Thursday, October 18, 2007

Why Jose Mourinho is unlikely to work for England...

So following defeat against Russia it looks like England wont qualify for the 2008 Euro Championship Finals, let the recriminations begin.

Steven Gerrard has said 'blame me' for the defeat, for missing that sitter, boy wonder Micah Richards could have scored too, Paul Robinson is another who is taking stick, the list goes on.

Somewhat predictably manager Steve McClaren is the man who is really feeling the heat, and so it goes.

The sad fact is that the FA do not decide when it's time to replace the manager, that's the job of the media. They hound-out managers, exactly as they did with Sven and countless others down the years.

The FA's job is largely one of admin, they write letters and sign the huge pay-off cheques (using the fans money) when another one bites the dust. The FA are mostly pathetic and pitifully weak and so they will do what the media tells them to do.

So what is likely to happen now, somewhat predictably, out-of-work media-darling, Jose Mourinho is now being touted by the press as a replacement for Steve McClaren.

Love him or hate him, Mourinho isn't unlike former Forest legend Brian Clough, he too was linked with the England job once upon a time, but back then, as Clough himself later confirmed, the FA were frightened to death of giving him the job.

I have no doubt that the FA would indeed give Mourinho the job if he wants it, not because the FA have moved on from Clough's time, but again because the press are setting the agenda.

But assuming for one moment that Jose did take up the challenge, would he be right for England? There's no questioning his ability as a top manager, but he's never managed at international level with all the constraints that come with the job. You cannot dictate to players that you only see for a few weeks of the year, when you do have them you cannot manage them as you might at club level. International management is a whole new ball game.

Not only that Mourinho would bring in his own backroom team, there would be wholesale sackings, does the FA have the stomach for such a change? The England team would be run more or less exclusively by a de facto Portuguese regime. This sort of thing might be ok for the emerging football nations, but hell, didn't we invent the bloody game?

One might ask the question, does anyone including the FA actually care who runs the team as long as its successful?

I'm not convinced Mourinho and managing the England team would be match made in heaven. But if it did happen, Jose would at least be afforded a great deal more respect that previous managers such as Graham Taylor whose head was eventually transformed into a Turnip by The Sun's art desk, in today's edition of the paper McClaren's head has been copied and pasted into rugby ball.... And the FA listen to the press. The whole thing is a circus and a joke.

3 comments:

  1. The FA are clueless morons who are completely unaccountable. If they were up for election they'd all be out on their ear.

    I like and respect Mourinho, so I don't want him to get the job. He's has said he'd take it, but that was before his private life was trashed in the press, so thanks to them for ruining it again.

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  2. Let me just add this.

    I'm not against having a foreign manager, far from it, my comment about us 'inventing the game was a tongue in cheek'. I was an adovcate of appointing Big Phil in preference to McClaren. But having appointed McClaren I think the FA should have the balls to stick with him.

    For one thing, I seriously doubt anyone will do much better than McClaren, after all you cannot buy new players as you can at club level. Both Hiddink and Scolari have more experience than McClaren and experience counts for a lot which is why I was against McClaren in the first place. It had nothing to do with him being English.

    My points about Mourinho still stand, he lacks international experience, he would instigate wholesale changes which I for one think might be too much for the FA and again, I seriously doubt he'd get any more from the current bunch of players.

    Neither Mourinho, Hiddink or Scolar will convert easy chances, the point being it still comes down to the players. If Gerrard or Richards had scored the press et al would be lavishing praise on McClaren, but instead now they want him sacked.

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  3. It's a poisoned chalice - no way is Mourinho stupid enough to take the job.

    The Portugese will sit back and wait for a big job - Real/Barca or one of the Milanese outfits.

    Interestingly, Drogba is too demanding a move today (to one of the aforementioned clubs). My money is on the big Ivorian ending up at the same place as Jose.

    I think Jose has stated before that the international job is one for a manager reaching retirement age and that, to me, is an indication he won't be taking the job any time soon.

    If the FA had the bollocks to appoint a big name in the first place then I doubt the we'd be in this fine mess.

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