Steve McLaren - England Manager
Posted by Jasper Reed in Steve McClaren, World Cup | 14 April 2006
Two things were abundantly clear after Wednesday night’s FA Cup replay. The first was Middlesborough's superiority over a naïve Charlton. The second was that Steve McLaren has got the England job in the bag.
If an Englishman has always been the desired outcome then, in truth, it has never been a contest. The only reason McLaren wasn’t nominated as the manager elect in the days following Sven’s resignation was the mid season blip at the Riverside. It would be incongruous to promote a man who had just lead his team to a 0-4 reverse against a less than average Villa side, and a more tolerable 7-0 tonking at Highbury, but it has been McLaren’s job to lose. He has now done more than enough to show he has the tactical nous to take over, and showed Curbishley up for the pretender that he really is on Wednesday.
McLaren knows the England set up inside out. He has been mentored and trusted by Fergie and Sven, has sufficient management experience (and success) of his own and shows the ‘passion’ that is apparently critical. His record is better than that of Keegan, Hoddle and Taylor in the domestic game, and he could well emulate Bobby Robson by taking over as national supremo having guided a provincial team to UEFA Cup glory. His coaching prowess is not in doubt, and a dodgy transfer record will not be a problem at the national level. He is also proving to be rather adept at cups….
The latest reports suggest that there are fears McLaren will quit prior to the World Cup if he doesn’t get the job. This goes to show how important he is perceived by the FA. After nationality, the one thing the powers that be will be looking for is continuity and in McLaren, they have both.
