It’s Do or Die time for McClaren

On Saturday evening a little-known Israeli called Omer Golan became the darling of England when he provided Steve McClaren with a potential reprieve from Euro 2008 elimination. Golan struck the decisive goal for Israel in the final minute against Russia to give his side a 2-1 win in Group E and keep England’s hopes alive. Israel’s result not only re-opened the door for England but may afford McClaren the luxury of remaining coach for the tournament proper. With many twists and turns already seen in the group, qualification is certainly not yet a full gone conclusion. England must get at least a point from their last game against leaders Croatia and are without several key players. The tension is palpable and Wednesday night cannot come soon enough.

Lacking Respect
England will need to respect their opponents on Wednesday night. Ex-Scotland manager Craig Brown believes the so-called ‘golden generation’ have on occasions showed a lack of respect to other nations borne from the differences of wealth, fame and praise received through the media by the players. Goalless draws with Israel and Macedonia may support his point. Croatia will be no formality and are in fact currently ranked above England in FIFA’s rankings. Indeed, before their defeat to Macedonia on Saturday (during which they became aware of their own qualification) the Croats had not lost in qualification, scoring 25 and conceding just 4 along the way. We saw at the weekend from Israel that nothing should be taken for granted simply because there is less at stake for the opposition. Playmaker Niko Kranjcar wants to use the occasion to prove a point, ‘This is our opportunity to take on a big nation like England at a great arena like Wembley and let the world see they can count on us to play well at the Euros. We want to send a message. We will get respect if we do that.’

Steve McClaren must face the most important game of his career so far without several key players. Captain John Terry and defensive partner Rio Ferdinand are unlikely to play through injury, while his first choice strike pairing of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney are also crocked. As if losing these four did not make the task difficult enough, he has a big decision to make over who plays goal too. Reports came out of the England training camp this week that current number 1 Paul Robinson has been making a series of errors in practice. Robinson has performed erratically on both international and club scene over the past 12 months, causing a real problem for McClaren, who is without an established replacement. David James has shown improved consistency with Portsmouth over the last 2 seasons but has rarely got any playing time for England of late. The likely replacement for Robinson is Scott Carson, who kept goal in England’s 1-0 friendly defeat of Austria last Friday. The game was Carson’s first cap and although he has shown good form club-side Aston Villa, he was hardly tested by the Austrians. McClaren must decide which is the biggest gamble; play an inexperienced Scott Carson or the psychologist’s nightmare Paul Robinson. If either choice backfires McClaren will have to face the blame.

Tough at the Top
Many people say that to manage the England football team is the toughest job in Britain, not withstanding the post at Number 10, and it is hard not to feel some sympathy for the plight of Steve McClaren. His initial appointment was never received in full confidence by the fans and FA chief Brain Barwick’s extended stalking of ‘Big’ Phil Scolari did not reassure him of his support from upstairs. Fans and media called for his head even before the Russia defeat and some (including Inside Sport’s Steve Bunce) believe he should go regardless of whether England secures a passage to Euro 2008. Bunce’s view is that he was a bad appointment, a mistake and carried over un-wanted baggage from England’s disappointing World Cup into the Euro 2008 campaign. He should be given a longer chance to prove himself though, simply because he is a dull, uninspiring character is not reason enough to sack him. Fair enough, if England lost on Wednesday he should go, but to sack him regardless would be a major disruption to the squad. The implementation of a new manager’s regime takes times to bed in and Euro 2008 would probably be too soon. McClaren has been in the job only for a year, and his own regime is only now starting to be represented on the pitch. Before the Russia game England had 5 successive 3-0 wins. Provided with time to compete at Euro 2008 McClaren can still prove that the current crop of players and his tactics are good enough.

Fate of a Nation
Ultimately England must take the opportunity to qualify now that they have been given the rarest of lifelines. Defeat would be, as has been often said of late ‘unthinkable’. To quote Oscar Wilde ‘once may be considered misfortune, to do so twice is just carelessness’. Failure draws a bleak picture of the future, as Euro 2008 would be rendered a non-event in England and the UK, the end of yet another anguished era would be up, and the toughest job in Britain would be vacant once more...

Still, Beckham’s back, Crouch is scoring goals for fun, Lampard’s in form and McClaren will be backed by 80,000 England fans at Wembley willing the ball home come Wednesday night. We could be heroes!