The Betfair Contrarian: Leave Steve McClaren alone - he's the best person to manage England

Football Food For Thought / The Betfair Contrarian / 26 October 2007 / 1

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Swimming against the tide of Public Opinion, the Betfair Contrarian begs to differ...

To the hordes of enraged, saliva-flecked England fans who would like nothing more than to see Steve McClaren's head separated from his body and paraded on a spike outside FA headquarters, hush your mouths...

True, England will almost certainly not be spending next summer in Austria and Switzerland, the fans won't get to drink themselves to sleep outside picturesque town halls in their Heidi wigs, and anger is understandable at times of disappointment. But before McClaren is sliced in two, perhaps the howling mob should consider the idea that they already have the best man for the job. And before the howls double in intensity at the thought, here's why...

1. The last person who let England down so badly that they failed to qualify for the European Championships repaid the debt in full. Bobby Robson steered England well wide of Euro '84, then through a miserable group stage in the 1986 World Cup (before going out to the Hand of God), before masterminding their crashing out of the Euro '88 finals without a single point. The intensity of the hate poured on the manager's head made McClaren look like young Elvis in comparison. Yet then the 1990 World Cup happened, and with England's best finish since 1966 the rage suddenly turned to love, and Bobby Robson went on to a happy decade on the continent and a knighthood. Moral of the story? The last person who guided England to within smelling distance of World Cup glory had no idea what he was doing either, but still got them there.

2. Such are the demands placed on an England manager nowadays that the only real qualification for the job is to have already been England manager. An ability to endure the levels of public contempt and intrusion that the job brings comes from being forged like a sword - put back in the fire time and time again to achieve super-toughness. In the future, England will lose, wobble, disappoint and play badly just as often as they have in the past. So stick with one of the few people in the country with skin thick enough to cope. (For further proof as to the truth of this assertion - who would many people choose to fill the post on current Premiership form? Sven!)

3. You cannot prepare for this job. The England manager's job now lies in the category of pop star or celebrity princess, beneath a spotlight so intense that no previous role in life can make the candidate ready. As no major chart acts or members of the royal family are likely to consider the post, there is no reason to assume anyone could handle the weirdness of the role any more successfully than McClaren.

4. You cannot plan long-term for international sporting events. Sports bureaucrats love to believe they are planning for a glorious future. Yet the England rugby team has shown how easily their efforts lead to prolonged embarrassment. Then from years of ineptitude, with no prior warning, success can suddenly and unexpectedly intercede. The same happened with England at Italia '90 - without showing a single flash of world-beating potential, England found themselves in the semi-final. A record of failure is no hindrance to future success.

5. No big manager will do the job anyway. Steve McClaren may genuinely be the best man for the job who is willing to do it.

6. The authorities have yet to demonstrate a consistent ability to find the right man. With no guarantee that the people charged with finding a replacement are capable of improving on their previous hire, why add your voice to the clamour for change when you know it may well lead to someone worse? (You can back England to win Euro 2008 on Betfair at 20.0. Or if that doesn't feel right, lay them at 22.0.)

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BigBoy | 26 October 2007

Nice try, mate - but you are clearly mad as a kite.

McClaren - like Taylor, like Hoddle, like Keegan - has just found this a job too far. The great Peter Cook summed up their style of management as believing in the Three Ms - motivation, motivation, motivation.

But this level of football is like the Champions League - good players with technical ability are a given, it's tactics and gettting a team to carry them out properly, that get you through. Ask Rafa Benitez, ask Mourinho (ok, not great examples absolutely right now) but both won the CL with teams that executed plans perfectly.

McClaren? Not even out pulling great-looking birds - at least Sven did that!