[Archived] Mclaren

[joey_big_nose]

McClaren was on a sticky wicket as soon as he was appointed. He was 3rd or 4th choice, the fans didn't want him, and his managerial record screamed mediocrity. When you have one of Europe's brightest coaches (Hiddink), and a World Cup winning coach (Scolari) both being linked, and then saying no, a manager whose club has been bumbling around in 14th/15th place for years seems a real let down. The only way he could have succeeded was to win every game, and make the players play with a panache and style hiterto unrealised. The players have played a part in this mess, as they are too busy with their flash cars and exrutiating autobiographies to try and develop their game, and improve themselves. But the manager should always have the ability to shake that out of their players.

I dont know, I think people would have warmed to himif he just managed to match Svens record at the start and made us look like we were developing as a team. All in all he probably would have had a more sypathetic public than Sven did. The fact is Sven, especially at the start, managed to get decent results against good sides and beat poor sides. McClaren is just getting attacked for getting porr results with a side with a lot of quality players albeit with weaknesses in certain areas.

[neekoy]

I think I read that it would cost £2.5m to sack McClaren (not bad for doing a rubbish job) and the loss in revenue from not qualifying would be £100m+ so on the money front it's no contest.

On a separate topic, there has been a lot of critisism for England, but if you look at the other qualifying groups some of the other big teams are doing equally as bad - France 3rd, Italy 4th,Spain 3rd, Norway 4th, Denmark 4th - so I suppose it's not just England players underperforming.

In saying that though the other groups do look a little tougher on paper, Italy, France and Ukraine in the same group with a Scotland team who is performing extremely well at home, Spain, Denmark and Sweden with a rampaging Northern Ireland, Norway with Bos-Herz, Turkey, Greece

I still see England qualifying though

[speeeeeeedie]

What does everyone think of England's chances against Estonia? We should win easily but I'm pushing the boat out for a boring 1-0, 0-0 game with McClaren saying how wonderful the formation worked afterwards. What are the odds on Lampard skying one into the crowd?

[Fife Rover]

All I can say at this point is: England had better qualify!! (Especially if Scotland DO!!) Because if they don't?...... I will probably need to find a house back down in England. I have only just got over the effects of England's "failure" in Euro '96. My life at work was sheer hell for ages after that. The day after losing on pen's to Germany I came in to find my office decorated with a huge German flag and messages of "congratulation" for weeks afterwards on my internal messaging system. Thank God I am retired now, but we still have a very active social life. (fingers crossed and everything else).

Edited June 6, 2007 by Fife Rover

[Flopsy]

did you point out who'd ensured that the Sweaties went home in the first round.

Again?

[thenodrog]

I cannot decide which would be the best / worst news.......

1. England qualifying, thereby keeping the inept plonker and the people who chose him in a job.

2. England bombing out and seeing the inept plonker etc carrying the can and being booted out pdq.

......... I think '2' would serve us best in both the short and long term. Delaying the inevitable never does any good.

[mjs]

Definitely option 2 - I have never been so bored with an England team as I am now.

Edited June 6, 2007 by mjs

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Quite frankly I-N-G-U-R-L-A-N-D are a shower of passionless,overpaid hype regardless of tonights result against a two-bob footballing nation and it hurts to say that.

What must the likes of Ronnie Clayton and Bryan Douglas think of this current lot?

[mjs]

Probably that they are a shower of passionless overpaid *******.

Edited June 6, 2007 by mjs

[Cocker]

I never expected that Bents would get in tonight but Wes Brown for Carragher

[RovertheHill]

1-0 at half-time and Richard Keys says "The pressure was on, but not so much now" Shows how far we've come really

[92er]

He is a genius at the moment.

[Hasta]

I've moaned at England and McLaren a fair bit recently but can't really tonight.

It was a professional job well done against a shockingly poor side with the result never in doubt.

The lack of imagination and quality in the subs was annoying though.

