McLaren On a Wing and a Prayer
Middlesbrough's loss to Sevilla in the UEFA Cup final last night gave us all a better view of the new England manager, Steve McLaren.
The FA giving McLaren the England post was like Schumacher tossing his Ferrari keys to a Formula 3 test driver. Brace yourselves England because this ride is heading for a smash.
What has McLaren actually done? He has won one trophy, the League Cup. Don't try and say he was the mastermind behind Manchester United's treble or else you will have Sir Alex to answer to. McLaren guided Middlesbrough to this season's UEFA Cup Final on a wing and a prayer. It was the stuff of fairytales with dramatic victories over FC Basle and Steau Bucharest in the quarter and semi finals respectively. However it was a nightmare finish in the final with Middlesbrough beaten 4-0. The score line was harsh on Boro with 3 late goals however they were outplayed all night.
McLaren's answer to getting Boro out of trouble against Basle and Bucharest was to send on 4 strikers. Was it tactical or plain luck that Massimo Maccarone, the fourth striker, bobbed up on both occasions to score the winners? What did Steve the one trick pony do last night when the game was to be won? He put four strikers on the pitch when they were getting belted in midfield and Sevilla scored 3 goals in the last 12 minutes.
You can see where this is leading. I'll paint you a picture. It is the World Cup semi-final, England vs. Brazil. Brazil has gone 1 goal up through Ronaldinho and time is running out. Sven leans over to Steve and says "What do we do???" McLaren replies, "I have an idea, send on Walcott to join Owen and Crouch up front and push Joe Cole further forward." Sven, "Done!" England get belted 4-0 with Sven passing the baton to a man clearly unqualified for the job (the Middlesbrough captain even says so).
McLaren is a very good coach as he can develop players and teach them the game. He has left Middlesbrough in good shape by developing the youth system which will provide a solid foundation for the future of this club. Unfortunately for England fans an international coach requires solid tactics and man-management skills, McLaren lacks these attributes. Time will tell if he can make the step up but my humble opinion is the FA should have just skipped the interviews and given it to Guus Hiddink.
Simon is a 25 year old Australian who likes to do some soccer opinion pieces in his spare time. He has a soccer blog at http://thesoccersquirrel.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Ainsworth |
