Reflections on the England manager's job

With the England football team's recent embarrassing performances, questions have inevitably been asked over the FA's decision to appoint Steve McClaren as national manager.

The appointment, as far as I can see, did not meet with universal acceptance, and the media argued, probably correctly, that he was the FA's second choice to Phil Scolari.

I remember thinking at the time, and at the present moment, that I admired Steve Mac, but thought it was a little premature to give him what many would consider the most important job in the land.

He had, after all, only had five years of experience as a manager in the premiership - he had, of course, strong credentials as a coach and assistant, previous to this period, with Derby County and Manchester United, but I remember questioning the depth of his managerial experience. I also later questioned his record as Middlesbrough manager, which could be the only basis the FA could have used to validate his appointment to the top job.

Middlesbrough undoubtedly improved over the five years from the team that he inherited from Bryan Robson. They managed to finish one season in the top seven, and in another to win their first piece of silverware, the Carling Cup. The season before Mac's departure, they were UEFA cup finalists, something unthinkable in the last days of the Robson regime.

And yet, as pointed out by a journalist whose name I forget, Mac's teams could be wildly erratic, winning in triumphant fashion one week only to be hammered the next. And for most of the time, Middlesbrough were mid-tablers, not UEFA contenders.

Whilst I still think MacClaren did do a good overall job at Middlesbrough, his appointment as England manager is questionable when we consider the long-term records, and managerial experience, of two other Premiership managers, Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley.

If a preference for a manager was based on a) their managerial record (success determined by league position + expectations of club based on size and resources) + b) duration of managerial experience, as it surely should be, at least substantially, then I believe Big Sam or Curbs would have been offered the job.

In terms of Big Sam's record, his achievement of taking Bolton Wanderers from being a classic yo-yo club to an established Premiership force is nothing short of remarkable, especially given the overall impact the Club have had in recent seasons, easily managing to finish in the top 10 on a regular basis. This alone would be equal to MacClaren's achievement at Middlesbrough, even discounting Big Sam's success rate at Blackpool and Notts County.

Curbs, likewise, performed a similar feat at Charlton Athletic, equally remarkable when we consider the state of the club in the early 90s; groundless and going out of business.

My point is not to argue that Steve Mac does not possess sound managerial ability - I have already stated that I believe he is a good coach.

It is rather to say that his appointment as England manager, at the present time, is questionable, given his inexperience in comparison to the other two managers in question, and his record, which, whilst promising, does not really match the others in terms of its overall achievement.

The FA could perhaps give sensible reasons for the appointment - Mac's involvement in the England set-up at the time; his other experiences in working with England's top players whilst No.2 at Man Utd; the success of the said Man Utd. team under the Ferguson/MacClaren administration...

However, I still don't think those reasons overshadow the points already made.