Did Israel really do England a favour after all?

Football Food For Thought / Dan Fitch / 20 November 2007 / 5

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Dan "The Betting Man" Fitch asks whether England's likely qualification for Euro 2008 helps their cause in the long term

So Israel score a last minute equaliser, that they didn't deserve against Russia and now the England manager gets to keep his job? Welcome to the wacky world of international football, where it doesn't matter how rubbish you are, as long as there are others out there, more rubbish than you.

Thanks to the failings of Russia and Croatia, it now looks like England will limp into the finals of Euro 2008, possibly as group winners. Such an event would represent a victory so hollow, that it could only be topped by the sight of a post-appeal Lewis Hamilton popping a champagne cork in the FIA car par.

England have performed terribly during this campaign, failing to win any of their meaningful away fixtures and most damaging of all, being unable to make short work of Macedonia at home. Thanks to results going our way, in this mediocre group, a home draw is all we need to qualify. If this happens, Steve McClaren will be almost as delighted as the Football Association, who will be spared the very thing they fear the most; having to make a decision.

If England failed to qualify, McClaren was gone. Had Russia beaten Israel, the Wembley crowd on Wednesday would have given him a chorus of boos only normally heard at an Amy Winehouse concert. Qualification means that McClaren continues as manager and only a complete disaster at Euro 2008 would guarantee that he didn't take England into the World Cup qualifiers.

The FA will not want to replace him unless they have to, mainly due to the lack of options available to them. Mourinho's next job will be at a large European club, whilst Wenger struggles to pick one Englishman, let alone eleven. Of the English candidates, all that rivalled McClaren at the time of his appointment, have seen their stock fall in the interim.

So nothing has changed. No one wanted McClaren in the first place, but he was the safe choice and despite his failures, he remains so. The argument that there are no English managers with good records is a strong one, but why do the FA limit themselves to those that have club management experience? Germany appointed Klinsmann, whilst Holland are bossed by Van Basten. Someone like Alan Shearer may lack managerial experience, but he knows what it means to play in major tournaments.

The McClaren PR monkeys are spinning the yarn that he is growing into the role and the best is yet to come. There are two glaringly obvious problems with this argument. Firstly, he was Sven's number two for several years, which was surely a position that would have given him some idea regarding the pressures and complexities of international management. Secondly, there's his team selection against Austria.

Gerrard and Lampard are like two naughty boys sitting next to each other in class; they need to be separated. When injury forced McClaren to do this, England instantly looked a stronger side, yet Barry was dropped against Austria and we were back to same midfield that was so poor during the last World Cup. Steve McClaren has learnt nothing, except to grin idiotically during press conferences.

Last week I wrote of the need to wrap our players in cotton wool, rather than making them play a meaningless friendly. My Nostradamus like powers of prediction came to the fore, as injury befell England's most brittle man, Michael Owen. This is a player who should not just have been wrapped in cotton wool, but given an extra layer of bubble wrap too.

No matter what players are out, a draw shouldn't be beyond us and that's what I'd back at [3.55] rather than England at [1.62]. A price of [3.3] for under 1.5 goals may also be worth backing, should Crouch be employed as a lone striker and Beckham be preferred to the pace of Wright Phillips.

The most amazing price of all is the [9.6] for England to win Euro 2008. I know that patriotic punting always pushes the price down, but who realistically thinks we can win this? Like McClaren, England fans never learn.

To read more about the England team go to:

www.thefa.com

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Bet Blogger | 20 November 2007

The negativity here frustrates me. I understand we should have been better and it shouldn't have come down to Israel helping us out but surely now the time is right to get behind the team for a huge game tomorrow night? I'd personally back an England win all the way, there's no doubt in my mind we will come out all guns blazing and get the job done and win comfortably.
Mike Norman | 20 November 2007

I totally agree with Bet Blogger here, why all the negativity?

Just a few points of note.

Israel didn't score a last minute equaliser that they didn't deserve, they scored a last minute winner. They also should have been 2-0 up before Russia decided to play in the 2nd half.

It also annoys me that people are quick to lay the blame on Lampard and Gerrard when England get beat (not saying anyone has here). Did Lampard and Gerrard start together in the defeats to Croatia and Russia? No they didn't.

And finally, if England manage a clean sheet tomorrow, they will be the team that has kept the most clean sheets in the whole qualifying campaign - 10 in total. Not bad for a team written off by so many.

Yes we have under performed sometimes, but at the end of the day it's all about qualifying - and if that happens tomorrow then we should all get behind England, the manager and the playing staff.

France lost twice to Scotland, but still qualified. Italy had some below par performances but have still qualified. I don't see anyone calling for their managers heads.
Marc | 21 November 2007

I semi-agree with the above comments. I will always support England, and I am not one of the boo boys at games, but should that mean I and all other England fans need to be content with below par performances, and bad team selection?

The team plays for England, and we are the English people. We have every right to judge and let our voices be heard. I agree with the article, Gerrard and Lampard do not work, I am not blaming England's losses on them - but they have never gelled and they have been playing together for about 5 years! Enough already!

Israel did England a massive favour, and if we go through I still believe the best decision would be to get rid of McClaren. He is not upto task and I would not feel confident going into the competition with him at the helm. But hey, lets get there first! Good luck lads!
Craig Dutton | 21 November 2007

Really interesting blog.

I think in all international situations, the players manage to deflect much of the blame. Were Mourinho or Wenger in charge, either manager would probably pick 7 or 8 of the existing starting 11, and would perhaps juggle around with the extra few places. I don't think Mclaren was the strongest candidate at the application stage - they should have chosen O'Neill - but the lacklustre performances have to reflect on the team themselves.
Marc L | 22 November 2007

A day later and I guess we have our Answer! Israel definitely did England a favour... they helped us get a new manager and (with a little help from Croatia) hopefully brought some of our 'head in the clouds' players back down to earth!

Just like the rest of us, these players will be watching the Euro on tv, dreaming about what could have been... The FA really need to bring in a manager who will shake things up.

Well done Bilic and Croatia, they tactically defeated England in both encounters... well deserved!