lost
09 Feb 2007, 09:03 AM
Ok, its a fact, we were all correct all along, Mclaren is, of course, the wrong man for the job, promoted to a station far beyond where his abilities and intelligence should ever have got him. The FA have continued their long and virtually uninterrupted 3 century long tradition of making the wrong decision whenever a decision of any sort has been forced upon them, and now we are all just treading water until the early days of next year when we will be seeking a new manager for the NT. In the last 5 games we have scored only 2 goals, we have lost 2 matches and we have looked diabolical all along. This is not a problem with having poor players, or even having a few key personnel out, it is a problem with the way the team is controlled and instructed, this is not a problem that is going to go away whilst the ginger one is in the job. It is only a matter of time until he is replaced, but of course the fa will now make another wrong decision and wait until we have failed before making an alteration.
However, that decision is coming. there is no way that they would keep mclaren till 2010, even though we would have done in th past, with people like Bobby Robson, Don Revie and even Alf Ramsey having been kept in their jobs despite having failed to qualify for finals at some point in their respective tenures without having been fired. So the only relevant piece of information that will have any impact on our lives as england fans over the next two years is: who will be the next manager?
I vote for Scolari, Mourinho, Fergie or Lippi.
Scolari will be available after euro 2008. Even if he fluffs this one, which is highly unlikely, he will still have been to 3 tournaments and won one, been to the final of the next and then the semis of the last one. and that squad at 2006 was rubbish, he achieved a miracle getting them as close to the final as they got, that with a ronaldo that had been virtually put out of commission by boularouz, deco sent off and out of the england game, miguel out of the tournament, figo and rui costa (effectively) finished before the tournament had even started, no strikers of any ability whatsoever, etc. Seriously, in retrospect what portugal did at that tournament was virtually a miracle, and it was all thanks to scolari, because the players were mostly useless and had virtually no attacking ability in the entire squad. so even if they flop at 2008, he is still the best international manager available.
Mourinho: the best club manager in the world over the past 5 years, no doubts in my mind about this. quite possibly he is about to win his 5th successive league title, and then, im sure, he will be available to the highest bidder, or perhaps the most interesting prospect. one thing about him, he was already won everything as a club manager, league titles, european cup, uefa cup, everything. the only thing left for him to conquer in life is international football. and what better team to win something with than the newcastle united of international football, on of the biggest teams going that cannot win for love nor money. Where would an international cup for england , when placed alongside his other trophies, put him in the history of great managers? maybe not for tactical innovation, but in terms of pure winning, he would have be approaching the best of all time, and this is before he is even 50! im sure this is something that may have crossed the special ones mind.
fergie: i think he is going to bow out of club football in the not too distant future. i very much doubt it will be this summer, but who know, he will be 67 by the end of the 2008 season, maybe this will be time for him to call it a day. If this is a possibility, then why would he not be a candidate for the part time role as england manager? the man is one of the most successful managers in footballing history, he would be well worth a shot as NT manager. plus he may want to secure some sort of legacy with a shot at an international tournament. it would be a step into the past trying to get an england team playing the kind of attacking football that Mu play, and it might well fail horribly, but i would not mind seeing it tried out, its more than worth the gamble given the success that fergie has had throughout his 4 decade long managerial career.
Lippi: same as fergie, a great manager in terms of what he has won, he is also available at the moment. i doubt he has spent too much time in his life dreaming of managing england, but im sure if offered the position, he would give it long and hard consideration. he is proven in both club and international football, winning leagues, reaching 4 ec finals, winning the wc, etc.
Other managers that would be nice, but are not available, are people like Gus Hiddink and Arsene Wenger, but neither are worth considering as they are just not going to be available for the next few years for england. gus with russia and then, i think everyone is already aware, chelsea. and wenger just will not walk away from arsenal for the foreseeable future.
(Just to really highlight a point, please compare Mcclaren to the above names and then just weep, let it all out. he is a pygmy compared to the above names, his name will never be said in the same breathe as any of them. how is he running our nt?????)
