. I'd accept him as boss, but I wouldn't be particularly happy about it.

Martin O'Neill is my preferred choice, but he's already ruled himself out of the running. I don't know, England is in a dark place at the moment - the team is playing poorly, but the fans and media still believe they are capable of winning any tournament. Honestly, it's got to be one of the hardest jobs in world football.

And I was interested to see that England has been paired off with Croatia again for the World Cup qualifiers. To be honest, I think that the draw is fairly fortunate. Considering we were in the second seed pool, we could have drawn Italy, France or Holland to name but a few. I think with a better manager we have an excellent chance of qualifying for the World Cup. Indeed, the prospect of missing two major championships in a row is simply unthinkable.

1 comment:

Charles Letterman said...

You are right of course, he wasn't up to the job. But you also have to look at the players.

How many Liverpool and Chelsea supporters called for Mclaren's head, while still hero-worshipping Gerrard and Lampard every weekend?

A wet Wembley Wednesday night - they just couldn't be arsed.