England Managers: What Does An Illustrious Club Career Actually Mean?

After the aberration of England's Euro 2016 exit to Iceland, it was clear that the tenure of Roy Hodgson was over. Cue a narrow, and slightly xenophobic search for England's next manager. From, let's be honest, a rather shallow pool of candidates, came the rather underwhelming announcement of Sam Allardyce. The ex-Newcastle, Bolton, West Ham, Blackburn and Sunderland manager has never really hit the heights in his club career, but was given the top job regardless.

However, how important is a successful club manager in the international game? To figure this out, I've looked back at the past 25 years of successful and failed England managers to compare their win rates, which should hopefully highlight a discernible trend.

Name	Clubs managed (pre-England)	W	D	L	Win rate	England win rate	Tournament high
Kevin Keegan	Newcastle United, Fulham	176	63	73	56.4%	38.89%	Group stage Euro 2000
Fabio Capello	AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma, Juventus	311	165	79	56%	66.67%	R16 World Cup 2010
Sven Goran Eriksson	Goteborg, Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Lazio	402	205	157	52.6%	59.7%	QF World Cup 2002, Euro 2004, World Cup 2006
Graham Taylor	Lincoln, Watford, Aston Villa	372	210	237	45.4%	47.3%	Group stage Euro 1992
Terry Venables	Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur	297	193	183	44.1%	47.83%	SF Euro 1996
Sir Bobby Robson	Fulham, Ipswich	326	182	241	43.5%	49.47%	SF World Cup 1990
Roy Hodgson	18 clubs and countries, inc Inter Milan, Switzerland, Copenhagen, Liverpool	403	285	257	42.6%	58.93%	QF Euro 2012
Steve McClaren	Middlesbrough	97	60	93	38.8%	50%	Qualification Euro 2008
Glenn Hoddle	Swindon Town, Chelsea	102	86	84	37.5%	60.71%	R16 World Cup 1998

Looking at the statistics, it's interesting to see that arguably the three most successful England managers of the past quarter of a century (Sir Bobby Robson, Terry Venables and Sven Goran Eriksson) do not top the table when it comes to either club win rate, or indeed England win rate, with Fabio Capello and Glenn Hoddle, at the bottom when it comes to his club career, actually topping the England win percentage table.

From the table above, it certainly appears that there is no real rhyme or reason behind the club/national win ratios. It's absolutely not the case that the higher your win rate in club football, the higher your England win rate, or the more successful your career. If anything, it's slightly the opposite. Not so much in terms of percentages, but in terms of tournament performance, with the only semi final appearances in the last quarter century coming from individuals that have around 45 per cent win rates. However, the three below Venables and Robson have hardly done well in tournaments!

Interestingly, Sam Allardyce's current club win ratio stands at around 39 per cent across his time at a number of clubs including Bolton, Blackburn, Newcastle, Sunderland and West Ham United. I know we've just proven that this ultimately means very little, but it's interesting to see that he's not too far from the percentage of Steve McClaren at Middlesbrough (and we all know how that turned out!).

On a separate note, I'm always rather bemused by the immediate assumption that we'll only pick an Englishman. Why? One of our more successful managers of the last quarter of a century was foreign, and given the following couple of white, middle aged, dull Englishmen ultimately failing (ignoring the tumultuous reign of Fabio Capello), I don't understand why it isn't considered. It would be completely understandable to pick an Englishman if we invested in young talent for the long term. For example, my pick for the job was Bournemouth's Eddie Howe. Now, I know this is possibly asking too much in today's game, but give him as much time as he needs (almost regardless of results in the short term), because as Man United proved, only through patience can you reach your potential.

Alternatively, there was a Premier League winner available, with a management style that would certainly suit the typically reserved English style. Manuel Pellegrini has shown himself to value attacking and free-flowing football, which would certainly resonate with the English fans following the arguably defensive style of Roy Hodgson, while also being astute and softly spoken in interviews.

However, there is no use crying over spilt milk (a phrase I've never really understood the origins of - I mean, who's that upset at the concept of wasted calcium?), so we have to work with what we've got i.e. Big Sam. With him at the helm, and uncertainty already around the captaincy, who do we see coming into the squad, given his previous playing styles? Obviously, a lot will rest on form, but all things being even, this is my prediction for his first 25-man England squad:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Jack Butland (Stoke City)

Defenders: Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), John Stones (Everton), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mark Noble (West Ham United), James Milner (Liverpool), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Ross Barkley (Everton), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Jermain Defoe (Sunderland), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Andy Carroll (West Ham United)

Ten Things I've Missed Blogging This Year

As I set out in a post a few weeks ago, my blog has been more than a little erratic over the last 12 to 18 months as I look to piece certain things back together. To read more about my psychology, click here, but in this post, I wanted to provide my belated opinion on ten of the year's top sporting stories that I never got the opportunity to cover.

