Oh where have you gone Steve McClaren a nation turns its lonely eyes to you? Alright who am I kidding, I doubt anyone from England is wondering about your whereabouts but I am. The chances are slim you may read this and even slimmer you will pay any attention, but only one of us are currently unemployed.
It’s too easy to blame you for England’s flame out in Euro 2008 qualifying. While you can never say so yourself, the blame should land squarely on the feet of the FA who hired you. Even your hiring was a mess since you were clearly the second choice. If the English FA didn’t mess that up it would have been Luiz Felipe Scolari who would of taken over the national team and not yourself. Right from the get go you were behind the eight ball since you were neither a) the first choice or b) the poplar choice.
This article could go on and on listing your mistakes, dumping Beckham then bringing him back to the team. Your cute nicknames for players like Becks, Stevie G, JT, standing on the touchline with an umbrella at Wembley stadium, not bringing on Owen Hargreaves the second you tied it up against Croatia but I decided to be kind. You are not a bad coach you were just given a job you could not handle. An international coach can not make mistakes and you were given a job that you had to learn on the fly. The head coach of England is along way from Middlesbrough. A coach of the national team needs big game, big pressure experience which despite making it to the UEFA Cup finals you never had. Steve or Stevie Mc as I’ll now call you it is clear you were punching above your weight when you went from Middlesbrough to the top job in England.
Now is not the time to dwell on the past since that has been beaten to death but rather look to your future. Stevie Mc you need to get out of England, manage anywhere you like but move away from England. No matter what you will never get a top job and any job you do get the fans will never support you. Look the recent history of previous national team coaches.
Graham Taylor - Hasn’t had a job coaching for five years. Now doing TV work for the BBC.
Terry Venables – He was your number two. Got past over for the Ireland job recently. Last head coaching gig was for Leeds United in 2003.
Glenn Hoddle – After his mouth got him fired returned to coaching with Tottenham. Most remember that tenure with his side being up 3-0 to Manchester United at home only to lose 5-3. Last coached Wolverhampton in 2006 where he took them nowhere.
Kevin Keegan – After a couple of years away now coaching Newcastle again.
Sven Goran Eriksson - Now coaching at Manchester City. To early to form an opinion either way.
We have three coaches unemployed, another one who would of remained out of the game if Newcastle didn’t decide to hire based on nostalgia. Then there is Sven. The one thing in common is that they returned to England after coaching the national team.
Don’t take a job in England you will just be doomed to fail again. The only jobs that would be open to you are jobs that you will have to fight for survival year in and year out. That is the best case scenario, you may manage a team in the Championship where its one bad year and your fired. Once you are fired from a lower league club your next job will be on TV and not on a football field.
For your sake move as far away from England as you can. Beat down the doors at other European clubs for example Benfica in Portugal. They need a coach, you are a coach, its perfect. Benfica plays in the Champions league, if you can achieve any success with them you will come along way in gaining some respect back. There is more to football then the British based game. Anyone who was Sir Alex Ferguson number two has to know a thing or two about the game. Apply that knowledge and adapt to other forms of Football since you will always be black balled from getting a top job in England. It’s hard enough for an English manager to get a job with any of the top four teams, it’s impossible when an entire country blames you for its failure to play in Euro 2008.
In closing to quote Simon and Garfunkel again
We’d like to know a little bit about your for our files
We’d like to help you learn to help yourself.
Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes,
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home.
If you need anymore advice you know where to find me. I’m sure it couldn’t be any worst then the advice you got from Terry Venables.
