England…a new way forward
Rogue Male is typing this the morning after Israel’s last minute rescuing of the Mclaren era of English football. Never has the result you were hoping for elicited such bemused feelings. Watching England in major competition is difficult. So much expectation and fervour and so quickly deflated such is the experience of following the national team. Generally we are left to hope that our poor performances mean that the team is saving itself for a big push later, we are always wrong. 2004 was a pleasant change. The team, despite carrying a clearly unfit Beckham played with purpose and no little style, letting France off the hook but still qualifying in comfort. Swept along by the exuberant Rooney and the emergence of King as a real option in midfield or defence, they looked capable of taking anyone on. Disaster struck, Rooney injured, King at home with his pregnant wife and perhaps most significantly, Ferdinand’s enforced absence meant Terry was exposed to one if his most unfortunate displays in an England shirt. Home early again, but for a few days the potential was there for all to see. After a miserable 2006, the majority got their way and a true man of Albion would be at the helm. No one seriously believed that Steve Mclaren got the job because he was the best man; no one really believed that he could knit a disparate bunch of millionaires into a potent football unit…but he was at least English. We know what we were getting, the press knew, the fans knew, the FA knew. We had all been here before. For Mclaren read, Graham Taylor or even Kevin Keegan. Both had limited success as a league manager, both thought that their motivational abilities would get them through. Both were wrong. In reality there was little difference in their ability than say Bobby Robson, the best thing Bobby did was to appoint Don Howe as coach. Makes no difference I hear you say, well would you have Don or would you use Phil Neale or Derek Fezackerly as Taylor and Keegan did. I know what Terry Venables chose to do when he replaced the hapless Taylor. Mclaren chose his Middlesborough colleague, Steve Round…no, me neither, but it’s interesting that Gareth Southgate was very happy to see him leave for England. Managing and coaching players is all a bit of a smokescreen though. Mclaren’s chief crime has been his interaction with the media. From day one every statement he’s made had been carefully thought out and scripted, rather than impose his footballing philosophy he chose to pander to the press. Disaster, from day one he tried to second-guess the mood of the country. He chose to show himself as a strong leader by publicly dropping Beckham. Wrong, wrong in so many ways. Beckham isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and he’s not the future of England, but in the short term at least he was England’s most effective player, setting up or scoring a heavy percentage of their goals. Mclaren gained a small bump in popularity buoyed by meaningless friendly thrashings but as the real business of qualification got going it was clear that we were in trouble. A smart man would have used Beckham to build his own popularity, make play of getting him to 100 caps and talk about his value to the squad. Thus letting him know that he was no longer first choice, but would still have a part to play. It is possible that Beckhams resurgence of form last year would not have happened without the snub, but I’ve never known him give less than 100% for the cause, I doubt anything would’ve changed. Like all England Managers, Mclaren tried to build his little cliques, his inside men. John Terry and Steven Gerrard were singled out as his lieutenants. In the way of these things, they would have a say in selection and would in turn be difficult to leave out. Mclaren had built his own gallows. Terry, committed and forceful still continued to make mistakes at the highest level. You always felt that Ferdinand and Campbell trusted each other, but I always think that Ferdinand has half an eye on Terry when things get desperate. Stevie G is more interesting, identifying him as a key man made Frank Lampard continually under pressure and his form suffered. Gerrard isn’t always onside either; if he’s unhappy we’ll all get to know about it. England managers, since Ramsay, have always had their favourites, no one since Sir Alf would’ve left out Jimmy Greaves. Ron Greenwood disastrously turning to the unfit Brooking and Keegan in Spain 82, Sir Bobby’s Captain Marvel, Graham Taylor…err Carlton Palmer? Terry Venables would’ve played Gascoigne pissed, Kevin Keegan practically gave Shearer carte blanche on who his striking partner would be. Hoddle was a notable exception here. He seems hell bent on ruining the careers of any player who might eclipse his own legacy to English football. So why worry about who is in charge if they are all going to continually make the same mistakes? Well, let’s not, let’s not give two hoots. The English game once ruled football and it can again. The Path is simple, effective and tried and tested. First, get rid of the idea of England Manager. Fifty years ago a committee men would gather in smokey rooms and select eleven ‘good eggs’, chaps who wouldn’t ‘rock the boat’. They would present their choice to a nominal coach, basically a glorified physio come kit man; I’m thinking Ray Clemence is pointless enough to assume the role. He would ensure the chaps turned up on time and didn’t pinch the kit. The eleven selected would then go out and perform admirably against Northern Ireland and the like. The press have no one to moan about, the committee would assume the 1950’s long gabardine coats and bowler hats, so that nobody could be singled out. Cheery fans, ruddy faced in the cold would happily spin their wooden rattles as England attacked. But is there a flaw in my plan…what about the great footballing nations of the 21st century? Surely Pace, purpose and prowess will undo all our good intentions? Qualification may well become harder to achieve. Not if we don’t enter the competitions! To regain our rightful place in World football all we need do is to ignore World and European competition. It worked before and we were a powerhouse of World Football…we just chose not to prove it. So now I settle down to watch the big game, only a draw needed. No Ferdinand, Terry, Neville, Rooney, Heskey or Owen. This all suggests a very gloomy Thursday and maybe a re-appraisal of my master plan. By then it may not seem so far fetched. Rogue Male.
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