I’m sitting on a train to Durham, and delighted to see that they have wireless internet. So, rather than do the work I should be doing to make use of the dead time, I’ve been reading random things on the net for the sheer thrill of doing so on a train. And in my effort to catch up with whatever the national press have published about today’s football (soccer if you’re reading in the US – does anyone read this?) I found myself looking at Russell Brand’s column in today’s Guardian.
Brand writes about his disillusionment with the national team, something many of the people commenting (and I) identify with. One (or is that two?) of the (3) reasons given for this relates to the England manager, Steve McClaren, who seems to react to what the press clamour for, and continues to bring back into the fold rather aged players. While I agree with Brand in finding this upsetting, I think there’s another more fundamental reason why McClaren will never win favour in the hearts of the nation: he’s dull!
If I think back over previous England managers, it seems to make sense, at least from the little information I have about this through TV and press. Steve McClaren has always been dull, as manager of Middlesbrough and now as England manager. I’m not saying he’s not a nice chap – indeed he might well be – but when I see him interviewed, I just don’t think he’d be a good bloke to have a night out with, or even to chat to over a beer. He just has that sad droopiness about him.
The same was true (though in a different way) of Sven Goran Eriksson. While he may have had a way with the ladies, this doesn’t make him interesting – if he hadn’t been England manager, I wouldn’t be leaping up to chat to him at a party. He’s just not got the charisma. I’m sure he’s very charming, and he seemed to have the loyalty of the players, but nothing carried over to me the TV viewer. And the press gave him a hard time for not seeming to do much or express much during England games.
Going back further, Glenn Hoddle was passable but a little barmy – he’d have managed if he hadn’t got into all that faith healing stuff. Graham Taylor was dull, though. I like him, and I like his commentary on the radio, but he doesn’t really have a spark that makes him top of a list to invite to a party. Bobby Robson was good – he was quirky, interesting, and a little bit odd, but generally, I think we liked him. Certainly, we liked him when he quit the job, and I think that even though we (the public) may have had our difficult moments with him, he engaged us, so he passes the interesting test.
Of course, the man at the top of the list, the one who many of us would still like to be England manager, is Terry Venables, El Tel. Even his nickname is exciting. He’s just a lovable rogue, a dodgy geezer, but one who seems to be able to try new things, get excited about the game, and engage with us as well as the players. We love him for the trouble he gets into, we love him because the FA don’t (and it gets better all the time), and we love him because he seems to know how to live life. Oh, and he didn’t do too badly as England manager. But, as is often the way with these things, the problem is that the powers that be can’t cope with someone so difficult and dodgy.
And this is the fundamental problem. There are able managers, but exceptional ones are hard to come by. When they do appear, they often have some curious characteristics Look at Jose Mourinho at Chelsea – clearly a top manager, but sometimes over the top in several respects. Excellence doesn’t always wear a grey suit!
