Time to go!

Steve McClaren’s comedy tenure as England coach is slowly approaching the punchline. He now insists both that England will qualify for Euro 2008 and that he’ll keep his job. Well, well. A bit of bullish confidence on behalf of his players is commendable, but what about the second claim?

There certainly seem to be vague suggestions of hints emanating from FA HQ, to the effect that things aren’t entirely hopeless for Second Choice Steve. To confuse matters, the laughably pompous John Terry has backed McClaren this week. Terry’s last foray into the world of football politics, you may recall, was (allegedly!) to stir up the dressing room mutiny that led to Jose Mourinho’s resignation from Chelsea.

With the final (and possibly academic) qualifier against Croatia looming, the likely absences of Rooney and Terry assume greater importance than they deserve. Statistically, England do perfectly well without either of them, thank you very much. However, McClaren’s constant inability to find a Plan B is obvious once more… “We need as many big-game players as possible,” he says, completely forgetting the lessons he should have learned in the recent string of 3-0 victories. We need a balanced, solid TEAM, Steve.

Personally, I don’t think McClaren’s job should depend on England qualifying. Dropping 10 points in a relatively easy qualification group is a good enough reason to dismiss him immediately after the Croatia game. If, by the grace of statistical permutation, England do qualify, it will be *despite* McClaren’s efforts, and there will still be time for a proper coach to assert his influence before the tournament starts.

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