Steve McClaren

[Robster]

I don't buy the players losing focus after we tried to poach him like, and if that was the case I certainly don't want a manager at the club who loses the dressing room the moment his name appears in the papers.

To be fair, similar thing happened to Man Utd when Ferguson first tried to retire. That was a team including Beckham, Keane etc and they completely collapsed, allowing Arsenal to win the league.

[TRon]

Just going through a Derby forum and they really do seem to rate him on there.

 

http://dcfcfans.uk/forum/4-rams-talk/

 

​

Every interview where Newcastle was mentioned he just wouldn't rule it out. Other links he has, you could tell there was something in it.

 

The amount of talk regarding Newcastle on this board was proof that nobody knew what he was going to do, including the man himself.

 

The important thing from the moment he was asked to leave was to get him gone. He couldn't stay after that, his position was untenable. I'm glad he's gone in the sense that we wouldn't have moved past this and he had to go due to what has happened recently.

 

I'm sad he's gone because watching Derby County Football Club under his stewardship has brought more pleasure than watching them than under any other manager, regardless of successes. It's testament to just how well he's done here, the fact that people were demanding for him gone because we finished EIGTH. I used to get giddy under Clough when I could see us on the table without having to wait for the bottom half of it to show.

 

Good luck Steve, we move on. Both hopefully on to further success.

[Shays Given Tim Flowers]

A brave new world then eh?! Not much! Lessons not being learned again - more of the same, which is what most of us knew would happen.

 

What lessons? Don't want to sound like a dick but the club is set up to stay in the Premier League, which it did. There's nothing credible to suggest Ashley desires anything other than more of the same.

[Big Geordie]

A brave new world then eh?! Not much! Lessons not being learned again - more of the same, which is what most of us knew would happen.

 

What lessons? Don't want to sound like a dick but the club is set up to stay in the Premier League, which it did. There's nothing credible to suggest Ashley desires anything other than more of the same.

 

3 relegation scraps in 7 years show that they aren't learning. It's all about hitting the bottom line, spending as little cash as possible whilst continuing to openly lie to supporters, offering hope..... when there is none.

[Guest Roger Kint]

I really do think he will be a decent appointment. Maybe not as ambitious as we'd hoped, but certainly a good solid appointment.

 

Never in the world? It isnt as ambitious as sunderland deserve let alone us

[Shays Given Tim Flowers]

A brave new world then eh?! Not much! Lessons not being learned again - more of the same, which is what most of us knew would happen.

 

What lessons? Don't want to sound like a dick but the club is set up to stay in the Premier League, which it did. There's nothing credible to suggest Ashley desires anything other than more of the same.

 

3 relegation scraps in 7 years show that they aren't learning. It's all about hitting the bottom line, spending as little cash as possible whilst continuing to openly lie to supporters, offering hope..... when there is none.

 

 

I agree but that is his business model working as far as he is concerned.

[Parsley]

I happen to think Derby's initial rise says more about Clough than it does about McClaren

Why was Clough sacked then? You can't have it both ways like.

 

Didn't realise I was trying to. Clough is s**** and had the club in a falsely poor position. That doesn't make McClaren good enough to manage Newcastle United.

Fair enough. I thought you were arguing that McClaren somehow owed any success he had at Derby to the 'positive' foundationa laid by Clough.

[Guest firetotheworks]

One thing I will say. And it's a bit of a strange one. The best thing that he has going for him is that he's turned down Ashley a few times. Anyone with a modicum of self respect would do that. Therefore I can only assume that he has a modicum of self respect.

[St1pe]

I don't see the point in hiring anyone if the same flawed coaching staff are going to remain exactly the same.

[Super Duper Branko Strupar]

He's probably going to be the 3rd best manager we've hired since Keegan was first manager. That's fucking depressing. Maybe Dalglish came with more pedigree, which obviously quickly fucked off.

[r0cafella]

Let's not judge McClaren by his achievements or lack of with a championship side.

 

He may have got them playing decent football but I'm sure how reputation which would be good for a championship club will have got him some respect.

 

Our hopeless lot are a different story sadly.

