The hunt for Sven Goran Eriksson’s replacement as England’s manager is turning into a farce.
(fantastic observation mate – where have you been all this time?)
Today, in a press conference in Germany, Scolari announced that he was turning down the chance to become England’s next manager. He complained about the media scrutiny that had sprung up immediately after it leaked out that Barwick (FA’s chief executive) had met with Scolari and that the Portugal coach was in the lead for being the next England manager.
It puts England back on square one, and this is the second snub (after the Hiddink drama) from an international coach. Both times the blame has been placed squarely on the shoulders of the FA, which may go on to confirm what people have feared for a while – that the England management position is not all that exciting as people in England have come to think.
Steve McClaren is (presumably) back in the lead, with Boro’s recent exploits to reach the UEFA cup finals (on the back of two fantastic 4-2 second leg performances) counting in his favor.
To be fair to Scolari, the media speculation right after the initial news broke was bordering on invasive, but that’s the media for you. Most of the English media (especially those ‘British’ managers and ex-England players who want to get their name in print no matter how) talked about how it was a bad idea to go outside England for picking a manager
Still, I dont find much fault with the FA here. Their job has been made very difficult by the media, and although they have themselves to blame for this mess (by announcing that Eriksson would quit after the world cup – couldnt you guys have waited?), they are all about looking after the best interests of the England team.
Question is, who’s the next foreign candidate? I expect the FA to pull out a couple of other names out of the hat, but for now it looks like we’re stuck with McClaren again.
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