… I’m sorry for Steve McClaren because I know he is going to experience abuse that goes way beyond just his professional capabilities – plus he’s probably going to go down in history as ‘failing’ [a terrible burden for him and his family] – however I’m glad England lost their game against Croatia because it finally forces the FA to accept their choice of managers [not to mention the overall standard of the team] has been poor and their ‘claim’ to be continually working in the best interests of the national game/team is open to question.
There’s alot of agencies who are like this as well … repeatedly talking up their achievements when all around them, people can see they’re on the slow decline towards mediocrity and poverty …
Why?
OK, so no one likes to accept/face their short comings … plus everyone has an amazing capacity to change the standards they aspire/compare themselves to – but christ, how many ‘signs’ do you need to realise something is going drastically wrong?
I’m a firm believer in ‘unsweetened truth’ – because whilst it might be hard to swallow, once you understand and accept where you really are, good things can [and generally do] happen.
However that doesn’t mean you wait till things go terribly wrong [like the FA have a habit of doing] … whilst being reactive is better than doing nothing at all, I believe being proactive is the most effective path to glory.
Of course its disappointing England are out of a major tournament, however now they can stop living in denial and work towards building something with a real foundation for the future – a foundation that is strong, flexible and able to achieve at the highest level.
I live in hope.