This has been separated into the sports that I have previously blogged on, but in the last year I have got into a number of new sports, some of which will be covered here.

Football

1. Leicester win Premier League

I kind of had to do this. Arguably the greatest footballing story in the history of the English game, the ultimate in underdog stories came to fruition this year. While I did give my opinion on the exploits of Jamie Vardy (both in the positive and negative sense) late last year, I never looked at the collective achievement of the squad as a whole.

I suppose here, more than in any other story, there is very little I can say that is new. When you consider that the biggest shock in the Spanish La Liga in recent years was the title winning side from Atletico Madrid, that highlights the scale of the accomplishments. In my mind, the only comparable previous event in recent memory is the Montpellier success in the French league in 2012, but even that pales in comparison to the dramatic turnaround in fortunes.

Without a doubt, momentum played a crucial role, but the performances of a number of individuals was simply outstanding. Whether that's the consistency of signing of the season N'Golo Kante, or the moments of magic from Riyad Mahrez, the Foxes have had quality across the field all season, and thanks to everyone else throwing it away, Leicester run out deserved winners.

2. FIFA implodes and Sepp Blatter found guilty

Who saw this coming? I don't mean in the sense of FIFA's corruption - I'm not naive. We've all known the frankly ridiculous levels of bribes, backhanders and 'favours for the boys' that Blatter and the rest of his cronies have been taking part in. What I didn't expect was for them to be caught, as everyone seemed to be content with the incompetence.

However, what made this moment among the best of the last 12 months was the reaction of comedian Lee Nelson. Though I've never been much of a fan of Nelson's work (his humour always seemed a little too slapstick and PR stunty to me), I have to say his idea at a press conference involving Blatter last year was absolutely brilliant. Having managed to sneak his way into the audience, Nelson took the opportunity to throw a huge wad of cash over the disgraced FIFA chief in one of the most iconic images of the scandal. Though he was instantly arrested as a suspected terrorist, he created a moment that resonated around the world, and highlighted, for the first time, the public opinion of the issue.

3. Footballers as role models: the Adam Johnson story

Like the Leicester story, there is very little that I can add to this story in terms of opinion, as my reaction to this story was much the same as everyone else's - a mixture of disgust and sympathy for the victim. What the latest in a long line of criminal cases against entitled footballers with no concept of other people demonstrates is a point I raised in my first 'Bitesize Rants' post, namely, that footballers should not be considered role models for children, as they have proven time and time again they do not deserve the moniker.

What makes this story particularly abhorrent is the way that both Johnson and the world of football treated his arrest and subsequent case. While I am the first person to stand behind the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty', and it irritates me no end that rape is the only crime where the burden of proof is on the defendant, if you are under investigation for a crime and you have a job in the public eye, you should really be ineligible for selection until the matter is concluded. By all means continue to pay them and treat them the same, but more to demonstrate the seriousness of the situation, you have to ensure they are not being put in the public eye. If it was up to me, no-one would ever be named as a suspect until after they are convicted, but that simply isn't the world we live in.

With this in mind, it is therefore mindless that Sunderland continued to play the winger, and in light of his guilty plea since, only makes the Wearside club look callous and morally bankrupt, willing to play and support a sex offender to gain an advantage. What makes the story even worse is that Adam Johnson, despite knowing he was guilty and about to submit a plea, continued to milk the North East club for all they were worth in wages.

Formula 1

4. Hamilton and Rosberg become best of enemies

Having grown up together through karting and junior formulas, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg formed a close friendship, racing hard but fair and keeping the work away from their friendship. However, like any soap storyline, all friendships inevitably come to an end. Unlike the soap, there were no affairs, illegalities or betrayals, but pure competition.

The breakdown of the relationship started with Rosberg, clearly frustrated at trailing Hamilton in the championship, outbreaking himself in qualifying at the Monaco grand prix in a move reminiscent of the famous Schumacher Rascasse-gate. Further fuel was added to the fire in Belgium, when an angry Rosberg committed the gravest sin in Formula 1 - deliberately hitting your teammate.