And then there is the english brigade, that im sure we will hear a clamouring for, both from certain quarters of the fa and various little englanders. stuart pierce again? sam allardyce? how about steve coppell this time around, maybe neil warnock? whats so funny about that? he has 'passion'. he 'knows the english game'. he 'understands what it means to put on an england shirt' , or whatever other clichés we will no doubt be subjected to in the build up to a new appointment. but please, compare any of those english names to any of the non english ones i have listed, and then just shut the ******** up. there is no english manager available. they are just too shit, they never win anything, and dont occupy any positions of any importance in world football. furthermore, they are not likely to be offered any of these positions in the foreseeable future either.
However, that decision is coming. there is no way that they would keep mclaren till 2010, even though we would have done in th past, with people like Bobby Robson, Don Revie and even Alf Ramsey having been kept in their jobs despite having failed to qualify for finals at some point in their respective tenures without having been fired. So the only relevant piece of information that will have any impact on our lives as england fans over the next two years is: who will be the next manager?
I vote for Scolari, Mourinho, Fergie or Lippi.
Scolari will be available after euro 2008. Even if he fluffs this one, which is highly unlikely, he will still have been to 3 tournaments and won one, been to the final of the next and then the semis of the last one. and that squad at 2006 was rubbish, he achieved a miracle getting them as close to the final as they got, that with a ronaldo that had been virtually put out of commission by boularouz, deco sent off and out of the england game, miguel out of the tournament, figo and rui costa (effectively) finished before the tournament had even started, no strikers of any ability whatsoever, etc. Seriously, in retrospect what portugal did at that tournament was virtually a miracle, and it was all thanks to scolari, because the players were mostly useless and had virtually no attacking ability in the entire squad. so even if they flop at 2008, he is still the best international manager available.
Mourinho: the best club manager in the world over the past 5 years, no doubts in my mind about this. quite possibly he is about to win his 5th successive league title, and then, im sure, he will be available to the highest bidder, or perhaps the most interesting prospect. one thing about him, he was already won everything as a club manager, league titles, european cup, uefa cup, everything. the only thing left for him to conquer in life is international football. and what better team to win something with than the newcastle united of international football, on of the biggest teams going that cannot win for love nor money. Where would an international cup for england , when placed alongside his other trophies, put him in the history of great managers? maybe not for tactical innovation, but in terms of pure winning, he would have be approaching the best of all time, and this is before he is even 50! im sure this is something that may have crossed the special ones mind.
fergie: i think he is going to bow out of club football in the not too distant future. i very much doubt it will be this summer, but who know, he will be 67 by the end of the 2008 season, maybe this will be time for him to call it a day. If this is a possibility, then why would he not be a candidate for the part time role as england manager? the man is one of the most successful managers in footballing history, he would be well worth a shot as NT manager. plus he may want to secure some sort of legacy with a shot at an international tournament. it would be a step into the past trying to get an england team playing the kind of attacking football that Mu play, and it might well fail horribly, but i would not mind seeing it tried out, its more than worth the gamble given the success that fergie has had throughout his 4 decade long managerial career.
Lippi: same as fergie, a great manager in terms of what he has won, he is also available at the moment. i doubt he has spent too much time in his life dreaming of managing england, but im sure if offered the position, he would give it long and hard consideration. he is proven in both club and international football, winning leagues, reaching 4 ec finals, winning the wc, etc.
Other managers that would be nice, but are not available, are people like Gus Hiddink and Arsene Wenger, but neither are worth considering as they are just not going to be available for the next few years for england. gus with russia and then, i think everyone is already aware, chelsea. and wenger just will not walk away from arsenal for the foreseeable future.
(Just to really highlight a point, please compare Mcclaren to the above names and then just weep, let it all out. he is a pygmy compared to the above names, his name will never be said in the same breathe as any of them. how is he running our nt?????)
And then there is the english brigade, that im sure we will hear a clamouring for, both from certain quarters of the fa and various little englanders. stuart pierce again? sam allardyce? how about steve coppell this time around, maybe neil warnock? whats so funny about that? he has 'passion'. he 'knows the english game'. he 'understands what it means to put on an england shirt' , or whatever other clichés we will no doubt be subjected to in the build up to a new appointment. but please, compare any of those english names to any of the non english ones i have listed, and then just shut the ******** up. there is no english manager available. they are just too shit, they never win anything, and dont occupy any positions of any importance in world football. furthermore, they are not likely to be offered any of these positions in the foreseeable future either.