England - Is McClaren The Right Man?

He might look remarkable similar to the bear that lives up a tree on Hampstead Heath from TV's Bo Selecta! But Steve McClaren has found himself in probably the 2nd most high profile job in the country behind Tony Blair.

A gentle start saw them batter Andorra 5-0 and pick up another three points away against a staunch Macedonian side - and suddenly Super Steve was best thing since sliced bread. But a draw in the reverse tie against Macedonia, and then a disastrous and lacklustre defeat to Croatia bought the former Middlesbrough manager in for widespread criticism.

So did the FA make the right decision in appointing him? Or would one of the other candidates have done a better job? We use the brand new easy to use Football Manager 2007 editor to put some of the leading candidates into the role and see how they get on in the current campaign…

The Candidates:
Martin O'Neill
Sven Goran Eriksson
Sam Allardyce
Phil Scolari
Alan Curbishley
Steve McClaren

Martin O'Neill
The Irishman has proved a revelation at Villa Park, and had all the right boxes ticked to be a success for England. Some believe he wasn't given the job because of his nationality, others believe it was simply because he wouldn't have been the yes man the FA were looking for.

O'Neill can hardly be faulted for his start as his team brush aside Greece in a friendly and then beat both Andorra and Macedonia 2-0 to head the qualifying table early on. The canny Irishman knows how to get the best out of his players, and we see that again as Macedonia are easily beaten 3-0 in October. But just days later disaster strikes in Croatia as Gary Neville is sent off and England go down 2-0 - the media aren't impressed.

The next group match is vital for O'Neill as he looks to put England back on track, and England respond with a fine 3-0 away win against Israel. Andorra are beaten again with Marcus Bent repaying O'Neill's faith in him with three goals in two games, as England now look back in control despite the defeat.

O'Neill's hiccup defeat to Croatia is still the only game England have conceded in as Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen put Estonia to the sword, but they still lie second in the table behind Croatia.

England begin to look very shaky in the final run-in and Russia get a wonderful result in Moscow beating O'Neill's weakened team 2-0 to leave qualification in the balance. Heading into the final match day a point will do, and Peter Crouch heads in a decisive goal late on against Croatia to secure qualification, albeit through the runners-up spot.

The finals see England drawn against Holland, Portugal and Turkey, and they make the perfect start by thrashing Holland 4-0, with Michael Owen and Jermain Defoe grabbing a couple of goals each.

Turkey follow next and a free-scoring England side always look comfortable and dispose of them 4-1 to qualify for the knockout stage. O'Neill has them playing some sumptuous football as England come from behind to beat Portugal 3-1 in the final group game to secure top spot in the group.

In the quarter final England are firm favourites against the Swiss, but it's a dull game and ends 0-0. Extra time fails to produce a winner so it's on to penalties. David Beckham repays O'Neill's faith in him by converting the first spot kick, and all ten takers go on to convert to leave a sudden death situation, and the villain turns out to be Switzerland's Johann Vogel who misses the vital kick.

The semis loom and a nation expects. The Italians stand in the way of O'Neill and hero status amongst the English public. Not many bosses would drop Wayne Rooney, but O'Neill isn't 'any boss' and he sticks with the fruitful Owen and Defoe partnership. Sure enough, just 17 minutes in England are two up thanks to (you guessed it) Owen and Defoe.

Luca Toni pulls one back but the Italians are in crisis when Francesco Totti is sent off and Owen makes it 3-1 just before half time. Eventually the Italians lose the cool and resort to kicking tactics, Daniele De Rossi is sent-off and Massimo Oddo scores an own goal to help England to a comfortable 4-1 win. We're off to the final!

France are the opponents in England's first major final since 1966, and England are ready for a shot at glory. Rooney stays on the bench, but Thierry Henry gives the French an early lead.

With time running out, Rooney comes off the bench, but he can't make an impact and England lose in the final as heartbreak strikes once again.

Sven Goran Eriksson
It's still really undecided as to whether Eriksson was sacked for on or off the field reasons. England never got past a quarter stage in a major finals, but would he have been able to take the new crop of young talent coming through to the next level?

Wayne Rooney gets Sven's reign off to a flyer with two goals in the friendly with Greece. But it's Jermain Defoe who hits form when the first set of qualifiers come around grabbing three goals in the two 2-0 wins over Andorra and Macedonia. In the return leg against the Macedonians a month later Defoe strikes again in yet another 2-0 win.

Croatia eventually end the winning run by holding the English to a draw in Zagreb with Peter Crouch on target, but England look in control of the group early on. After a nice winters break Eriksson, whose record in qualifying while he was in charge of England in real-life was second to none, experiences massive injury troubles but still comes through a tricky trip to Israel with a 3-0 win, and Andorra are then taken to pieces by Eriksson's men 4-0.

