QuoteIt's in the paper aswell,Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
El Tel
By Daniel McDonnell
Friday November 23 2007
Never has it seemed more appropriate to pluck out that old saying about England sneezing and Ireland catching a cold. These are ripe times for infection.
It's rare that the failure of the English national side could have such a knock on effect for those on this side of the pond. Normally, the tragi-comic collapse of our neighbours provides a certain amount of comfort in the summers where we have become accustomed to watching major championships from afar.
Perhaps it's an immature kind of pleasure but then it's hard not to smile at the reaction to what unfolded on Wednesday night when you consider that the BBC's three wise men of Hansen, Wright and Shearer all predicted facile victories for McClaren's band of brothers.
When Hansen had the temerity to suggest that it may not quite be a stroll in the park for the Wembley hosts, Wright even scolded him for taking a trip to 'negative town'. With such brazen and misplaced confidence, the subsequent capitulation became devilishly enjoyable.
Worrying
What is worrying, however, is that there were Irish people celebrating England's demise for a very different reason. For them, the silver lining of a European Championships without England is that it smoothes the way for Terry Venables to become the man to replace Steve Staunton.
It's remarkable really. While people revel in the inexplicable failure of an English side to qualify for the first time since the disastrous reign of Graham Taylor, there is a willingness to take a key component of that management staff and thrust him with the responsibility of leading Ireland forward.
If the common consensus is that we need a leader to bring the best out of the players we have and possibly look for them to perform beyond their abilities to make it to South Africa in 2010, then it makes little sense to turn to someone who was a member of a set-up that has somehow succeeded in bringing the worst out of their vaunted stars.
But wait, it's not that simple. Or so we are told. The mess is apparently nothing to do with El Tel. After all, he wasn't the manager and had a strained relationship with McClaren long before they were handed their P45's yesterday.
So that's alright then. What that argument ignores, unfortunately, is what is understood to be a key reason behind their fall-out.
When McClaren was appointed, he turned to Venables because he was believed to be strong in the area of tactical flexibility. It was a common theme put forward at the time; Venables had been in this game before so his knowledge of systems would be an asset. During his time as England boss, he had experimented with a degree of success.
The problem was that Venables did not negotiate England through a qualifying group when he was in the hot-seat. Considering they were the hosts of Euro '96, he had the luxury of spending two years dithering around with various formations in a non-pressurised environment.
In the competition itself, the enduring memory is England's agonising penalty kick defeat to Germany in the semi-finals of the competition. Never mind that they should have lost to the Spanish but triumphed by the same method at the quarter- final stage or needed a missed penalty from Gary McAllister to help them past Scotland. Sure, it's a tad harsh to take away from his side's performances in that competition but host countries rarely fail to threaten in such tournaments.
Anyway, this is where we move onto this campaign where at an early stage the influence of Venables was apparent. England switched to his favoured 3-5-2 for last year's qualifier in Croatia and flopped. The root of the breakdown in the relationship between McClaren and Venables lies there. Since then, it has consistently leaked out that El Tel is unsatisfied with not being consulted properly about formations and team selection.
Leaks
Ah yes, the leaks. A central aspect behind the clamour for Venables has been strong media support which has been a feature of his career to date. He knows how to play the press pack and look after journalists.
He's a smart guy and his logic made sense. Keep a couple of the more influential members in the loop and the legacy will be stronger. Consequently, his track record in handling the media and the circus similar to what the Irish job has become is regarded as a positive. We are suckers, it seems, for a bit of charisma.
The momentum behind the Venables campaign in some quarters is, literally, frightening. Sure, he ticks several of the boxes for what is wanted from a replacement with plenty of experience and some notable achievements when he was working his way up the managerial ladder.
But his recent record is appalling. The only high point was his admittedly fine effort when saving Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough from the drop six years ago. Other than that, his Australia experiment didn't work, his spells with Portsmouth and Crystal Palace were embarrassing and his stint at Leeds -- although it was a club in turmoil -- was littered with gaffes in the transfer market.
The belief that he got a raw deal with England after departing due to his complicated business dealings (let's not go there) was why there was a concerted campaign to give him another shot with the Three Lions. Now, after that experiment failed spectacularly, our desire for a big personality is obviously enough to deem his recent endeavours irrelevant.
What's frustrating is that the thrills and spills at Wembley was the wrong game for the FAI to be keeping their eye on the other night. With a bit of luck, they were monitoring affairs in Porto where Finland's goalless draw against Portugal was not enough to book a spot in Austria and Switzerland for the visitors.
The Finns never quite threatened to get the win which would have brought them to the big stage for the first time but they have come remarkably close with a limited panel. In a difficult group, they have conceded just seven goals and their lack of firepower can be attributed to lengthy injuries suffered by main men Mikkel Forssell and Jari Litmanen.
Their English manager Roy Hodgson is likely to move on and not with the stench of failure. The Finnish FA is desperate to keep him there but his career has been characterised by the desire for a new challenge and Ireland comes under that bracket. He is out of contract and therefore free to talk.
Exploits
Now aged 60, Hodgson steered Switzerland to USA '94 and Euro '96 and while his club career has had its ups and downs, his Finnish exploits prove that the international game is where he thrives. Lazily, his claims for the Irish post will be mocked due to an unremarkable stint in charge of Blackburn 10 years ago. On the other hand, we must delve into Venables' history in a search for any kind of positive.
We shouldn't be looking for just a Premiership manager though, or someone we rate because we recognise them off the telly and reckon they'd be engaging company. What we need is an international boss whose methods still seem capable of securing results in an arena where a special kind of expertise is required.
That man is Hodgson, not Venables -- yet there's far more chance of the latter being handed the reins should he want them. Baffling, but then this is the country we live in. Chilly times indeed.
- Daniel McDonnell
Mind you, first time I've ever agreed with anything he has said. 
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