2 Apr 2007(Mon)

March 30, 2007: It is quite embarrassing being English at the moment.

Not just because we are struggling in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, but because of the abuse hurled at the players and coach by their own fans.

We still reckon we are the “home” of football – but football has not come home since the 1966 World Cup.

Since then we have produced some great players, and occasionally a very good team – 1990 World Cup, for example – but our head coaches cause mixed reaction to say the least.

The latest in the hot seat – make that the “white-hot” seat – is Steve McClaren. He is viewed as dull and lacking charisma, even though his coaching credentials were obviously admired by Alex Ferguson and Sven-Goran Eriksson to name but two.

This respect does not spread too far among the England support, though, and that must be worrying for the Football Association considering the thousands upon thousands of fans who travel all over the world to cheer – and now boo -- the team.

A 3-0 win over Andorra in midweek could not ease the pressure, and McClaren must be wondering what he has to do right to please some people.

This is where Japan and England differ so much, because in Japan you still support the team when the going gets tough, whereas in England – fans and media alike – we love to pile the pressure on and almost hope for failure to keep the news and the controversy flowing.

I remember once the Japanese fans getting very angry after a 1-1 draw with UAE at Kokuritsu in 1997, when it looked like Japan might miss out on the 1998 World Cup with the so-called Doha Tragedy of 93 still fresh in the mind. But all the trouble and the shouting came after the final whistle and outside the ground, not during the match as Japan toiled to try and claim three points.

I wonder what state the England team would be in now if the FA had been a bit more patient in looking for a successor to Eriksson. They could have got Luiz Felipe Scolari – but the FA insisted he sign the contract before the 2006 World Cup, and not after it. I heard this from Scolari’s good friend, Jose Roberto Guimaraes, who is head coach of Brazil’s women’s volleyball team. Jose Roberto told me he had spoken to Scolari a couple of times on the phone from Germany, and Portugal’s coach could not understand why England wanted the deal done before the World Cup. Scolari would have signed for England, but was put off by their attitude.

Clearly McClaren is struggling, and the London media would love Terry Venables back in the job.

I may as well get my choice in now – Steve Coppell. A great player for Manchester United and England on the right wing, studying at Liverpool University while playing for Man United, and an excellent coach with Reading.

ends