Steve McClaren is a dimwit.
But Alex McLeish is a good guy.
That’s why I don’t care about England any more.
Italy have more skill than Scotland, obviously. They have the aerial power of Luca Toni, the bite of Zambrotta, and the experience of Cannavaro, who wins his 112th cap on Saturday, equalling legendary keeper Dino Zoff.
But Italy have never won in Scotland, so they might play for a draw. However, Cannavaro fears that their young players may crumble when they hear the roar of the Tartan Army, which he has experienced.
Scotland v Italy will be exciting, dramatic, compelling. It’s a winner-takes-all game if Scotland win. A draw will do for Italy. The Scots have beaten France by 1-0 home and away, so their destiny is in their own hands.
Even if Scotland lose to the world champions, they’ve done well. They’ve punched well above their weight, thanks to Walter Smith and Alex McLeish.
Scotland kick off at 5pm, Israel at 6pm. If Israel score against Russia, I’ll switch from Sky Sports 1 to Sky Sports 3.
While Scotland end with a bang, England finish with a whimper.
McClaren was fifth choice for the job and he employed Max Clifford and Terry Venables to protect him from the media.He was Sven’s No.2, which never works, and he proved he was not his own man by hiring Max and Tel. It was a doomed enterprise long before they drew 0-0 in Macedonia and 0-0 in Israel.
His tenure was programmed to fail.A flop was guaranteed. Failure was built into his DNA because he had been Sven’s assistant for five years, and because his players had club managers who are far more knowledgeable and sophisticated than him. He didn’t have the CV. He was not believable as a leader. He didn’t know how shape those millionaires into an effective team.
Yes, he tried to show who was boss by dropping Captain David Beckham, just as Bobby Robson had axed Kevin Keegan back in 1982. Keegan was well past it by then and had been a crock at the ’82 World Cup, and Beckham was also well past his best.
Remember : Beckham at his best in 1999 was never more than 66 % of a great footballer.
Let’s face it , David Beckham was the most famous one-dimensional footballer in the history of the game.
On Thursday morning I watched BBC Breakfast sport news and saw the most boring talker I have ever seen – and I’ve seen thousands of dull footballers. Michael Owen is wholly humourless. He once said, in an interview, that he would never read a novel because it wouldn’t be real, would it ? As I watched him, I considered emigration.
Beckham is back for Friday’s night’s warm-up game against Austria in Vienna.
The team is Carson ; Richards, Campbell, Lescott, Bridge ; Beckham, Gerrard , Lampard, Joe Cole ; Crouch, Owen.
If Israel v Russia was a proper game in which both sides had a chance of winning, then this friendly, and the side England select, would be interesting.
BUT RUSSIA WILL BEAT ISRAEL !
Bet your house on that ! Business, finance and politics dictate that Russia must win this game.
I haven’t felt so confident of any result since 2002, when I said,”England cannot beat Argentina. You can quote me on that.” England beat Argentina 1-0 in that World Cup game.
Realistically, Austria is irrelevant.
Croatia is irrelevant.
Mission aborted.
Back to square one.
Back to Soho Square one.
Next mission : find a moneyspinner to pay for your £800m stadium.
What event can we hype up to earn big bucks?
In this dim and vulgar age of celebrity, Wembley needs a 21st century spectacular that could be sold as a global gross-out festival of fame and superstardom.
I gather that Simon Fuller got LA Galaxy owners AEG to hire Ruud Gullit, which is an idiotic mismatch of a small football club with a big name who is not wanted in Europe as a Champions League club coach. Gullit to Galaxy is the worst idea I’ve heard since McClaren got the England job.
After that mismatch, Fuller’s next hype should be : DAVID’S 100th CAP AT WEMBLEY.
Does anybody in the northern hemisphere seriously believe that David Beckham will be left stranded on 99 caps ?
When one more cap can make millions for various companies ?
Come on, chaps ! Get real !