[Hanshithispantz]

Did he actually have them playing decent football like? I never saw them under him but I'm just struggling to imagine it

 

 

[KaKa]

If that whopper is appointed I'm going to shag Mike Ashleys daughter (how old is she?)

 

She'd probably end up having a son.

 

Leading to yet another generation of the Ashley family continuing to own the club.

 

Guess who wins again ...

[Wullie]

I happen to think Derby's initial rise says more about Clough than it does about McClaren

Why was Clough sacked then? You can't have it both ways like.

 

Didn't realise I was trying to. Clough is s**** and had the club in a falsely poor position. That doesn't make McClaren good enough to manage Newcastle United.

Fair enough. I thought you were arguing that McClaren somehow owed any success he had at Derby to the 'positive' foundationa laid by Clough.

 

I see how it could have read that way. Clough's only had Football League jobs cos of who his dad was imo.

[Wullie]

Did he actually have them playing decent football like? I never saw them under him but I'm just struggling to imagine it

 

I only tended to see them when it was on Sky when it actually mattered, twice against Boro, against Wolves towards the end of the season with both after a play off place, and in the derby against Forest. They were startlingly bad in all four games. Suspect there was a hint of the flat track bully about them.

 

They should have beat QPR in the play off the year before like.

[Disco]

Did he actually have them playing decent football like? I never saw them under him but I'm just struggling to imagine it

 

 

 

The 3x I watched them they were very good (won 5 nowt), OK (won by a goal), and then absolute shat their pants (lost in the derby v Forest)

[Elliottman]

The only positive I can muster up is that I suspect he'll have the ability to get us playing something that resembles football again.  I've no idea what his footballing philosophies are and everything you read about him brings mixed results.

 

An utterly boring and uninspiring appointment if it happens but a lot will depend on the quality of player the club decide to bring in too.

 

Would not bang.

[EthiGeordie]

Reassessing Steve McClaren’s nine months at Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga

The former England manager joined Wolfsburg at arguably the peak of his career, having won the Eredivisie with Twente. He moved to the Bundesliga to continue his continental renaissance but it didn’t quite work out as he had hoped

Wednesday 13 May 2015

 

 

England managers often fall foul of missed penalty kicks but in the case of Steve McClaren it wasn’t an England player that sealed his fate, but a Brazilian. In the 80th minute of Wolfsburg’s away match at Hannover 96, and with his team trailing 1-0, his struggling side had a chance to get back into the game and gain a creditable away point when the referee awarded a penalty. What happened next was both a symptom of his lack of authority among the squad and the final nail in his coffin.

 

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Diego, the victim of the foul, immediately picked himself up and grabbed the ball. The designated penalty taker, Patrick Helmes, switched to autopilot and strode towards the Brazilian pointing to himself, only to be brushed aside. Clearly confused, Helmes looked over to the McClaren on the Wolfsburg bench and relayed the message to Diego who – without turning around to acknowledge his wildly gesticulating manager – sent Helmes away and set himself for the spot kick.

 

As the penalty crashed against the bar, Diego stood rooted to the spot and the camera cut straight to a furious McClaren on the sideline. Red-faced, he screamed his disapproval in the Brazilian’s direction, stomping back to the bench, constantly turning back to shout what can only have been expletives towards his player. Not only had he disobeyed a direct instruction and undermined his manager in public, but he had consigned his team to the defeat that would ultimately cost McClaren his job. Wolfsburg announced McClaren’s sacking the day after the match, saying they had lost faith in his ability to turn around the club’s fortunes.

 

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McClaren joined the 2009 Bundesliga champions at what was arguably the high point of his career to date. Having been hounded out of England following his ill-fated tenure with the national team, he went looking for pastures new and was a surprise appointment at Dutch club FC Twente in the Eredivisie.

 

This was a brave and intriguing choice for McClaren, who before failing with England had made his name as Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United, as the main man at Middlesbrough and later as Sven-Göran Eriksson’s No2 with the Three Lions. Despite his credentials and undisputed qualities as a coach, McClaren left for the Netherlands with his reputation – and most probably his pride – severely bruised having failed to lead England to Euro 2008.

 

If his move to the Eredivisie caught some people off guard, then the level of success he enjoyed was just shy of incredible. Having success in the Eredivisie with a team that is not Ajax, PSV or Feyenoord is an achievement not to be sniffed at.

