What went so badly wrong? :: Wessex Scene Online

What went so badly wrong?

6th December 2007
Simon Webb

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So, as expected, Steve McLaren and his merry men were not up to the challenge and England is set to enjoy Euro 2008 soley from a partisan perspective. Is this a bad thing?

In my humble opinion, no. If anything I would say that England failing to make Euro 2008 will greatly increase their chances of winning the World Cup in 2010.

For years the FA has run as a media juggernaught and it has been detrimental to performance. While the coffers are bulging due to large income the team and it’s players have been poor at best. Evidence over the years has proven that good business rarely translates to good football.

Take the 1998 World Cup Final for example. Ronaldo was a key member of the Brazilian team in the build up to the final. On the day he was clearly unfit but the sponsors demanded he play, they got their way and Brazil lost. Had the focal point of their attack been a fit striker, albeit a second choice, perhaps it would be different.

In few countries would you see the media so heavily influence the decision making of a coach. McLaren has been forced into making alterations to his selection by the media and nearly every time it was to the detriment of the team. Most recently, Beckham was lambasted and following calls for his head he sat on the bench, then came on against Croatia to be arguably England’s best player. Perhaps if he had been on for the 90 minutes England would be booking hotel suites in Austria and Switzerland?

So then, to the future. What direction should England take in this trough? A good club manager rarely makes a good national coach. The players are together for about 12 weeks a year. In that time, tactics and formation are paramount. Getting the team to act as a cohesive unit and focusing on grinding out a result is the most important objective. Forget Jose Mourinho, he is an acceptable tactician but he thrives on intimate contact with players – he simply will not get that as a national coach.

Abandon friendlies. England are now a worse team than Scotland. The Scots took a tough decision in abandoning friendlies in favour of training camps and it nearly worked for them. England must follow suit and the results will come .

Finally, selection. Consistent selection is so important. England see players coming in and out constantly and as a result the team suffers. Remember the best team is not always made up of the best individual players, but often, it is the best performing composition of players.