1 Jose Mourinho
After the least surprising result in recent England International footballing history, The Football Association did the very least that they could and relieved Steve McLaren of his position as England head coach. The sacking of the man, the shortest reign of an England coach, was seen as a huge relief for many England fans who have been subjected to many poor performances under McLaren. The Croatia game and the subsequent failure to qualify for Euro 2008 was the final nail in the coffin for the powers that be. The players must share the responsibility for their abject display and surely heads will roll and the new coach will have the chance to start a new. The problem for McLaren, aside from the fact that he’s no manager, was his inability to deal with the “super star” players in the England squad and their overly inflated egos. He simply wasn’t a big enough name or come with a big enough reputation. The FA’s first choices, Big Phil Scolari and Guus Hiddink, had both facets required to deal with Team England, as well as being hugely successful managers in the own right at the highest level. These two are gone and are committed to their respective national sides. Other managers that would command the respect of this “Golden Generation” would be Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez who are committed to their clubs, irrespective of the noises surrounding Anfield.
I feel that Martin O’Neill and Fabio Capello would both be a success, particularly the Italian who, despite the language barriers he would face, remains one of the most successful managers in the game. Martin O’Neill is a passionate and astute man and would not be afraid to rattle a few cages, but personally there is only one man for the job and the FA must do whatever it takes to get him to sign on the dotted line and that man is the “Special One” himself, Jose Mourinho. He has everything that would be required to make England a success. He has a proven track record of success wherever he’s been and has a lot of experience in Europe’s biggest competition and a winner’s medal to back it up. He has a great command of the English language and is very familiar with all the England players as a result of his tenure at Chelsea. As has shown, with what has happened at Chelsea, his players are fiercely loyal to him as many have expressed a desire to follow him wherever he goes. At Chelsea he was also successful in getting the best out of the English players he had under his control. Joe Cole is probably the best example of this. After a match against Liverpool at Anfield, Cole was criticized by Mourinho, despite the fact that he had scored the only goal of the game. Cole went away and bettered himself to become a much more rounded footballer and one of the 1st names on the Chelsea and England team sheet. He’s also a manager that Steven Gerrard respects hugely as he twice almost joined the London club, only to change his mind at the last minute. If Mourinho was appointed he would surely be able to get the sort of performances Liverpool fans love in the white of England.
What really stands him apart from any of the other candidates is his own staggering levels of self confidence, self assurance and ego. Simply put, it is bigger than those inflated egos of the players and wherever he goes no one is bigger than Jose. This combination of factors in the manager would give England their best chance for International success that has eluded them for nearly 50 years.
The one problem may lie with the FA’s track record of not appointing managers who might shake the foundations at Soho Square and say it the way it is. They failed to appoint Brian Clough, one of England’s most successful managers at a time when his influence combined with the crop of players available at the time may have resulted in another star above the 3 Lions on the England shirt. It is vital that the powers that be do not make this mistake again and Brian Barwick must do whatever it takes to get Jose on board. Throw money at the man, stroke his ego and tell him that he is the saviour of English football and surely it would be a carrot “The Special One” could not refuse.