TalkSoccer - Soccer / Football Forum - View Single Post - England failure good? (Not a thread for hating England, do that elsewhere)

NJ10 · 15-11-2007, 09:43 PM

i dont believe failure to qualify will be good. i think if we were to somehow sneak into Euro 08 (and i dont think we will, cos i think Croatia & Russia will both win tomorrow), then the scare we have had would serve as the "wake up call". we dont have to miss out on a major tournament for there to be an inquest into the running of our national side.

the FA are incompetent, that is for sure. they make big mistakes and get away with it because no one seems to have to answer for them. McClaren was never the first choice, thats obvious. They wanted Scolari, Wenger, Hiddink, Mourinho ahead of him and when it became apparent that they werent getting any of those top class coaches, they settled for a Yes man who wouldnt upset the applecart, they thought the qualifying group would be easy enough for McClaren, and they might just get a bit of form at the right time for Euro 08, and lets face it, at a major championships, anything can happen. they didnt bargain on such a poor campaign, and for Mac's bad decisions (i.e. sticking with Paul Robinson) to be so cruelly exposed so soon.

of course people like Gerrard, Owen & Terry are coming out and defending McClaren, and do you know why? because under him, they are guaranteed their starting places. that has been a problem with England for years.... but in a way, i can see McClaren's (and SGE's before him) problem. its a five letter word.....M E D I A....lets say McClaren has a brave pill, decides he's sick to death of waiting for Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard & Wayne Rooney to replicate their club form for England. drops all three of them, and picks Gareth Barry, Owen Hargreaves & Darren Bent, three players who have been in form and receiving a lot of media praise (i know they havent but for arguments sake....). England lose a big game, those three players arent particularly to blame....but.......whats the first thing the media will say? "Why have we got WORLD CLASS players like Gerrard, Lampard & Rooney sat on the bench?"....its a catch 22 situation. He's damned if he plays them, damned if he doesnt. The only way he can win is if he manages to get them playing the way they can for their clubs, which im afraid Mr McClaren seems unable to do.....

I honestly dont know whether the FA will sack Mac after the Croatia game, i dont know if they should do either. Who will they get instead? Sam Allardyce?? Stuart Pearce?? Martin O'Neill?? are they any better as coaches? they are certainly inferior to Sven Goran Eriksson....and he was pillorised by the press.....

its a damn fucking mess if you ask me.

15-11-2007, 09:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
NJ10 TS V.I.P. Member Favourite Team: Liverpool NJ10 is Offline Join Date: May 2005 Location: Liverpool Posts: 5,300 vCash: 120 Rep: Rep Points: 3215 Country:	i dont believe failure to qualify will be good. i think if we were to somehow sneak into Euro 08 (and i dont think we will, cos i think Croatia & Russia will both win tomorrow), then the scare we have had would serve as the "wake up call". we dont have to miss out on a major tournament for there to be an inquest into the running of our national side. the FA are incompetent, that is for sure. they make big mistakes and get away with it because no one seems to have to answer for them. McClaren was never the first choice, thats obvious. They wanted Scolari, Wenger, Hiddink, Mourinho ahead of him and when it became apparent that they werent getting any of those top class coaches, they settled for a Yes man who wouldnt upset the applecart, they thought the qualifying group would be easy enough for McClaren, and they might just get a bit of form at the right time for Euro 08, and lets face it, at a major championships, anything can happen. they didnt bargain on such a poor campaign, and for Mac's bad decisions (i.e. sticking with Paul Robinson) to be so cruelly exposed so soon. of course people like Gerrard, Owen & Terry are coming out and defending McClaren, and do you know why? because under him, they are guaranteed their starting places. that has been a problem with England for years.... but in a way, i can see McClaren's (and SGE's before him) problem. its a five letter word.....M E D I A....lets say McClaren has a brave pill, decides he's sick to death of waiting for Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard & Wayne Rooney to replicate their club form for England. drops all three of them, and picks Gareth Barry, Owen Hargreaves & Darren Bent, three players who have been in form and receiving a lot of media praise (i know they havent but for arguments sake....). England lose a big game, those three players arent particularly to blame....but.......whats the first thing the media will say? "Why have we got WORLD CLASS players like Gerrard, Lampard & Rooney sat on the bench?"....its a catch 22 situation. He's damned if he plays them, damned if he doesnt. The only way he can win is if he manages to get them playing the way they can for their clubs, which im afraid Mr McClaren seems unable to do..... I honestly dont know whether the FA will sack Mac after the Croatia game, i dont know if they should do either. Who will they get instead? Sam Allardyce?? Stuart Pearce?? Martin O'Neill?? are they any better as coaches? they are certainly inferior to Sven Goran Eriksson....and he was pillorised by the press..... its a damn fucking mess if you ask me.