 

And, lo and behold, in his first season with Twente, the man last seen staring on to a damp Wembley pitch with a glazed look in his eye, sheltering under a large FA-sponsored umbrella, finished as league and cup runner up. McClaren brought real glory to Twente in the following season, leading them to their first Eredivisie title in the club’s history. In doing so, he also became the first Englishman to win a top-level league abroad since Bobby Robson’s success at Porto in the mid-1990s.

 

McClaren

Steve McClaren celebrates as Twente win the Eredivisie in 2010. Photograph: Koen van Weel/EPA

McClaren was once again hot property and was tempted to the Bundesliga soon after to join Wolfsburg, making him the first ever Englishman to manage a top-flight German club. Backed by the millions of car-manufacturing giants Volkswagen, the club’s owners and sponsors, Die Wölfe had assembled a star-studded squad and were looking to once again challenge for the league title they had relinquished so timidly the previous season.

 

This was an opportunity for the former England boss to place himself among the upper echelons of Europe’s elite managers. Things, however, started badly. To be fair to McClaren, he was thrown in at the deep end – with the league schedule having him start at the Allianz Arena against defending champions Bayern.

 

Thomas Müller, the revelation of that summer’s World Cup in South Africa, gave Louis van Gaal’s side an early lead, but Wolfsburg did not let themselves be overrun and equalised through Edin Dzeko early in the second half. Far from simply hanging on, McClaren’s team had chances to win the game before Bastian Schweinsteiger struck at the death to seal the points.

 

A 2-1 away defeat to Bayern is no disgrace for any team. Nevertheless, had Wolfsburg started with a point from this game, things may have turned out differently. As it transpired, Schweinsteiger’s last-ditch winner was a prelude to an overarching drama that would characterise McClaren’s brief tenure in Germany’s top flight.

 

The fact that so few Englishmen, players or otherwise, try their luck beyond our shores has been widely reported and lamented. And although I have no vested interest in VfL Wolfsburg, and to be honest find them to be rather soulless and uninspiring, I wanted McClaren to do well – to see his bold and ambitious decision rewarded.

 

He could have easily dined out on his success with Twente and strolled into a decent job in England, his reputation repaired and his ego massaged. Still, he chose to continue his development and to learn what it means to be successful in another league, another culture. In short, he backed himself, and you have to respect that.

 

At this time, I was still relatively new to Germany and hadn’t pledged my allegiances to any one club. And although I was certainly no Wolfsburg fan, McClaren’s German jaunt gave me something to follow.

 

If the injury-time defeat to Bayern on the opening day set the tone, then his first home match would have left the ex-England man with little doubt as to the kind of season he was about to have.

 

Buoyed by the performance against the champions, Wolfsburg went into the first home match of the season against Mainz 05 full of optimism. The hardest fixture of the season – on paper, at least – was over and it was now time to kick on. And kick on they did. A doppelpack from Dzeko and a goal from the manager’s soon-to-be least-favourite Brazilian, Diego, gave Wolfsburg a 3-0 lead after only 30 minutes. With the August sun shining over the packed Volkswagen Arena, McClaren was enjoying a dream home debut and could have been forgiven for thinking that this Bundesliga business was going to be a doddle.

 

However, as any regular viewer of German football will know, the Bundesliga is as unforgiving and unpredictable as any league in Europe. It is a league that had crowned three different champions in the four seasons prior to McClaren’s arrival. It was also, and still is, a competition that regularly throws up surprise results, comebacks and multiple-goal thrillers at a rate at least comparable to the Premier League. Still, he would have felt confident that his first three points were safely tucked under his belt.

 

After an hour, however, it was 3-3. Determined not to let the game slip away, McClaren flung on Grafite, scorer of 39 goals in 49 league games over the previous two campaigns. But, despite the increased firepower, it was Thomas Tuchel – successor to Jürgen Klopp’s throne at Mainz (and Borussia Dortmund) – whose team came out on top, thanks to an 85th-minute winner. Willkommen in Deutschland Mr McClaren! The images in that evening’s Sportschau program of the former England coach slumped in his dugout, head in hands were something we would see often that season, with increasing levels of sympathy.

