In the wake of Scolari’s toe-dipping into the realms of England’s management arena, the media turned on the FA like a pack of dogs. These same people who had been grudgingly silenced by the man’s credentials came out determined to make the FA look like a fool…and they pretty much got the job done.
Never mind that it was exactly this sort of media invasion that tipped Scolari over the edge and led him to pull out. Never mind that the Portugal manager is, like Hiddink, has enough options on his table to turn the post down (unlike the current crop of “English” managers, for whom the post would be a gift from the gods).
The fact is that the English media is turning the football manager’s job into a poisoned chalice, much like Real Madrid’s coaching job is now (which no self-respecting manager would touch with a barge-pole — with the possible exception of Del Bosque, and only because he would be coming back to prove a point).
McClaren, with his FA Cup semifinal appearance and a shot at the UEFA cup is looking more and more likely as the next England manager. The English FA are now in a big mess, not only because of their own mistakes (how stupid do you have to be to go around interviewing big name coaches and then expect those deals to work out or stay secret?) but perhaps also because of the media scrutiny.
Scolari should have been approached after the World Cup, not before. Despite the positive message an early appointment would send out, the fact is that most top level club managers would not jump ship to manage a country, and the rest of the best (managing other nations) would not destablise their teams by accepting a post with a potential opponent right before the World Cup.
Like this Guardian piece says:
“It is hard to avoid the feeling that this farce is going to run all summer…”
Dead on. Let the farce continue….
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