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McCLAREN IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR ENGLAND 4-5-06
James Bassett
So, after months of press speculation and FA buffoonery, Steve McClaren has finally been confirmed as the next manager of England.
Yet, if a recent BBC poll is to be believed, as little as 10% of England supporters believe that McClaren is the right man to take charge of the national team. Martin O'Neill, Sam Allardyce, Alan Curbishley and even Stuart Pearce have garnered more support from pundits and journalists, which begs the question: why won't anyone recognise that McClaren is the right man for the job?
McClaren may have been second choice behind Luiz Felipe Scolari, but his appointment should come as no surprise, not unless the FA effectively wanted to write-off the recruitment policy they pledged to adhere to five years ago when they appointed Sven Goran Eriksson. While his involvement with the current setup has obviously been a crucial factor in McClaren's appointment it needn't be, because his record at the Riverside suggests he has all the necessary skills to succeed.
Employed by Steve Gibson in June 2001, Steve McClaren began his first managerial job as a man with something to prove. His CV as a coach was admirable, but McClaren wouldn't have been the first successful assistant manager to find the step up to management a tough and unrewarding one. Given a four-year contract, Gibson charged the novice McClaren with culling an ageing squad, trimming the enormous wage bill, turning Boro into a solid mid-table Premiership outfit and, if possible, winning the club some silverware, a set of challenges that the openly ambitious McClaren approached with some gusto, and he has succeeded on all counts. Getting to the Uefa Cup Final is the piece de resistance for what has been an impressive tenure.
Many have cited Boro's rather ordinary league finishes under his stewardship as the major blemish on McClaren's CV. England, however, do not compete in 38-game league seasons, so while it's true that McClaren's team has treated some of the more humdrum games with a degree of nonchalance, of more importance to the FA is the fact that they have excelled in the matches that needed to be won, and won games that no one expected them to win.
Unquestionably, this has been McClaren's most disappointing league campaign, but Boro have still racked up victories over Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United and they won the three key games with Birmingham, Sunderland and West Brom that finally dissipated thoughts of relegation. Last season, a 1-0 win over Spurs on the penultimate weekend of the season did as much to haul Boro into Europe as Schwarzer's penalty save the following Sunday.
Also of interest to England will be Middlesbrough's transformation under McClaren into late goal specialists. Massimo Maccarone's goals against FC Basel and Steaua Bucharest drew the largest headlines, but Boro's successful League Cup campaign in the 2003-2004 season began with a 94th minute winner against Brighton & Hove Albion and the quarter-final against Spurs was won on penalties after an 86th minute equaliser. His ability to keep him team going until the dying minutes of an encounter is no doubt a trait inherited from Sir Alex Ferguson, but events this season have proved that the former student is now the master in this regard.
While Eriksson has been lambasted for his adherence to a rigid 4-4-2 formation, McClaren has proved himself to be tactically adaptable. Middlesbrough have played in six different formations this season, a move that has perhaps worked to the detriment of their league position. However, where changes of formation can confuse and stifle players over a 38-game season, sudden alterations can win tournaments. Taken in isolation, McClaren's bold changes against Basel and Steaua bewildered the opposition coaches and his decision to play a five-man midfield was one of the reasons that his side beat Manchester United by three goals. Compared to Jose Mourinho, whose Chelsea side have twice been eliminated from the European Cup with an approach that involved punting balls toward Robert Huth, McClaren's tactical fluidity marks him out as an outstandingly creative coach.
None of the above is to suggest that McClaren has had the unmitigated support of all of Middlesbrough's fans since he took over, and many of his decisions have, quite justifiably, raised the ire of the Riverside faithful. McClaren's preference for Emanuel Pogatetz over Franck Queudrue at left-back remains baffling and his decision to allow Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to leave in January (Steve Gibson refused to sanction the striker's departure) now looks ludicrous in light of the Dutchman's 2006 goal tally, but such decisions prove that McClaren will be brave enough to ruffle the feathers of England's underperforming regulars.
Given that Glenn Hoddle and Sven Goran Eriksson have both been harried out of the England manager's job by the media, any prospective candidate must be adept at handling intense media scrutiny and pressure. McClaren had a season ticket thrown in his face by an irate fan during the humiliating 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa, but the fact that Middlesbrough's next league result was a 3-0 win over Chelsea indicates that the Yorkshireman handles intense pressure in the best way possible: by turning the vitriol into motivation to succeed.
Nonetheless, with all of these skills, McClaren will still find his new job a much more taxing experience than any of his previous engagements. The Sun's revelations about his private life show that the press aren't willing to give him the honeymoon period afforded to previous managers, and should a Rooney-less England flounder at the World Cup, McClaren - as Eriksson's assistant - will find it difficult to shake off his association with the failure. However, the man who turned perennial relegation candidates into European finalists will relish the challenge of turning a nation's feelings around.
Granted, the paucity of candidates has aided McClaren's ascension to one of the most prestigious jobs in world football, but he has all the credentials to succeed. However, the suspicion amongst most England supporters is that the jump between Middlesbrough and England is too big. McClaren should therefore expect to be scrutinised more closely than any manager in recent memory. Only the most hard-hearted Boro fan will do anything other than wish him the best of luck.
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