It’s time to forgive that man Steve McClaren, the much-maligned ex-England manager, the man they call “Steve McClown” or “The Wally with the Brolly”. It’s time to acknowledge that the man who masterminded two Euro 2008 qualifying debacles against Croatia and 1 more against Russia for good measure, not to mention minor indiscretions against Macedonia and Israel, could become a force for good in English football. There can be no doubt he made some horrific mistakes during his time as England manager, such as playing (a Terry Venables influenced)3-5-2 in Zagreb with Gary Neville as a right wing back, and bringing in Scott Carson for the qualification deciding return match at Wembley, with horrific results for England fans.
There’s no doubt Steve McClaren’s managerial experience caused England’s failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 Finals in Austria and Switzerland. But that’s just it, inexperience. McClaren’s sole managerial experience before taking on the England job was four years with Middlesbrough. Compare that with Fabio Capello’s twenty years’ experience at the very top clubs in Europe.
That’s not to say that McClaren didn’t record some notable achievements at Middlesbrough. Firstly, he established them as a fixture in the Premier League, something they were not under his predecessor Bryan Robson, nor under his successor, Gareth Southgate. Under McClaren, Middlesbrough won the first trophy in their history – the League Cup in 2004. They had two great runs in the UEFA Cup, culminating in their 2006 run to the final. McClaren also oversaw the development of a hugely impressive youth academy, whose highly promising graduates such as Adam Johnson, David Wheater and Stewart Downing, could earn the club a lot of money in transfer fees.
Following on from his ill-fated spell in charge of the England team during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, McClaren has been undergoing a form of rehabilitation in the Netherlands. In the 2007-08 season FC Twente, under respected coach Fred Rutten, finished 4th in the league and qualified for the Champions League after a play-off victory over Ajax. As Steve McClaren took over following Rutten’s departure for Schalke 04, many thought the only way was down. FC Twente ended this season second in the table, again qualifying for the Champions League. Twente also narrowly missed out on a victory in the Dutch Cup final after an unlucky defeat to Heerenveen on penalties. The season was so successful for McClaren and FC Twente that McClaren was linked with the Ajax job following the departure of Marco van Basten.
McClaren is one of a short list of English coaches to have plied their trade abroad in recent history, along with the likes of Bobby Robson, Terry Venables and Roy Hodgson. It would be fair to say that, before Italia 90, Bobby Robson was almost as unpopular as McClaren. We all know what happened at Italia 90, and then Robson went on to win silverware with PSV Eindhoven , Barcelona and FC Porto.
Whilst it would be foolish to suggest that McClaren would go on to enjoy the same success enjoyed by Bobby Robson, it is also worth noting that having a successful period in Dutch football could propel him into more high profile leagues, just as it did with Robson. It is a distinct possibility that if McClaren continues his success at FC Twente, he could be snapped up by one of the more illustrious Dutch clubs or a big club from other leagues such as the Bundesliga. This illustrates another point about McClaren’s time in Holland. He is showing the way forward for upcoming English managers hopeful of securing top managerial jobs in England, especially with the ‘Big 4’ Champions League regulars.
In order to get a chance to manage one of the ‘Big 4’, guiding a smaller club to mid-table security in the Premier League is no longer enough. The Premier League is a global league now. Why should the powers that be in charge of a ‘Big 4’ club appoint a British coach like Roy Hodgson who has just guided Fulham to 7th place in the league, when they can appoint a manager like Carlo Ancelotti, who has won numerous titles with AC Milan. The ‘Big 4’ are in a position whereby they need to appoint managers who have a record of tangible success at the highest level from across Europe. If British coaches want the chance to coach a team in the ‘Big 4’ they have to find a way to gain those credentials , and follow Steve McClaren.
Not since Robson and Hodgson have we had a successful manager based abroad. The players as well have a seemingly deep routed fear of playing abroad. I don’t think our players have the same mentality or technical ability that you would find in most of the top European leagues, yet there are several that could be successful if they would chance their arm.
Most though seem afraid of either the language, their techincal deficit, or the fact that the game is played in a much more tactical way. We are brought up on the virtues of power and pace, rather than movement and passing. Which other manager’s and players do you think should be taking the opportunity to move abroad?
Posted by Steve Atkinson | 17 July, 2009, 12:11Manager-wise I would say the likes of Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley would be good candidates. Realistically they’re never going to get a chance at a club who’s ambitions are anything more than mid-table consolidation. If they went abroad they could improve themselves and progress.
With regards to players I’d like to the see the ones who have been discarded by Big 4 clubs go abroad. Jermaine Pennant has already gone to Zaragoza, I think the likes of Peter Crouch and Steve Sidwell could do a lot worse than follow him.
Posted by Geoff Edwards | 20 July, 2009, 19:45Steve McClaren, I think, cannot be ruled out of taking a top job again – I think he was very poor for England, but if you look at the fall of Middlesborough since he left then he must have gave something to the club.
Another interesting topic regarding players moving abroad. I think top players in the premiership lack ambition and they’re in the comfort zone, especially the English ones.
Why don’t they try their luck abroad? Kazim-Richards has had a good time at Fenerbache and as a result has played at the very top level for Turkey. Pennant, although he might find it harder to get into the national team, surely is going to benefit from playing in Spain – he’s been a journeyman in England and he needed to break the mould.
Posted by Steven Jones | 22 July, 2009, 08:55I agree it’s a great move for Pennant. Will be interesting to see how he fares in La Liga given the high level of performance of Spanish players in the Premier League. Will he be able to pick up the language and the footballing culture, style of play etc?
I hope he does well, too many of our players are happy to remain squad players on handsome salaries rather than take a risk like he has. He’s shown he has the desire to do well, he could easily have just found a place at a lower Premier League team, or on the bench of someone like Villa, Fulham or Everton. That he has been willing to take that risk shows his will, and merits some sort of success.
Curbishley I don’t know too much about in terms of tactics, style of play etc except what I have seen of his teams on televised games or up here in Newcastle. Allardyce I know a lot better obviously, he tends to play only one way. We didn’t have the players to suit that style of play at Newcastle, but that isn’t to say it wouldn’t be successful elsewhere. I’d be interested to see what the Spanish would make of his percentages football – 80% of goals come from moves with 3 or less passes apparently. So he looks to hit the front quickly, meaning you concede posession a lot, but if you have someone who can hold the ball up and play others in, could be onto a winner.
Of the British managers, I would like to see how Hoddle would have fared abroad. He always insisted on a technical style of play. Hodgson has already been there and I think Fulham have reaped the benefits of that experience. Moyes would be another candidate. I’m not sure of Mark Hughes but he obviously already speaks Spanish, as does Steve Archibald and Vinny Samways.
How do you think the likes of Moyes would fare? What of journeymen managers like Redknapp or Bruce?
Posted by Steve Atkinson | 22 July, 2009, 11:21I think Moyes, Redknapp and Bruce would all do decent jobs abroad because they’re good managers in my opinion. I think Harry Redknapp has improved a lot as a manager in the last 3-4 years and become a lot more tactically flexible. David Moyes has also shown over the years that he is fairly tactically astute and likes his teams to play the right way when he has a fully fit squad.
It would be interesting to see how Allardyce would get on in Europe. It would be a chance to see if his preferred system would be successful and also a chance for him to develop that system into something more techincal and intelligent.
It was a shame Glenn Hoddle’s career went the way it did. During his time at England and then Southampton, he seemed to have a lot of potential that ended up not being fulfilled.
Posted by Geoff Edwards | 24 July, 2009, 10:18