McClaren must go now, but let’s not stop there..
Sorry, I’m going to have a little rant about non-Forest things again! Well, despite the suspiciously convenient results at the weekend, England have still managed to bugger up their opportunity to qualify for the European Championships. So Paul Parker perhaps got his wish - and for us Reds fans we have the ignominy of a general level of humiliation at both club and international level.
Fair play to Croatia - what a lesson they gave our hapless multi-millionnaire players in how to play the game, how to work for each other, how to keep the ball, win the ball - and pretty much any other measure you care to name. They certainly deserved the win, and probably by a greater margin than they did in the end.
So Euro 2008 will not feature England - surely this must spell the end of McClaren? However, McClaren is a mightily convenient scapegoat for the whole situation. Let’s consider who appointed him - heads should roll there too, lest they simply replace the current manager with somebody of a similar (lack of) calibre. It’s not just managerial appointments either.
The game needs looking at in England, why aren’t we creating sufficient young English talent? Why do players who excel at club level look like a bunch of strangers when they congregate at International level? Why do they preen and fart about rather than just put in some decent graft like we’ve seen from Croatia this evening?
I know some people who actually wanted this to happen to force some of these changes (will it really, though? probably not) - I could never want that. What kind of summer will it be next year without any England interest in the tournament? It will be rubbish, so I take no glee in the failure to qualify, just slack-jawed, wide-eyed disappointment and anger.
Still, I’m prepared to live with it if it means that we see some meaningful changes at all levels involved - the powers-that-be at the FA, the manager, the players - they’re all culpable for what has happened over this qualification phase, and all levels need addressing - it is NOT enough for the FA to just sack McClaren, not nearly enough. It would be a good start, though.
I’m also prepared to live with it if fate decides that this disappointment means that I deserve some joy from my club - I’ve always been a club before country man, and us Forest fans are so desperate for something to be proud of from our team, so I pray that this season Smoulds and the lads are capable of delivering sufficient cheer to make the long summer seem a little more bearable.
21 November, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Mclaren has got to be the first to go. Our defense showed tonight we have no strength in depth, and I hope that Carragher is feeling proud of himself for refusing to play (not that it would have made much difference).
Come on Forest, I hope that you give me a happy summer!!!
22 November, 2007 at 12:25 am
What can you say? So disappointed. I feared it, before the game, but hoped that fate was being kind to us, since the Israel result. Over the 12 games, we have just not been good enough. A 25% loss rate does not win you championships, and ultimately crap draws, in particular at home to Macedonia have cost us. Just think how painfully exposed we would have been at the finals, if we had qualified. I applaud McLaren for making tough decisions tonight. They did not work, but for once he had the cojones to take them. In the second half, though, he reverted to form and played “safe” with a team that does not work. Bring on Beckham and Defoe, yes - but don’t leave Lampard and Gerrard on the pitch together. They showed tonight taht whatever the formation they just can’t play together. Barry had a poor night, by his recent England standards, but he should have remained on the field. It is Lampard that should have come off. He was better than Gerrard tonight, but you can’t take your captain off in those conditions, and maybe Gerrard would have been able to play more, as he would not have been tripping over Lampard every time. There’s lots more, but I can’t be arsed.
The good thing is that the state of the pitch should mean that the utterly shite game of American Football will never again be allowed to despoil our hallowed turf. We know the goundsman is good, but he had no chance of making that more than a mudbath given the state that the Yanks left it in.
22 November, 2007 at 2:04 am
The whole debacle started when the FA leaked Phil Scolari’s proposed appointment before the World Cup. The reaction to that in Portugal led to the second and even bigger gaff of appointing McLaren and, worse still, of appointing him before even seeing how he and Sven were able to perform in the World Cup. There was not a single good reason to appoint McLaren and the chiefs that appointed him must lose their jobs too.
22 November, 2007 at 9:54 am
When the team was announced I must admit I was chuffed to bits. Or rather, when I heard that SWP was to start ahead of Beckham I was, anyway. And dropping Robinson was an amazingly brave move.
But as soon as it became apparent that it wasn’t going to work Maclaren seemed to lose both his nerve and the ability to read the situation. Bridges had an absolute nightmare and should have been taken off with Barry dropping in at left-back. Then 20 minutes into the game shove Cole or SWP up front with Crouch. Or am I the only one thinking that? Lampard and Gerrard were awful, Beckham only passed to an England player ONCE, and who the fuck told Maclaren that Lescott was an international defender??
Given the FA’s history, don’t be surprised to see David Platt as the next manager.
22 November, 2007 at 11:43 am
Barwick has to go, we need to reduce the power of the Premier League (4 premier league executives sit on the FA Board), reduce the number of foreign players (only 36 english players played in the PL the week before this game) and keep kids plyaing mini soccer until the are 13/14 (the gap in technical ability was so great between the teams last night). There you go 4 to start with
22 November, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Disappointed for Norn Iron as well. Would have been great to have Sammy representing us in the Euros.