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Sink or swim in Switzerland – England managers and their defining matches Sink or swim in Switzerland – England managers and their defining matches
(35 minutes later)
Roy Hodgson’s tenure as England manager has already extended beyond two years, eclipsed a number of his predecessors and regardless of the result in Switzerland, he should be the man to guide the Three Lions to Euro 2016. Absolved of some responsibilty for Euro 2012, he remains hostage to this summer’s disastrous World Cup campaign however and the fixture in Basel appears to be a defining match for the remainder of his reign. Here we look at previous England manager’s defining matches, who swam and sunk without a trace. Roy Hodgson’s tenure as England manager has already extended beyond two years, eclipsed a number of his predecessors and regardless of the result in Switzerland, he should be the man to guide the Three Lions to Euro 2016. Absolved of some responsibilty for Euro 2012, he remains hostage to this summer’s disastrous World Cup campaign however, and the fixture in Basel appears to be a defining match for the remainder of his reign. Here we look at previous England manager’s defining matches, those who swam and those who sunk.
Graham Taylor: Norway 2-0 England, 2 June 1993Graham Taylor: Norway 2-0 England, 2 June 1993
Ronald Koeman’s summer appointment at Southampton and England’s woes in Brazil brought Graham Taylor’s reign sharply into focus. Brian Moore was right, he was going to flick one and he did so, into the top corner leaving Taylor to bemoan, after a 2-2 draw, that the referee had cost him his job. Just a few months before that however, Taylor did not exactly do his long-term job prospects much good – switching to a 3-4-1-2 system (sound familiar?), drafting in Gary Pallister as an extra centre-back and Lee Sharpe as wing-back, in a 2-0 away defeat to group leaders Norway in June 1993. It made England’s qualification campaign for World Cup 94 all the more difficult and edged Taylor closer to his P45, regardless of what he told the linesman that night. Reign: 23 July 1990 – 23 November 1993 Ronald Koeman’s summer appointment at Southampton and England’s woes in Brazil brought Graham Taylor’s reign sharply into focus. Brian Moore was right, he was going to flick one and he did so, into the top corner, leaving Taylor to bemoan, after a 2-0 loss in Holland, that the referee had cost him his job. Just a few months before that however, Taylor did not exactly do his long-term job prospects much good – switching to a 3-4-1-2 system (sound familiar?), drafting in Gary Pallister as an extra centre-back and Lee Sharpe as wing-back, in a 2-0 away defeat to the group leaders Norway in June 1993. It made England’s qualification campaign for World Cup 94 all the more difficult and edged Taylor closer to his P45, regardless of what he told the linesman that night. Reign: 23 July 1990 – 23 November 1993
Terry Venables: Spain 0-0 England AET (pens, 2-4), 22 June 1996Terry Venables: Spain 0-0 England AET (pens, 2-4), 22 June 1996
Granted he had the luxury of avoiding qualification campaigns but England lost just once in the 24 matches that Venables occupied the dug-out. Even if friendlies were perhaps a modicum more meaningful back then, Venables must be gauged on England’s heady campaign at Euro 96. The victory over Scotland was a delight, not least for Paul Gascoigne’s volley but also because it was preceded by a nervous draw with Switzerland, and had a liberating effect that led to the 4-1 dismantling of Holland. The semi-final against Germany remains as good as it has got for England but it is the quarter-final that was Venables’s defining match, Stuart Pearce’s cathartic penalty against Spain ensuring a wave of public optimism and a rose-tinted view of the former Tottenham manager’s tenure ever since. Reign: 28 January 1994 – 26 June 1996Granted he had the luxury of avoiding qualification campaigns but England lost just once in the 24 matches that Venables occupied the dug-out. Even if friendlies were perhaps a modicum more meaningful back then, Venables must be gauged on England’s heady campaign at Euro 96. The victory over Scotland was a delight, not least for Paul Gascoigne’s volley but also because it was preceded by a nervous draw with Switzerland, and had a liberating effect that led to the 4-1 dismantling of Holland. The semi-final against Germany remains as good as it has got for England but it is the quarter-final that was Venables’s defining match, Stuart Pearce’s cathartic penalty against Spain ensuring a wave of public optimism and a rose-tinted view of the former Tottenham manager’s tenure ever since. Reign: 28 January 1994 – 26 June 1996
Glenn Hoddle: Italy 0-0 England, 11 October 1997Glenn Hoddle: Italy 0-0 England, 11 October 1997
