There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and Steve McClaren being sacked. Today we saw the beginning of another Steve McClaren sacking in his reincarnation as Derby County manager. What on earth are Derby thinking about?
It is widely believed that McClaren is one of the finest coaches of his generation. No less a person than Sir Alex Ferguson said that on numerous occasions when McClaren was his number two at Manchester United. Sir Alex, we will do well to recall, did not exactly lobby for McClaren to succeed him as Manchester United supremo. Why? Because being a great coach doesn’t make you a great manager. And no one ever called McClaren a great manager.
Pretty well everywhere McClaren goes, he ends up being sacked and he doesn’t last long either. I am not an expert on appointing managers, but neither are club owners, especially the likes of Mike Ashley at Newcastle for whom McClaren built a team fit for the Championship. The trouble was the Toon were in the Premiership at the time.
McClaren ended up being rubbish at Derby, even more rubbish at Newcastle and the most rubbish possible when he was England manager, the Wally with the Brolly.
I have never met the man, but I’m afraid I can’t stand him. Irrational, I know, but also I can’t stand his voice, I can’t abide his inability to accept he is nearly bald and his massive shiny teeth look ridiculous on a middle aged man. Some of these may not have much to do with football, I know, but they’re good enough reasons for me.
He is a man with more low managerial moments than high ones. The brolly moment was one and so was his ludicrous interview on Dutch TV when he acquired a ridiculous Dutch accent, giving him the nickname Shteve was another. I am not sure he will recover from the latter. I don’t think he deserves to.
Already, we have heard that McClaren has “unfinished business” at Derby, whatever that means. He left under a cloud, he will never be idolised from the cheap seats and he will almost certainly leave under a cloud, probably sometime around Christmas, if he lasts that long.
God knows why Derby didn’t move for Championship experts like Steve Bruce or Colin Wanker (Neil Warnock) when they have been available until today. They will realise soon enough what a cock up they have made. Again.