After Hamilton's procession to the title last year, the relationship seemed to have settled between the pair to a healthy rivalry. That was until the Spanish grand prix a few weeks ago. Having taken one another out on the first lap, the two very quickly pointed the finger at one another, again stoking the flames and setting the season up for a fiery rivalry.

Tennis

5. Serena completes year grand slam

As much as I hate her hypocritical, have your cake and eat it too, standard feminist mentality, Serena Williams did something amazing last year. To win a Grand Slam is an impressive achievement, but to win all four in the same year is quite extraordinary. She will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the best ever tennis players and dominant champions - it's just a shame about her personality!

Cricket

6. That over...

We've all experienced the feeling where we want the world to open up and swallow us, but I certainly expect that Ben Stokes will have felt this more strongly than most earlier this year. To set the scene, England's cricket team, despite being roundly written off at the beginning of the tournament, and largely underwhelming in the early rounds, managed to perform a Leicester-esque run to the final. In their way stood West Indies, who had already beaten them before.

Having set a disappointing 155/9 in their 20 overs, England were seen as strong underdogs. However, a West Indian batting collapse put England on the brink of reclaiming the title they held in 2010. Step forward Ben Stokes, or more accurately Carlos Brathwaite. With an outlandish 19 required from six balls, Brathwaite smashed four successive sixes off the medium-pacer to claim the title for the West Indies in one of the most dramatic finishes.

Rugby

7. A typically English World Cup

Now, from a dramatic failure to an absolute aborration. The saying 'all good things come to an end' was emphatically proven on home soil last autumn, with our rugby team emulating the performances of the footballing side, and exiting early. The fact that it was a home World Cup only serves to make this point more humiliating, with England becoming the first home nation in the history of the tournament to fail to make it out of the group stages.

Others

8. Mayweather/Pacquiao - Can super fights ever live up to the hype?

When the news that unbeaten Floyd Mayweather, widely considered the greatest pound for pound boxer on the face of the planet, was to fight Filipino great Manny Pacquiao, the fight world went mad. Expectations that this was set to be the greatest fight of all time were far far wide of the mark, however. All I can say is that I am glad I didn't stay up to watch it. From what I've seen, it was 12 rounds of Floyd applying his typical counter punching style, and Pacquiao treading water while he attempted to connect.

Quite often, the best fights do not involve two high ranked individuals, as 'super fights' tend to come with a lot of additional pressure. A high profile loss, especially in emphatic circumstances, can have  a dramatic effect on a boxer's legacy, so it is unsurprising that neither of them left it all in the ring.

It may well have an impact the next time the boxing organisers want to arrange a fight of this size too!

9. Tyson Fury offends everyone

Staying with boxing, Manchester's Tyson Fury shocked the world with his decision win over Wladimir Klitschko. However, rather than just enjoying his victory and rising fame, Fury decided to take a new and different approach - offend everyone he can.

In between making sexist, racist, transgenderist and homophobic statements in public, Fury has also suggested that performance-enhancing drugs should be permitted in boxing. Though he has apologised for any offence caused, I'm still not quite sure how genuine that is. An isolated incident may be able to be forgiven, but multiple occasions makes it a lot less likely that it is true regret.

10. MMA explodes

Last, but by no means least, is the emergence of a sport until recently I had no real knowledge of. Perhaps it is my own ignorance, but it is only in the last few months that the world of MMA has taken an sort of impact on my consciousness. However, ever since watching my first few fights, I have become addicted, and have spent more hours than I care to mention watching old videos and current events.

I'm sure I will be writing enough on this sport in the near future, but the main reason the sport has exploded in this part of the world in the last 12-18 months is Irishman Conor McGregor. Having sensationally burst onto the UFC scene, he captured the company's Featherweight championship in December 2015, beating Brazilian legend Jose Aldo, unbeaten in the last 10 years, in just 13 seconds.

Having lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196, choosing to go up two weight classes to take on the Stockton native, McGregor has become a global superstar, spending hours on interviews and media to hype fights and talk trash. However, this spectacularly backfired a couple of months ago, with an argument with the UFC over the amount of mandatory PR the Irishman had to do caused McGregor to post the following on Twitter:

Well, the MMA world went mad. Such was the reaction from the fans, McGregor was forced to retract the statement 48 hours later, stating that it had all been a demonstration of the pull and influence that he has over social.