It is hard to look beyond Saint-Etienne, the gallant defeat to Argentina, the sense of injustice at Sol Campbell’s disallowed goal and ultimately the feeling of pride in an England side that has so rarely been felt since, as Hoddle’s defining match as England manager. To get to that point however, was the goalless draw with Italy in Rome. England arrived needing just a point but it was no rearguard action. Paul Ince was bloodied but unbowed in a midfield that saw Paul Gascoigne run the show and England deservedly book their place at World Cup 98. Less than 18 months later Hoddle had left his post but that evening it seemed certain he would be the man to guide England into the 21st century. Glenn Hoddle’s reign: 27 June 1996 – 2 February 1999 It is hard to look beyond St-Etienne, the gallant defeat to Argentina, the sense of injustice at Sol Campbell’s disallowed goal and ultimately the feeling of pride in an England side that has so rarely been felt since, as Hoddle’s defining match as England manager. To get to that point however, was the goalless draw with Italy in Rome. England arrived needing just a point but it was no rearguard action. Paul Ince was bloodied but unbowed in a midfield that saw Paul Gascoigne run the show and England deservedly book their place at France 98. Less than 18 months later Hoddle had left his post but that evening it seemed certain he would be the man to guide England into the 21st century.
Reign: 27 June 1996 – 2 February 1999
Kevin Keegan: England 0-1 Scotland (Agg: 2-1), 17 November 1999Kevin Keegan: England 0-1 Scotland (Agg: 2-1), 17 November 1999
Keegan’s resignation – in the Wembley toilets – after England’s dismal defeat to Germany in the World Cup qualifier proved the breaking point for a popular manager, who earned plenty of admirers for the honesty with which he threw in the towel. But it is also easy to forget that Keegan oversaw an earlier victory over Germany at Euro 2000 – a doomed campaign brought to an abrupt end by defeat to Romania. Indeed, getting to that championship proved a job in itself – England engendering optimism with a 2-0 away win against Scotland in the first leg of the qualification play-off before slumping to a miserable 1-0 defeat at Wembley, a dichotomy which sums up Keegan’s tenure rather well. Qualification gave the former England captain a stay of execution but there was an inevitability about his departure at a sodden Wembley. Reign: 17 February 1999 – 7 October 2000 Keegan’s resignation – in the Wembley toilets – after England’s dismal defeat to Germany in the World Cup qualifier proved the breaking point for a popular manager, who earned plenty of admirers for the honesty with which he threw in the towel. But it is also easy to forget that Keegan oversaw an earlier victory over Germany at Euro 2000 – a doomed campaign brought to an abrupt end by defeat to Romania. Indeed, getting to that championship proved a job in itself – England engendering optimism with a 2-0 away win against Scotland in the first leg of the qualification play-off before slumping to a miserable 1-0 defeat at Wembley, a dichotomy which sums up Keegan’s tenure rather well. Qualification gave the former England captain a stay of execution but there was an inevitability about his departure at a sodden Wembley.
Reign: 17 February 1999 – 7 October 2000
Sven-Goran Eriksson: England 1-2 Brazil, 21 June 2002Sven-Goran Eriksson: England 1-2 Brazil, 21 June 2002
The longer England tread water under Hodgson, the better Eriksson years look. Three consecutive quarter-final appearances at major championships, losing out to Portugal twice and Brazil, are halcyon days compared to the fare served up in Brazil this summer. Eriksson lasted 67 matches but will be tainted by his conservative approach, overly reliant on his star names David Beckham and Michael Owen. The highlights of Eriksson’s five-and-a-half years in charge are manifold – Sapporo, 5-1 in Germany and Beckham’s one man show against Greece but it is the defeat to Brazil that defines the Swede most. Owen put England ahead in the 2002 World Cup quarter-final but Rivaldo denied Eriksson the chance to give his half-time teamtalk while still ahead. Ronaldinho then embarrassed David Seaman and Eriksson’s inability to find a way back into the match set the tone for the rest of his time in charge. The Euro 2004 defeat to France had a similar feel to it – a semblance that with the talent at his disposal, Eriksson ought to have achieved more. Reign: 12 January 2001 – 31 July 2006 The longer England tread water under Hodgson, the better the Eriksson years look. Three consecutive quarter-final appearances at major championships, losing out to Portugal twice and Brazil, are halcyon days compared to the fare served up in Brazil this summer. Eriksson lasted 67 matches but will be tainted by his conservative approach, overly reliant on his star names, David Beckham and Michael Owen. The highlights of his five-and-a-half years in charge are manifold – Sapporo, 5-1 in Germany and Beckham’s one-man show against Greece, but it is the defeat to Brazil that defines the Swede.
