McLaren On a Wing and a Prayer
Middlesbrough’s loss to Sevilla in the UEFA Cup final last night gave us all a better view of the new England manager, Steve McLaren.
The FA giving McLaren the England post was like Schumacher tossing his Ferrari keys to a Formula 3 test driver. He has some good form behind him as a coach but as an international manager he is not ready.
What has McLaren actually done? He has won one trophy, the League Cup. Don’t try and say he was the mastermind behind Manchester United’s treble or else you will have Sir Alex to answer to. McLaren guided Middlesbrough to this season’s UEFA Cup Final on a wing and a prayer. It was the stuff of fairytales with dramatic victories over FC Basle and Steau Bucharest in the quarter and semi finals respectively. However it was a nightmare finish in the final with Middlesbrough beaten 4-0. The score line was harsh on Boro with 3 late goals however they were outplayed all night.
McLaren’s answer to getting Boro out of trouble against Basle and Bucharest was to send on 4 strikers. Was it tactical genius or plain luck that Massimo Maccarone, the fourth striker, bobbed up on both occasions to score the winners? What did Steve, the one trick pony, do last night when the game was slipping away from Boro? He put four strikers on the pitch when they were getting belted in midfield and Sevilla scored 3 goals in the last 12 minutes.
You can see where this is leading. I’ll paint you a picture. It is the World Cup semi-final, England vs. Brazil. Brazil has gone 1 goal up through Ronaldinho and time is running out. Sven leans over to Steve and says “What do we do???”
McLaren replies, “I have an idea, send on Walcott to join Owen and Crouch up front and push Joe Cole further forward.”
Sven, “Done!”
England get belted 4-0 ending Sven's tenure, as he passes the reins onto a man unqualified for the job (the Middlesbrough captain, Gareth Southgate, even says so).
McLaren is a very good coach as he can develop players and teach them the game. He has left Middlesbrough in good shape by developing the youth system which will provide a solid foundation for the future of this club. Unfortunately for England fans an international coach requires solid tactics and man-management skills, McLaren lacks these attributes. Time will tell if he can make the step up but my humble opinion is the FA should have just skipped the interviews and given it to Guus Hiddink.
The FA giving McLaren the England post was like Schumacher tossing his Ferrari keys to a Formula 3 test driver. He has some good form behind him as a coach but as an international manager he is not ready.
What has McLaren actually done? He has won one trophy, the League Cup. Don’t try and say he was the mastermind behind Manchester United’s treble or else you will have Sir Alex to answer to. McLaren guided Middlesbrough to this season’s UEFA Cup Final on a wing and a prayer. It was the stuff of fairytales with dramatic victories over FC Basle and Steau Bucharest in the quarter and semi finals respectively. However it was a nightmare finish in the final with Middlesbrough beaten 4-0. The score line was harsh on Boro with 3 late goals however they were outplayed all night.
McLaren’s answer to getting Boro out of trouble against Basle and Bucharest was to send on 4 strikers. Was it tactical genius or plain luck that Massimo Maccarone, the fourth striker, bobbed up on both occasions to score the winners? What did Steve, the one trick pony, do last night when the game was slipping away from Boro? He put four strikers on the pitch when they were getting belted in midfield and Sevilla scored 3 goals in the last 12 minutes.
You can see where this is leading. I’ll paint you a picture. It is the World Cup semi-final, England vs. Brazil. Brazil has gone 1 goal up through Ronaldinho and time is running out. Sven leans over to Steve and says “What do we do???”
McLaren replies, “I have an idea, send on Walcott to join Owen and Crouch up front and push Joe Cole further forward.”
Sven, “Done!”
England get belted 4-0 ending Sven's tenure, as he passes the reins onto a man unqualified for the job (the Middlesbrough captain, Gareth Southgate, even says so).
McLaren is a very good coach as he can develop players and teach them the game. He has left Middlesbrough in good shape by developing the youth system which will provide a solid foundation for the future of this club. Unfortunately for England fans an international coach requires solid tactics and man-management skills, McLaren lacks these attributes. Time will tell if he can make the step up but my humble opinion is the FA should have just skipped the interviews and given it to Guus Hiddink.
posted by Simon Ainsworth at 12:28 am
3 Comments:
I have to disagree Simon. McClaren can't be any worse than Sven. At least McClaren had four strikers to put on the pitch to chase the game- Sven has 2 and a half at the world cup.
I rate McClaren highly as a coach. Derby County lost their way and were relegated when he left to join Man U and the general banter is that he was the reaon they ever did well in the premier league, not Jim Smith.
This appointment has come too soon though.
I agree Greg. Sven is a muppet as well. You do agree with my point on McLaren being a very astute coach, which is what he is good at, coaching. The life of an international manager is completely different to being Jim Smith or Alex Ferguson's right hand man. The point is he is not ready for this challenge. Where are all the Poms, we need some banter!
Can't base your critique on McClaren on the tactics he used in the UEFA Cup Final. Middlesbrough does not have anywhere near the class he would have at his disposal as England manager.
He had to chase a game and as a manager you need to play to your strengths - midfield, not being one of Teesides' - hence he had top go all out a attack, since Viduka and co had produced the goods on previous occasions. 0-1 or 0-4, are a still both losses.
Saying that, the players that have played under McClaren have doubted his ability to perform at international level, which is a bit of a concern.
The Poms are a bit burnt by the Sven-gali and have clearly made their selection on a local basis.
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