Despite numerous negotiations, the issue seems to be ongoing, despite the announcement that the rematch between McGregor and Diaz is set for UFC 202 - a month later than originally planned.

So there's my top 10 sporting memories over the last 12 months - have I missed any? And what are yours?

Bitesize Rants #2: Five England Players That Should Never Have Made The Plane

As an England fan, I’m well aware of the fact that we don’t generate many quality players. And even when we do, we still conspire to make stupid selection decisions instead! In this rant, I wanted to outline my top five England players that should never have been taken to a World Cup or European Championship.

1. Theo Walcott – World Cup 2006 (Germany)

In a team seen as the ‘Golden Generation’ of English football, we had a shot at World Cup glory a decade ago. However, for some reason, Sven Goran Eriksson chose to take a risk on 17 year-old Theo Walcott. After five straight games on the bench, I think it’s safe to say it didn’t really work.

2. Emile Heskey – World Cup 2010 (Brazil)

It’s Emile Heskey – need I say more? What is perhaps more worrying than the fact Fabio Capello took the English version of Shrek’s best friend is that he played him, including in the crunch last 16 match against Germany! And you wonder why we lost 4-1?

3. Ledley King – World Cup 2010 (Brazil)

It’s little surprise that England didn’t progress very far in 2010 when you look at some of the bizarre decisions made by Capello. Famed for his glass knees, it was well known that Ledley King couldn’t train more than a couple of times a week without breaking down. So it came as little surprise that after just 45 minutes of the first game, he was ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a leg injury.

4. Stuart Downing – Euro 2012 (Poland/Ukraine)

Sorry for getting patronising, but playing as an attacking midfielder, you are judged on your ability to either set up or score goals. After a big money move to Liverpool in the summer of 2011, the England made 36 league appearances, assisting and scoring a sum total of 0 goals. That’s the form that gets you a call-up to a major tournament.

5. Marcus Rashford – Euro 2016 (France)?

Much like the Theo Walcott selection, this is far too much too soon, and my instant reaction was – would he have been considered if he had the same record playing for Watford? No. He is a potential future star, but he is taking the place of someone who deserves it more at the minute – for example, what does Jermain Defoe have to do to get a call up?!

Bitesize Rants #1: The Respect Campaign and Football Hooliganism

In my day job (I know, can you believe that being a keyboard warrior on inconsequential topics isn't a full-time role?!), I was recently given the task of being more succinct. As some of you may have noticed, I have a tendency to use 10 words when one will do. So, I thought I'd challenge myself in a new segment I've called 'Bitesize Rants'. The premise is simple - the same level of anger and outrage, neatly fit into just 400 words.

The attack made on Manchester United’s team bus before their crucial must win game against West Ham highlights something that we’ve known for some time – football hooliganism is far from dead.

This is not my forum for attacking West Ham fans, as I want to focus on the clearly dramatic impact that the much discussed Respect campaign has had.

As a child watching football, I was all too familiar with the sight of players surrounding and berating the referee, with Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira sticking in my memory as the worst examples. As a teenager, I experienced this first-hand from parents of under-11s games, with some of the abuse received frankly shocking. To combat this, and the continual threat of off-field violence, the FA introduced the Respect campaign, an umbrella for anti-racism and pro-fairness in football. This was also designed to paint football to kids as a friendly and respectful sport, and give them role models they can look up to.

Has it made a difference? Clearly not as much as they’d hope, if Tuesday’s events are anything to go by. It’s certainly true that referees are not as bombarded by people after every decision, but the abuse from both the players and the fans continues to be prevalent at every level. Just read Wayne Rooney’s lips when the camera pans to him, and you’ll learn some new vocabulary you didn’t want! It also sets a worrying double standard, as some offences are punished and others simply aren’t!

It certainly doesn’t help that footballers don’t paint themselves in a good and respectful light as role models for kids. For every Vincent Kompany there is a Joey Barton, and every Claudio Ranieri has a Neil Warnock. The very fact that proven racists Jamie Vardy, Luis Suarez and John Terry are so revered among sections of football fans is alarming, and highlights the scale of the problem remaining.

So while West Ham have reacted quickly to the whole bus incident, the events should act as a warning shot across the bows of the FA. The Respect campaign is not hard-hitting enough, and for the sake of thousands of Sunday League referees across the country, football’s governing body needs to have a rethink. Try coming down hard on every type of disrespect, and not set a loophole for poor role models by letting some players get away with it.