Tougher challenges lie ahead and I still feel we'll see the 'bad' side of England at some point in the autumn.

[OJRovers]

Good team performance by England, but Estonia are a weak team (bit like Chelsea playing a div 2 team), I still don't get the manager's substitutions - Downing and Jenas should be nowhere near an England team

[Bing]

Decent showing tonight but Beckham's quality masks a total lack of imagination everywhere else in the team. He's set up 3 out of 4 of our goals this past week but I'm failing to remember any chances created via any other avenue.

Nothing's changed from the Croatia, Israel and Macedonia games apart from Becks coming back to save the day.

[Billy Castell]

Drop Lampard and put in Hargreaves, thus releasing Stevie G from mopping up Francesca's bottie burps. And keep Jenas, Dyer and Smith away from the squad.

[accyrover]

How the guy can think Dyer, Jenas and Brown are internation class is beyond me. Mind you, Graeme Taylor made a career out of conning the great English football fan that Carlton Palmer was exactly that !

Accyrover

[philipl]

McClown- the rake bit. To be honest I haven't followed the who is in/out sagas but McClaren comes out of that Guardian blog terribly.

[thenodrog]

How fortunate for Maclaren, the FA and the nation that injury robbed him of the players that he should have dropped if only he had had the balls to do it. The England team manager must realise that there is only one place for Gerrard and Lampard and let the best man win. Lets hope that he has learned the hard lesson not to let the press pick his teams for him.... He needed to. Needless to say I'm not holding my breath.

SWP had a cracking game even if his full back was not up to much.

Micah Richards looks passable at centre half but awesome at full back. Gary Neville is still a decent fb but is now well back in 2nd place for the shirt.

Gareth Barry should have many more caps than he has.

Both fb's and wingers attacked well down the flanks.

The only real area for concern is the two front men. Neither are toip quality are they?

BUT Israel are a weak team. Goodness knows how they have fared so well recently.

I hope the ranks of the press and media are happy at the grief that they have collectively and unfairly stoked up amongst the massed ranks of the nations beer swilling, red top reading slum dwellers against David Bentley. Lets hope that Bentley learns well from it!

btw Anybody think the previously 'uncontactable' but imo spineless Agbonlahore will have similar crap levelled at him?

[Sandiway Blue]

I hope the ranks of the press and media are happy at the grief that they have collectively and unfairly stoked up amongst the massed ranks of the nations beer swilling, red top reading slum dwellers against David Bentley. Lets hope that Bentley learns well from it!

I bet it had nothing to do with the fact that some of the hacks and england `fans` at wembley might have been arsenal fans!

Bet they wish he was still there!

Edited September 9, 2007 by bacup blue

[John]

McLaren to Bentley booing

I don't remember you handling it too well McLaren when the press critiscism of you got out of hand a few months back.

[thenodrog]

I hope the ranks of the press and media are happy at the grief that they have collectively and unfairly stoked up amongst the massed ranks of the nations beer swilling, red top reading slum dwellers against David Bentley. Lets hope that Bentley learns well from it!

This quote from that that article in the Times suggests that he has.........

"(Bentley).... left Wembley without talking to the media, saying that he had been “told not to”.

[Billy Castell]

It sounds like McLaren is trying to curry favour with the scummy England fans by not defending Bentley. Quite a cowardly act by a spineless, inept and clueless manager.

[thenodrog]

Read through this lot again .........

I know that we aren't quite dead in the water yet but 99% of football fans have been proven right whilst 100% of the FA have been proven wrong.

It wont happen of course but the clowns at the FA should be the first to fall on their sword..... followed closely by Maclaren.

[cn174]

Read through this lot again .........

I know that we aren't quite dead in the water yet but 99% of football fans have been proven right whilst 100% of the FA have been proven wrong.

It wont happen of course but the clowns at the FA should be the first to fall on their sword..... followed closely by Maclaren.

Well clown Brian Barwick has just given McLaren his public backing. So we're not going to get anywhere in the near future!!