Sven's team manage to squeeze past Estonia away 1-0, which allows Eriksson and his squad to enjoy the summer break. And they hit the ground running again as the new season starts with Crouch and Owen both on target in another 3-0 win over Israel followed by a more than impressive 5-0 spanking of Russia leaving England all but in the finals.

Qualification is secured at Wembley against Estonia, and Sven sees out the remainder of the campaign with a fine win away at Russia and a tight 2-1 win at home to Croatia - all in all a virtually faultless campaign.

England get off to a shaky start in the finals twice surrendering a lead to draw with Germany in their first match. But they are soon back on track with a fine performance and win 2-0 against Austria as Darren Bent grabs a brace.

All this means that Eriksson's men need just a point against current champions Greece in their final group match, but an evenly balance game is won by Dimitris Papadopoulos with a 36th minute header and Sven experiences the embarrassment of heading home on the first flight - disastrous!

Sam Allardyce
Big Sam has undoubted talent for taking underachievers and getting the best out of them. So the England manager's job seems made for him. But he's never had a job of this magnitude before, could he handle the pressure?

It's a decent start from Mr Allardyce and his boys which involves three group stage wins against Andorra and Macedonia twice, but England are stunned by Croatia away and go down a worrying 4-0 after a flurry of four goals in 25 second-half minutes.

Things are soon back on track when group fixtures resume in March though, with two 3-0 wins against Israel and Andorra. Then in June they play out an ill-tempered clash with Estonia, which the Three Lions eventually win 2-0 leaving them 2nd in the table.

A faultless two matches in September see England move top of the group with home wins against Israel and Russia with Shaun Wright-Phillips grabbing a brace in the latter game. The Russians stop England from qualifying early in the return in Moscow though winning 2-1 with John Terry seeing red.

And Croatia and Russia both win their games in hand, meaning England must avoid defeat against the Croatians at home to qualify. Disaster strikes as Ivan Klasnic gives the visitors the lead, but Joe Cole seems to restore England's parity on 22 minutes.

A cautious England side sit back for much of the second half until BANG! Marko Mabic scores a shock winner on 71 minutes. Russia also beat Andorra and Sam's side are eliminated.

Phil Scolari
Another foreign coach is something we don't need according to many an England fan, but Big Phil has the credentials in abundance. Can he take the nearly men and turn them into really men?

Scolari announces himself as England boss emphatically with a 4-0 win over Greece in his first friendly, and follows this with a 3-0 victory over Andorra thanks to a Jermain Defoe hat-trick. Defoe hits the target again in the 1-0 win over Macedonia and England secure the perfect start as the beat the Macedonians 3-0 at home.

In Zagreb though, England surrender a two-goal lead to draw to draw 2-2 with Croatia, but all in all it's not a bad start.

Scolari certainly seems to have bought the winning mentality to the English set-up, and as the group resumes in March as both Israel and Andorra are swept aside 2-0. In June Estonia are beaten again to leave England top of the group and odds-on to qualify.

An early Michael Owen goal sees off the Israelis in September and Scolari's men follow this up with a fine display to beat Russia 2-0 and stand on the verge of qualification.

England qualify with a fine 4-0 win over Estonia, before Russia spoil the party beating them 2-1. In October they end the campaign in fine style with a 3-1 over Croatia.

England dominate their first group game in the finals, and an early Jermain Defoe goal is enough to see off Romania. A real test follows though in the form of France and Scolari's men look to be heading for defeat until Defoe pops up with an 88th minute equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw.

All this means defeat against Scolari's former team Portugal would send England crashing out of the tournament and when Ashley Cole gives away a 17th minute penalty the future looks bleak as Portugal go 1-0 up. As the game enters the last ten minutes England push up but get caught on the break and John Terry gives away a second penalty and Portugal wrap up the result to knock England out of a major final for the third time running.

Alan Curbishley
What Curbs achieved at Charlton was more than a minor miracle and he deserves a top job as a reward for his success. But is the England job one step too soon for the man that likes to run a tight ship?

Starts don't get any better than the one Curbishley enjoys for England thrashing Greece, Andorra, Macedonia twice and Croatia to see him end 2006 with a 100% record and top of Group E - Jermain Defoe is proving a goal machine.

And Curbs just won't stop as Israel are trounced 3-0, as are Andorra, and Estonia as three seems to be very much his magic number. And once the new season starts there is just no change as England enjoy four good wins in September and October laving them just a game away from a totally 100% record. And they pull it off without moving into top gear winning 1-0 against Croatia.

