Going, going, gone.Out of Euro 2008.
Like many England fans, the thought was bittersweet; I mean, even if it was unthinkable that we should miss the competition, at least surely this way we will be rid of the worst England manager we've ever had?
When the team took to the pitch, it was typical McClaren England. Men out of position, a new formation we've never played for a major match, new players who've not played before in a key game. It had disaster written all over it. My pre-match prediction was 2-1 to Croatia.
Croatia were 2-0 up in 15 minutes. We were dire.
But when we eventually equalised I was ecstatic. Blow McClaren. I am an England fan. I want us to qualify. I want us to be at the championships next summer. Beckham back in the team, things starting to work, belief rising -
Then wham.
The third Croatian goal.
I hope McClaren goes; I'm sure he's a great guy - just a hapless England manager. But the hope that he goes does not make this result bittersweet.
I'm an England fan. It is still just bitter.
4 comments:
It upset me that our attempt to qualify ended up so desperate that England, yes, England ended up punting long balls for Crouch to flick on for two strikers that sit on the bench for the team currently 14th in the Premier League. And I'm a Spurs fan!
And when that didn't work, we were relying on Andorra ending their 29-game losing streak. Pathetic.
The formation was wrong (and has been consistenly), our best player only came on in the second half (and changed the run of the game, surprise, surprise!) and there was no passion. None! Who are we, Wales?!
I feel really sorry for Scott Carson. It was a howler of a first goal, and without it, they might not have got the second so easily. He shouldn't have played, so I don't blame him. I hope he becomes England's number one in a couple of years time. Robinson's 'blunders' as they've been called were nowhere near as bad as have been reported. He's been in good form for England. Maybe not in training, and not so much for Spurs - but the goals he's let in playing for his country have not been the mark of a bad keeper. And you don't change your keeper for the crucial game at the end of a qualifying campaign. So I feel sorry for Scott Carson.
McClaren has now been sacked, and I'm glad that we get the chance to appoint the wrong man again (probably). I hate the way that managers aren't given time a chance to make a difference, and the media are almost entirely to blame. But McClaren was the wrong man from the get-go, so there was no choice.
Maybe we've avoided the fate that the rugby team seems to have suffered - success when there is root-and-branch failure in the system. English football has been in a mess for a long time, and we've struggled through levels of under-achievement due to national pride. This coming summer might be the break we need to re-analyse.
Thanks Richard.
For all I rib you about Spurs, I do like your team - though that may not be obvious from what I'm about to say...
When the England manager chooses two strikers from the team that's 14th in the league, and two strikers who struggle to get a game for that side, and thinks they will win him things, we are in trouble. Sure, Rooney and Owen are injured. Who else can he turn to?
Well, the team at the top of the league has an English striker who is playing rather well for them. But of course, he was Sven's big mistake. So Steve will have nothing to do with Theo. He'll show us he's his own man. And now we'll show Steve the door.
Who would you choose? A striker who works wonders for the team at the top, or players who warm the bench for a team fighting their way out of the relegation zone?
I agree with you about Carson. Poor bloke. Should never have been on the pitch; but McClaren was onto a loser every which way here - had Robbo had another howler, that too would have been McClaren's fault. Mind you, what's wrong with West Ham's goalie?
I'm not sure the whole system is wrong. We get Rooneys and Walcotts and Richards and Coles; there were always shockers in the team - we just forget their names. Playing alongside Cantona made Scholes and Giggs and Neville and Beckham far better players. Playing alongside Ronaldo now is doing it for others. I think the quota idea may have merit - Chelsea and Arsenal go too far in fielding totally foreign elevens.
But this campaign has been about a manager who just had no idea. No authority. No understanding that a right sided player doesn't work on the left. That a centre back doesn't make a good full back. That a team made up of "names" is no substitute for a team with eleven men in the right position who know their jobs out of sheer muscle memory. That three "strikers" on for the last ten minutes never win a game if you don't have a midfield left. That LAMPARD AND GERRARD CAN'T PLAY TOGETHER.
It was just like watching Middlesborough.
I agree - maybe my 'the whole system is wrong' is an overstatement. And I certainly agree that there's no way Defoe and Bent should have been our main attacking hope. And here's something for your diary - I like Theo Walcott too. He's excellent. He wasn't good enough when Sven played him, but he's gained that experience from playing in one of the best teams in the country (that really hurts) alongside some of the best players (owww!!!!), and his time might be now. Actually, this might be good for him. England will, presumably, play more friendlies now than they would have done had they qualified. And then there's the World Cup qualifying. If McClaren's successor has a brain he'll start playing Walcott now. Permanently. Owen on the Bench. Walcott and Rooney could work really well.
And if that brain has more than two cells, then he will see your point about Gerard and Lampard. One or the other. That way, when one's injured, you have a replacement. It's called a squad, not a team.
Maybe he'll start doing some work on defending in training, as well.
So, who do you think it will be?
By the way - this from the BBC made me laugh:
"(FA Chairman Geoff) Thompson promised the FA would conduct a 'root-and-branch' review of the England team set-up, and that would be led by chief executive Brian Barwick..." So it won't be very effective then...
We are doing amazingly well at agreeing here.
I totally agree with you about Barwick. They could have appointed Richard Bowker, an old school friend of mine, who I think would have done a better job - and who would surely have never let the mess continue.
As for who next in the manager's hot-seat: they should ask Jose under what conditions he would consider the post - and whatever he says, give it to him. He won't just ask for money; he'll ask for control. He should have it.
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