 

Another defeat on match day three, this time at the hands of eventual champions Borussia Dortmund, saw the team firmly ensconced at the wrong end of the table. The pressure was already on.

 

Backed by the coffers of Volkswagen, Wolfsburg had assembled an impressive squad. Although they lost Zvjezdan Misimovic, who had laid on an impressive 20 assists when they won the league, the majority of the title-winning squad was intact and there were notable additions in Diego, Mario Mandzukic and Arne Friedrich, a regular in the Germany team that played at the 2010 World Cup. McClaren also beat off interest from elite clubs in Serie A and the Premier League to sign Danish defender Simon Kjaer from Palermo.

 

When he joined the club, McClaren’s remit was to challenge for the league, not scrap to stay in it. Thankfully for him, the team’s quality started to show and they were unbeaten in their next four league games, winning three in the process and hoisting themselves up the table to the European places.

 

Despite the welcome upturn in fortunes and the wealth of attacking options, Wolfsburg were wobbly at the back – and the aforementioned Kjaer was arguably the main culprit. The blond defender, and Danish Talent of the Year 2009, always looked good for a mistake and often seemed panicky on the ball. In their next home game following the unbeaten run, Wolfsburg once again managed to turn three points into zero, allowing a 2-0 lead on 72 minutes to end in a 3-2 defeat at the hands Bayer Leverkusen. McClaren, understandably, was furious – and unfortunately things were not about to get much better.

 

After being tamed by Leverkusen, the Wolves won only two of the next 13 league games, including a run of seven draws in a row. Week after week McClaren would switch between being furious and frustrated on the touchline and downbeat and disheveled in the post-match interview. He was beginning to look helpless and the team looked in danger of being in real trouble.

 

Speculation surrounding his position was rife, but in the winter break the club publicly backed their man – only to send him packing six weeks later, following Diego’s petulant penalty shenanigans in Hannover. Despite his efforts, he had left the 2009 champions sliding towards the second tier, leaving them only one point above the dreaded relegation play-off position. To make matters worse, star striker Edin Dzeko was packing his bags to join Manchester City.

 

After leaving England for the Netherlands, McClaren’s stock had risen considerably. There was recognition for his success with Twente and admiration for his moxy in going to Germany, so much so that he was even talked about as a genuine contender to succeed the outgoing Fabio Capello in the England job – an amazing turnaround in fortunes and public perception. After being sacked by Wolfsburg, however, he was knocked down a peg – and league – re-entering the game at Nottingham Forest in the Championship.

 

 

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Of course, McClaren has since worked his way back up the managerial food chain and is now trying to return to the Premier League with Derby County. Still, there is more than a tinge of regret and thoughts of what might have been for the Bundesliga’s first English manager.

 

Apparently McClaren had been coming on well with his German lessons (and soon abandoned simply speaking English as if he was German) and, despite being situated in one of the less attractive parts of the country, he had embraced the challenge and seemed to be in it for the long haul.

 

It is regrettable that things didn’t work out as he had hoped. Nevertheless, his decision to try his hand in Germany should be applauded and he will hopefully not be the first and last to do so. He probably retains a good grasp of basic German phrases and vocabulary, however, the ones he may have used on that day in Hannover are almost certainly unfit for publication.

 

• This article first appeared on Englische Woche

• Follow Englische Woche on Twitter

 

More features Topics

Steve McClaren  Bundesliga  European club football  Wolfsburg  England

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Pos Team P GD Pts Form

1 Bayern 34 62 79

Won against Hertha Berlin Lost to Leverkusen Lost to Augsburg Lost to SC Freiburg Won against Mainz

2 Wolfsburg 34 34 69

Lost to M'gladbach Drew with Hannover Won against Paderborn Won against Dortmund Drew with Cologne

3 M'gladbach 34 27 66

Won against Wolfsburg Won against Hertha Berlin Won against Leverkusen Won against Werder Bremen Lost to Augsburg

4 Leverkusen 34 25 61

Drew with Cologne Won against Bayern Lost to M'gladbach Won against TSG Hoffenheim Lost to Eintracht Frankfurt

