It's a funny old game
So we haven't qualified for Euro 2008.
Of course, the logical thing to do is sack the manager. Everybody wants him gone. But let's just think about a few points here:
Lack of internation experience? Don't forget he was Sven Goran-Ericsson's assistant manager for several years, and he also took Middleborough to the UEFA cup finals. This is more international experience than probably any other English manager.
Injuries. Last night the entire defensive back four was not first choice. Some weren't even second choice. Both main strikers were out. This has been a consistent problem throughout the tournament.
People accuse the players of not caring, that they are happy to just pick up their huge wages. What rubbish. Of course they care. They probably care a lot more than you or I do. They are the ones who will miss playing, who will miss the chance of becoming European champions. They care a hell of a lot more than some drunk bloke in a pub.
Now there were a couple of errors last night. Carson should not have been in goal. If he didn't want to play Robinson, the answer was there in David James. A young, completely internationally-inexperienced player is not the right choice for a game like that. He did a couple of great saves later on, but was still responsible for at least one goal, if not two. Also, 4-5-1 plainly was daft. Starting with Defoe would've been better. And the only thing that got the team going all night was when Beckham came on. He made the second goal for Crouch. It's not trendy to say it, but Beckham is good. Very, very good.
But the biggest problem with sacking McClaren is finding a replacement. Who will want the job? As soon as you don't win a game - even if you draw a game - you are villified by the media and the "fans" who demand that you win every single game you play. They sacked Sven because he didn't win the World Cup. Talk about setting the bar a little high! Nothing short of total world domination will do, regardless of how many players you have injured. And if you stick with a system that works, you get labelled as scared of change, spineless. If you experiment and it works (like a few of the recent games when Heskey came back) then you "finally managed to get something right". But experiment and it fails, and you are an idiot.
Nobody will want the job. If they take it, it'll be for the money and nothing else.
Of course, the logical thing to do is sack the manager. Everybody wants him gone. But let's just think about a few points here:
Lack of internation experience? Don't forget he was Sven Goran-Ericsson's assistant manager for several years, and he also took Middleborough to the UEFA cup finals. This is more international experience than probably any other English manager.
Injuries. Last night the entire defensive back four was not first choice. Some weren't even second choice. Both main strikers were out. This has been a consistent problem throughout the tournament.
People accuse the players of not caring, that they are happy to just pick up their huge wages. What rubbish. Of course they care. They probably care a lot more than you or I do. They are the ones who will miss playing, who will miss the chance of becoming European champions. They care a hell of a lot more than some drunk bloke in a pub.
Now there were a couple of errors last night. Carson should not have been in goal. If he didn't want to play Robinson, the answer was there in David James. A young, completely internationally-inexperienced player is not the right choice for a game like that. He did a couple of great saves later on, but was still responsible for at least one goal, if not two. Also, 4-5-1 plainly was daft. Starting with Defoe would've been better. And the only thing that got the team going all night was when Beckham came on. He made the second goal for Crouch. It's not trendy to say it, but Beckham is good. Very, very good.
But the biggest problem with sacking McClaren is finding a replacement. Who will want the job? As soon as you don't win a game - even if you draw a game - you are villified by the media and the "fans" who demand that you win every single game you play. They sacked Sven because he didn't win the World Cup. Talk about setting the bar a little high! Nothing short of total world domination will do, regardless of how many players you have injured. And if you stick with a system that works, you get labelled as scared of change, spineless. If you experiment and it works (like a few of the recent games when Heskey came back) then you "finally managed to get something right". But experiment and it fails, and you are an idiot.
Nobody will want the job. If they take it, it'll be for the money and nothing else.
posted by Nej at
10:18 am
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