Failure to qualify means McClaren is out so its not all bad

Internationals / Mike Norman / 26 October 2007 / 2 Comments

"Mystical" Mike Norman looks into his crystal ball to find out just whether England will be in Austria & Switzerland next summer

It was a performance of true grit from Israel last night, as they out battled Russia to put Euro 2008 Qualifying firmly back in England's destiny. With Paul Robinson out injured, after dropping his 6th consecutive 'blunder of the week' trophy on his foot, Steve McClaren's men just need to beat a depleted Croatian team at the weekend, and their place next summer will be assured.

When I was 6 years old I wished for an Evel Knievel stunt toy, instead I got a Daring Dennis figure that shattered when, for reasons I can't disclose, came into contact with my bedroom wall at speed. When I was 14, I wished for a ZX Spectrum, instead I got one of those bizarre devices that plugged into my black & white portable, and two sticks passed a square ball to each other. So as you can see, it's pointless me wishing for the series of events above, as all I will end up with is a 4-0 victory for Scotland and the Spurs goalkeeper being named 'player of the month'.

God it's depressing, the thought of Scotland being Britain's only representatives in Switzerland & Austria next summer - or is it? Every cloud has a silver lining they say, and surely we deprived England fans are now in a win-win situation. If England qualify (3.15 to do so), then our nation of football mad fanatics can cheer on the brilliant Steve McClaren and his team of Lion hearts. But if we fail, then the clueless Steve McCarrot will be relieved of his duties, provoking another mad scramble for the best job in world football. Who said football fans are fickle?

So let's have a go at unraveling the puzzle. Will England Qualify? Personally, I think they still have a very good chance, though as we know, much depends on the Israel v Russia game. However, I would be willing to put my money where my mouth is and take the 3.15 currently on offer for England to snatch the runners-up spot. Russia (1.42 to qualify) failed to beat Israel in Moscow last October, and with home advantage, Israel will be a very tough nut to crack.

So what will the future hold for McClaren? Betfair have a special market, which asks whether or not he will still be the England manager come the turn of the year - 1.9 says he will, 1.5 says he won't, clearly not great liquidity but never mind. I would have to think that this all depends on England qualifying from their group, so if you think they will, then take the 3.15 about them doing so, and not the 1.9 for McClaren to still be in charge on January 1st 2008. However, if you think England will fail to qualify, then the 1.5 for McClaren to be gone certainly comes into play.

So in just a few weeks time, McClaren could be applying for jobs at lowly league two sides, Guus Hiddink will have the freedom of Russia, and I will be sifting through my family tree, desperately trying to claim Rob Roy as a distant cousin, so that I can cheer on Scotland next summer (3.4 to qualify from group B).

But what about England? Who will the hierarchy at the FA turn to next? Hiddink perhaps? After all, he only needs to manage three or so more teams and then he has had an involvement with every nation in the world. Happy Harry Redknapp? He is doing a great job at Portsmouth, and he would be my selection if we keep the manager English. Wenger or Ferguson? Don't be silly, the last thing we want to do is hire a manager who encourages great attacking football.

So who then? Quite frankly, I think there is only one man for the job. His knowledge of world football is incredible, his credentials are there for all to see, he has a hunger and a desire to succeed, and most importantly, in a recent interview he stated, "I just hope that in my next challenge I'm surrounded by love". Step forward Jose Mourinho, because I don't think there is a fan, a member of the media, or anyone in the press that wouldn't love you.

Comments (2)

1. Terry Jenkins | 05 November 2007

   Very funny article Mike.

   If results go Englands way do you think we will beat Croatia or will we bottle it? I am not SM's biggest fan and a part of me wishes he was gone.

2. Mike Norman | 05 November 2007

   Thanks for the comments Terry, I'm glad you enjoyed the article.

   I think as things stands now, England would get a massive boost if come kick-off time against Croatia, destiny was back in their own hands.

   Obviously for that to happen we need a massive favour from Israel. Russia will find it tough over there and the hope that I am desperatetly clinging onto is that mathematically, Israel can still qualify.

   I am extremely confident however, that if Russia fail to beat Israel, then England will certainly beat Croatia. In fact, it's such a fine line that if England have a chance of qualifying, I will be putting my life savings on them to beat Croatia - but if Russia beat Israel, then I probably won't even watch England v Croatia lol.