England are favourites to go through in a finals group containing Romania, Poland and France, and get off to as Michaels Owen and Carrick grab the goals in a 2-1 win over France. This is followed up with a tough match against Poland in which Frank Lampard is sent off. But two late goals earn Curbs the points and early qualification from the group.

They maintain their 100% record under Curbishley with an emphatic 4-1 win over Romania to qualify as group winners, and Turkey wait in the quarters. It's by no means a stroll in the park, but Michael Owen manages to grab the only goal of the game as England overcome the ten-man Turks to progress.

So on to semis and a real test in the form of Portugal; England's bogey team. The Portuguese stun England with a goal after just two minutes, from Fernando Meira, and then just a minute into the second half Joao Moutinho smashes home a second to leave England with a mountain to climb.

To finish Curbishley's team off, Cristiano Ronaldo scores a fine header on 65 minutes and the dream is over. Curbishley won every match but one, but what an important one to lose.

Steve McClaren
The current England boss has come in for a lot of bad press after the last international fixtures. Let's see how he fairs over the entire campaign.

They start with a home friendly against Greece and smash the current European Champions 4-0 with Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe both grabbing a brace. Then it's on to the serious stuff. Well almost, Andorra provide the first test and Jermain Defoe scores inside 14 seconds and has notched up his hat-trick after just eight minutes.

The final score is a stunning 11-0 as Andorra attempt to kick England off the park and end the game with just eight men. They follow this up just three days later with another convincing win away at ten-man Macedonia, and everything is looking rosy.

The return tie against Macedonia England find it much more difficult, but a late Alan Smith strike bags them the points to maintain their unbeaten run. Similarly a single goal is enough to see off the Croatians as McClaren's men end the first four matches with a 100% record.

A trip to Israel is the first group match after the winter break, and they are just too good for their opponents. Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe (2) grab the goals as they brush aside the Israelis 3-1. Just days later McClaren's men face Andorra again and although the result isn't quite as prolific as their 11-0er, it's still a comfortable 3-0.

McClaren keeps his awesome record going with an easy 3-1 win over Estonia with Frank Lampard getting a couple of goals, and they have qualifying as good as sewn up, as they come back from the pre-season break fresh legged and full of energy to overcome Israel 4-0. Qualification is then secured with three matches to spare, as England put in a far from rampant performance, but manage to beat Russia 1-0 - but they're record is impeccable and McClaren must take a lot of credit for the massive success.

With a place in the finals secured McClaren's team relax and comfortable see off Estonia and Croatia, while Russia hold them to the only draw of the campaign. When the finals draw takes place England are grouped with Norway, Spain and Holland - a tricky group.

McClaren kicks off the finals campaign with his first competitive defeat against Holland 2-1 as Darren Bent sees red. The defeat means that another loss against Spain would eliminate England in the first round, and the cause isn't helped when Fernando Torres fires the Spanish ahead on 9 minutes.

Captain John Terry calm England's nerves though with an equaliser on 21 minutes, but Joaquin restore the Spanish advantage with just 25 minutes remaining. Deep, deep into injury time the ball falls to Joe Cole in the six-yard box and he stabs home an equaliser to rescue England from elimination. England still need to beat Norway and hope Spain are beaten by Holland though to qualify.

Disaster strikes in the Norway game as John Carew puts the underdogs ahead after just 45 seconds as England miss a hatful of chances. On the half-hour Stewart Downing levels things up, and a Steven Gerrard goal gives England hope early in the second half. Michael Owen grabs a vital third late on, and the Dutch fulfil their end of the bargain by thrashing Spain 3-0 to help England through.

The Swiss provide the quarterfinal test for McClaren, and England reach half-time 2-1 up. Charles-Andre Doudin levels things up early in the second half, but Dean Ashton grabs two late goals as the Three Lions march into the semis.

World Champions Italy stand in the way of a final appearance and prove slightly too heavyweight to budge for a tired looking England. Alberto Gilardino pokes the Italians ahead, but Alessandro Nesta puts the ball past his own keeper to allow England back into the game. Frank Lampard is then sent-off for a second bookable offence, but England manage to struggle to penalties.

Both sides convert their first four penalties, but when Luca Toni converts the Italians fifth, Gary Neville has a magnitude of pressure on the fifth and final spot-kick - and it shows as he balloons the ball over the bar to ensure that McClaren's men miss out on another final. Italy go on to win the title, but it's scant consolation for a nation now becoming synonymous with penalty heartache.

The Verdict
For best results add Martin O'Neill - but it still won't win us any silverware!

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