Mac the Knife .... or Knife the Mac ?

[Toryglen-boy]

where do you stand on this whole 'McLaren must go' issue?

I am getting sick of seeing people calling for his head, and last night seeing fans booing him and the team with a great amount of venom was just plain nasty ... the guy should have time to settle in, alright he isnt great just now, but what did you expect? As a new England manager,the replacement was to be nothing like Sven, and with a new direction, so what did they do? replace Sven with his deputy... more of the same! but i digress, i think you should have got Phil Scollari, or at the very least Martin O'Neill ... you would have seen a very different England team.

The problem is the media hype on England 'England Expects' The banners said, well let me tell you, England expects far too much! the pressure and media hype on these guys is more than any other national team,and i think the guy should get a settling in period.





What do you think? do you think if England dont qualify for the Euro's then McLaren should be handed his coat?

PS. i know Scotland didnt win against the Azzuri, but well done them for having a go in a group with 3 of the top 4 teams in the world !!

 

[dustiestrat]

i personally beleive maclaren wasnt strong enough for the job and picked up to many bad habits the ebgland job needs someone who's prepared to stand up to the players if there playing bad then get them off, he's also got terry v at his side whose said to be a master tactician yet he doesnt listen to him sam always had my vote .

 

[red11]

The F.A should accept they made a mistake and rectify it while it's still in it's infancy. The media and the fickle fans should get behind the team though. It was a complete joke singing, "There's only one David Beckham" last night when most people wanted him out of the squad last summer. Booing the team in the first half and then cheering in the second half is very vacillating and doesn't help the England players. John Terry should also do his job as England captain and rally the players up.

 

[Reesy]

MCDONUT OUT.

 

[kaiowas]

I don't believe he's the right man for the job but on the other hand I get the impression that the media and particularly the tabloids began this international week with the objective of getting him fired. Even before the Israel game the knives were out and everything has been reported with as much negative spin as possible.

As usual the majority of the public have taken on board the opinions that have been spoon fed to them and mob mentality has taken over. Rightly or wrongly McClarens days are numbered although I can't see the FA having enough of a spine to sack him until we're actually out of the euros whether that happens during qualifying or at the championships themselves.

 

[Tunney]

If one bad manager is hired, blame the bad manager. If a series of bad managers are hired, blame whoever hired them.

I don't think anyone outside of the FA thought that Steve McLaren was the right man for the job. The whole selection process needs to be looked at and something done about it.

McLaren hasn't really been given a chance, but he was hardly a great manager at club level. Is he really going to magically turn into a fantastic international manager? He made a few good choices at the beginning of his reign but since then he's proven himself to be the wrong man for the job. International matches are few and instant success is required even more than at club level. It's a major disaster every time England doesn't qualify for a major tournament.

The irony is that Sven's qualifying record was exemplary. Maybe we should get him back?

 

[player]

I think football fans are extremely fickle when it comes to axing managers (supporters of the national side in particular). After a few games the guy they idolised weeks before is cast aside because of a few bad results.



In this instance though, I never agreed with the appointment of Mc Claren so I believe he shouldn't continue as manager.

 

["andy"]

may be a good coach but hes a crap manager imo

did the same sort of things at boro , playing people in wrong positions , playing people just because theyre the highest paid or most popular , not playing people who where on form .

i mean how many other managers have had a fan run on the pitch and throw a season ticket in there face

 

[Slinwagh]

Middlesborough were very much the same under him. His teams aren't dynamic enough for me and whether he plays 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 etc the players are very static.

Now if you look at some of his most successful results as a manager at Middleborough these were in the UEFA cup. These results only came after the side was on the verge of going out of the completion and he threw caution to the wind and just let his side play.

The other night I was watching some Argentinian football and what struck me was not the skill levels of the players but the interchanging of positions and the speed of the passing. Watching that match there were no players that were any better than what McClaren has at his disposal for England.

In my opinion the formation his plays is too rigid and if anything in some ways he is too tactical for me.

I'm not knocking Hargreaves but in this sort of match we didn't need him to break up the game and play the holding roll, we need a more creative approach.

Against Andorra, who had very little ambition to go forward we play a rigid
4-4-2. I would have played something like....

..............................Robinson..............................

..........Terry..........Ferdinand..........Carragher..........

Lennon..........Carrick..........Gerrard..........Downing..........

..............................Rooney........................................

....................Defoe....................Johnson..........

The position i have put Rooney in is what I think most people consider to be his best and the one that causes the opposition the most trouble.

 

[daz]

Well against Andorra there was really no need to play a flat back 4... especially considering we didn't have our first choice right back anyway, we would have been better sticking a midfielder at right or left back and just asking them to cover when need be.

It just seemed like a lack of ambition or confidence to not go and attack Andorra.

We have to start playing the ball on the ground too. If there's no pass on, instead of hoofing it and giving the ball away, we should keep the ball, play the easy option and keep looking for an opening.

 

[Chong Warrior]

I think he's being treated harshly by the press and a large portion of the fans.

The fans weren't helping the players at all, had they got behind the team from the word go I'm sure things would have been different the other night. Every team has a bad run, it must be impossible for international managers as a couple of bad games and that's it for a couple of months, no more games to turn things around.

 

[Loki]

Snip!

I agree with most of what you say. McLaren is the face of the team and the final buck stops with him as far as the team performances go. However I think he is being used/manipulated whatever to cover up for the shortcomings of A) The team B) The FA. More importantly I think England fans need a good dose of reality and think of things in a wider sense.

Lets start with the team. Tipped as one of the favourites before the world cup they completely under performed and in most cases that was because of the tactics. I put a lot of blame entirely at the door of the media. They love to build the team up in qualifying so it gets the fans believing they can win the world cup. Then just before a major tournament they love to knock them down. Why, certainly not for the benefit of the team thats for sure. I really think the squad is suffering a major world cup hangover due to the weight of the unrealistic expectation put on them.

This might be the England squad for some years but it certainly is not one of the best teams England has had and its not one of the best teams in European/World football.

Now for the FA. A more clandestine and backward organisation you will never come across. They had the opportunity to do the right thing and appoint a manager who had the respect of the team and other footballing nations. They messed about Scolari so much he just stuck the two fingers up because of how the FA and media behaved towards him. Completely unprofessional in how they all operated. Exactley like they were with Sir Bobby Robson. England did well in Italia '90 so they decided to do some PR work and try and get him to stay. No thanks im on my Bike said Sir Bobby

So they were left with Mclaren. Do I blame him for how England play ? Well in a sick kind of way no I don't. Not because he is an ex utd man but more because I dont think he was upto it in the first place. I think he is doing his very best as a coach but his best simply isn't upto the standard required. I agree with sacking him only if the FA deal professionaly and invest the time money and resources into a manager for the period of time required. If anyone or anything is to blame for Englands continual failure to win a major tournament other than the on on our home soil some 40 odd years ago then that should firmly stop at Soho square and not with Mclaren