Owen put England ahead in the 2002 World Cup quarter-final but Rivaldo denied Eriksson the chance to give his half-time team talk while still ahead. Ronaldinho then embarrassed David Seaman and Eriksson’s inability to find a way back into the match set the tone for the rest of his time in charge. The Euro 2004 defeat to France had a similar feel to it – a semblance that with the talent at his disposal, Eriksson ought to have achieved more.
Reign: 12 January 2001 – 31 July 2006
Steve McClaren: Russia 2-1 England, 17 October 2007Steve McClaren: Russia 2-1 England, 17 October 2007
Second Choice Steve’s ill-fated tenure is the shortest of any England manager, lasting just 18 months before his infamous episode in the Wembley rain. Croatia, Scott Carson et al sealed McClaren’s fate but the writing was arguably on the wall from the start. Luiz Felipe Scolari decision to turn down the job, coupled with his ill-advised dropping of David Beckham to plan for a ‘different direction’ ensured McClaren’s reign was a stay of execution from the word go. The defeat to Croatia was the final nail in the coffin but the hammer blow to England’s qualification campaign was a month earlier in Moscow. England, on the unfamiliar synthetic surface of the Luzhniki Stadium, led Russia 1-0 with three-quarters of the game gone but two goals in four minutes from Roman Pavlyuchenko sent McClaren into a tailspin from which he would not recover. Reign: 1 August 2006 – 22 November 2007 Second-choice Steve’s ill-fated tenure is the shortest of any England manager, lasting just 18 months before his infamous episode in the Wembley rain. Croatia, Scott Carson et al sealed McClaren’s fate but the writing was arguably on the wall from the start. Luiz Felipe Scolari decision to turn down the job, coupled with his ill-advised dropping of David Beckham to plan for a ‘different direction’ ensured McClaren’s reign was a stay of execution from the word go. The defeat to Croatia was the final nail in the coffin but the hammer blow to England’s qualification campaign was a month earlier in Moscow. England, on the unfamiliar synthetic surface of the Luzhniki stadium, led Russia 1-0 with three-quarters of the game gone but two goals in four minutes from Roman Pavlyuchenko sent McClaren into a tailspin from which he would not recover.
Reign: 1 August 2006 – 22 November 2007
Fabio Capello: Croatia 1-4 England, 10 September 2008Fabio Capello: Croatia 1-4 England, 10 September 2008
The second longest server on this list, Capello was in charge for 42 matches, racking up a win percentage of 66.6 recurring. Not the most popular with either the players or the public – his draconian methods and exorbitant salary saw to that – but his qualification campaigns were serene compared to others on this list. It is almost six years to the day that Capello faced his first major test in Croatia, one his England side comfortably passed thanks to Theo Walcott’s treble. The Italian could not transfer such form to major competitions however and his reputation is synonymous with the bloodbath in Bloemfontein, shortly after John Terry’s failed coup. Reign: 7 January 2008 – 8 February 2012 The second longest server on this list, Capello was in charge for 42 matches, racking up a win percentage of 66.6%. Not the most popular with either the players or the public – his draconian methods and thumping salary saw to that – but his qualification campaigns were serene compared to others. It is almost six years to the day that Capello faced his first major test in Croatia, one his England side comfortably passed thanks to Theo Walcott’s hat-trick. The Italian could not transfer such form to major competitions however, and his reputation is defined by the bloodbath in Bloemfontein, shortly after John Terry’s failed coup.
Reign: 7 January 2008 – 8 February 2012