Macca Redeemed

The minute the FA appointed Steve McLaren for the England Job, he was under the microscope. He had been on the FA payroll for the last five years but had only worked on a part-time basis around matches and never from the FA's Soho Square headquarters. I felt a bit sorry for Mclaren. I think poor Steve was doomed from the start. He was tainted by having worked with Sven for so long, and it is widely known that he was not first choice for the position. After the debacle over Luiz Felipe Scolari, the nature of his appointment earned him the nickname "Second Choice Steve"

McClaren assumed control of the national team on 1 August 2006. The media did not give him any time to develop a team. He hired public relations guru Max Clifford to manage his relationship with the media. Following England's defeat to Portugal in the quarter-finals he took a two-week break in Mauritius during which he admitted to growing impatient at the prospect of becoming national coach. They hounded, questioned and undermined every decision that he made as manager. For him to keep his job, there were unrealistic targets that he had to achieve. He could not ever lose a game, and those he won would have had to be utterly convining 6 nils.

No one doubts that Macca is a good manager. But he's known for his role as second fiddle role rather than the man who took Boro to UEFA Cup Final. Who can forget that 2005-2006 season where they were losing on aggregate in the second legs of both the quarter and semi-final ties against FC Basel and FC Steaua Bucureşti respectively. After McClaren substituted defenders with attackers Boro produced two spectacular four goal comebacks in both ties to reach the final. Steve McClaren's final game in charge at Middlesbrough before he took over as England coach ended in misery as Sevilla deservedly won the Uefa Cup.

The qualifying rounds for the 2008 Euro Tourney was going to be his first and final test. The results of other matches in England's qualification group meant that England would qualify if undefeated in their final group match against Croatia. The match was played at Wembley on 21 November 2007 and England lost 3–2; coupled with Russia's victory over Andorra, this meant that England would not be at Euro 2008. It was the first time in 14 years that England had not qualified for a major tournament, and the first time in 24 years that they had not qualified for the European Championships.

McClaren was removed from the post of England coach along with his assistant manager Terry Venables. McClaren's tenure was the shortest of any England manager to date, spanning just 18 games in 16 months. On 14 December 2007, it was announced his post had been taken up by Fabio Capello commencing from 7 January 2008.

REDEMPTION

Steve McClaren made a surprise return to football in the Netherlands with FC Twente in 2008. In 2009, McClaren gave Twente a second good start to a season, even taking the team to the top of the league during October. Twente stayed top throughout November and December. In October 2009, McClaren signed a one-year contract extension with Twente. in 2010 Twente withstood immense pressure from Martin Jol's Ajax (Yup, the Jol fron the Lane) during the second half of the season and trumped the Amsterdam side by one point difference on the last day of the league to claim the title.

Earlier this month McClaren left the Dutch champions to take over as manager of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg; he is the first Englishman to manage a German football club.
Hats off Macca. You have totally redeemed yourself.