5 Augsburg 34 0 49

Lost to Hamburg Drew with Cologne Won against Bayern Lost to Hannover Won against M'gladbach

6 Schalke 34 2 48

Lost to Mainz Won against Stuttgart Lost to Cologne Won against Paderborn Lost to Hamburg

7 Dortmund 34 5 46

Won against Eintracht Frankfurt Drew with TSG Hoffenheim Won against Hertha Berlin Lost to Wolfsburg Won against Werder Bremen

8 TSG Hoffenheim 34 -6 44

Won against Hannover Drew with Dortmund Lost to Eintracht Frankfurt Lost to Leverkusen Won against Hertha Berlin

9 Eintracht Frankfurt 34 -6 43

Lost to Dortmund Lost to Werder Bremen Won against TSG Hoffenheim Drew with Hertha Berlin Won against Leverkusen

10 Werder Bremen 34 -15 43

Drew with Paderborn Won against Eintracht Frankfurt Drew with Hannover Lost to M'gladbach Lost to Dortmund

Bundesliga

View full Bundesliga table

 

[St1pe]

I actually voted for McClaren on one of the polls on here earlier in the season but since he's turned us down twice it put me right off him.

 

I can remember watching him doing the punditry in our game v Benfica and he was really quite animated at what he viewed were simple tactical changes that could have turned the game in our favour. It was during the time Pardew was doing his usual shit tactics, shit team selection and I was itching for us to replace Pards with someone with at least a shred of tactical know how.

 

McClaren's ex-players often rave about how good of a coach he is so at the very least he'll be a vast improvement on what we've been used to. The general opinion of his is so low across our fan base I don't think it will be too difficult for him to change a few minds as well.

[mattypnufc]

Director at work is a die hard Derby fan.  Say's they played some of the best football he's seen under McClaren. 

 

Personally, I'm not a fan of him but he's infinitely better than Pardew/Carver but wholly uninspiring.

[Optimistic Nut]

@MsiDouglas: McClaren for #nufc. Carver set to stay on. In short, United opt to revisit January plan: http://t.co/XRIYgxd0w5 http://t.co/LNFGeN8rQX

 

Carver staying then

http://m.burtonmail.co.uk/Ince-playing-Derby-way/story-26130065-detail/story.html

@MsiDouglas: McClaren for #nufc. Carver set to stay on. In short, United opt to revisit January plan: http://t.co/XRIYgxd0w5 http://t.co/LNFGeN8rQX

 

Carver staying then

 

 

Basically revisiting December 2010. The last four years of mere existence clearly too good to miss out on in the future

 

Revisiting September 2004 really when he first turned us down when Carver was Caretaker.

[Teasy]

I don't see the point in hiring anyone if the same flawed coaching staff are going to remain exactly the same.

 

He's a coach himself though, its not as if he's forced to let Carver and co do exactly as they please.  Would be far better if they were gone of course.

[Guest Roger Kint]

@MsiDouglas: McClaren for #nufc. Carver set to stay on. In short, United opt to revisit January plan: http://t.co/XRIYgxd0w5 http://t.co/LNFGeN8rQX

 

Carver staying then

http://m.burtonmail.co.uk/Ince-playing-Derby-way/story-26130065-detail/story.html

@MsiDouglas: McClaren for #nufc. Carver set to stay on. In short, United opt to revisit January plan: http://t.co/XRIYgxd0w5 http://t.co/LNFGeN8rQX

 

Carver staying then

 

 

Basically revisiting December 2010. The last four years of mere existence clearly too good to miss out on in the future

 

Revisiting September 2004 really when he first turned us down when Carver was Caretaker.

 

[Guest Roger Kint]

Few people saying some form of announcement is imminent with official stuff on Tuesday when he is back. What a time to be alive, just wish i was as mind numbingly dumb enough to think better than Carver is a valid reason to accept this

[ilikenewcastle]

Did he actually have them playing decent football like? I never saw them under him but I'm just struggling to imagine it

 

He did, and they were involved in a lot of high scoring matches. One thing that's also forgotten (because of last season's disastrous run in) is that he left Derby in a much better shape than they were when he took over. Can't say that's enough to get me too excited though...