THE START
Steve McClaren is not a name at
the forefront of football fans minds and especially England fans who some would
rather forget all together. The
man, the coach, the manager, all have been criticised over recent years. Indeed he was a figure of fun and even
hate by some supporters.
His coaching career started at
Derby County in 1995 where he worked alongside Jim Smith in what were Derby's
most successful few seasons in recent years. They were promoted to the Premier League where they finished
a very respectable and impressive 12th place. Two consecutive top 10 finishes followed that up. A fantastic achievement and something
that Jim Smith has said in the past is a lot to do with McClaren as well as his
own management.
It has been said
that it was not just coincidence that after Sir Alex or just Alex as he was
known then, saw his talents and made him his assistant in 1999, that
unfortunately Derby's fortunes took a nose dive and they were relegated within
a few seasons.
Alongside Sir Alex they oversaw
an historical period in Manchester United's existence. First came that treble, followed up by
another 2 premier league titles.
Again Sir Alex as Jim Smith before publicly going on record
acknowledging McClaren's influence and coaching exploits, proving he did more
than just manage Fergie's juicy fruit stash.
GOING SOLO
In 2001 Steve decided it was
time he had all the glory and took his first managerial roll, taking over
Middlesbrough. The five years that
followed have cemented Steve McClaren in Boro's history books as their most
successful manager. He transformed
them into a hard to beat and solid team, taking them to the dizzy heights of a
7th place finish in the 04/05 season.
His and Middlesbrough's crowning glory came in '04 when they reached the
final of the league cup and won their first ever trophy beating Bolton 2-1. Two
seasons later they showed their cup credentials once again making it to the
final of the UEFA cup finishing runners up after some extraordinary games in
the knockout stages, including battling back from 3-0 down on two occasions to
advance.
ENGLAND
All this success led the English
FA to make Steve their main man.
It should have been the pinnacle of his career, but instead it started
to look like the beginning of the end of a once promising career. After failing to qualify for EURO '08
when England could not get the required result on a rainy night against Croatia
at Wembley. The blame was rightly
put at McClaren's door, stood at pitch-side in the pouring rain with an
umbrella he earned that nickname 'Wally with the Brolly'. As England struggled to perform, it was
a moment when his country needed a leader and he just did not turn up. The players out on the pitch were
looking over for inspiration as they got a soaking just to see the manager
under cover from the rain and seemingly motionless. This was a time he needed to show he was one of them, that
even though he could not lace up his boots and get out there he was still one
of them. Win together, lose together, and get a soaking together.
RACKING UP THE AIR-MILES
After his sacking Steve decided
to go on a Euro Trip, first stop was the land of Shexy football yes. He took the job of FC Twente manager
and it was like England never happened as he put himself into the history books
of another club, winning the Dutch Eredivisie. It was Twente's first ever league title and made Shteve a
legend there.
Just like before when things
seemed to be going very well, the wheels started to come off quicker than a
poorly made child's bike on Christmas morning. Steve had an unsuccessful spell at Wolfsburg in Germany, for
just 10 months. Nottingham Forest was
his next whirlwind stopover, 10 games was all the City Ground faithful had to
endure of a terrible tenure.
Shteve tried shexy football again back at Twente but it was a bit uglier
than his first spell.
BACK TO BASICS
Just when it seemed he could not
buy a job, 'Arry came calling. Harry Redknapp knows a player or two but he also
knows a good coach and knows you do not just lose that ability so he asked
Steve to help him out at QPR.
Which in turn put his name back in the papers even if it was only a two-paragraph
article in the Sun on the 6th page in from the back.
Back in the spotlight, Derby
County came calling. The success
was immediate, he guided this team of also ran's or even also rams to a
fantastic season where they lost in the play-off final ironically enough to
'Arrys QPR.
ROUNDUP
The good news is that Steve
McClaren looks a coach again, a manager that can make a difference, there is no
doubt his best quality is when he is with his players on the training pitch,
working with his players and not worrying about the immense pressures some jobs
carry. He has found home again in
Derby and they will reap the rewards as all roads point towards a successful
campaign this season. He is not
the first manager to struggle at certain clubs and situations and he will not
be the last. What he is though is
one of the best English coaches around getting the best out of seemingly
ordinary players. In football as
in life, square pegs do not fit in round holes, and sometimes round pegs still
do not fit either but when they do and coaches/managers find that club that
fits them then wonderful things could happen.
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