The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsIt’s been over seven years since Steve McClaren stood in the rain watching his England side lose to Croatia. The Newcastle job will be his sixth since the England axe fell on him, and yet this is his first chance to have another crack at the Premier League.
It was McClaren’s exploits in England’s top flight, with Newcastle’s rivals Middlesbrough that landed him the top job in English football. He was successful on Teesside in his five seasons with Middlesbrough, winning the League Cup, guiding them to final of the UEFA Cup and maintaining their status as an established Premier League Club. Despite this, it is only now that McClaren gets his second chance.
After being dismissed by England, McClaren found a home in Dutch football with FC Twente. In his first season he secured second place in the Eridivisie. In the 2009-10 season McClaren exceeded expectations again, guiding the club to the title for the first time in their history. On a personal level, McClaren was also successful, winning the Manager of the Season ward.
Following his success in Holland, McClaren was given the chance to manage in another major European league, the Bundesliga. He took charge of Wolfsburg. Although things started off well, Wolfsburg went on a poor run of form and by Christmas McClaren was clinging onto his job. In February Wolfsburg fell to 13th in the table and McClaren was sacked.
In 2011 McClaren returned to English football for the first time in four years with Nottingham Forest in the Championship. Forest were expected to be promotion candidates, but the club found themselves with only eight points after their first ten league games and McClaren left the club.
Following the setback, McClaren returned to former club FC Twente for a second spell at manager. However, he was unable to repeat his exploits second time around. Although he was given a hero’s welcome on his return, he was unable to get the club into a position to compete for the title. With criticism from fans growing, McClaren left the club by mutual consent.
With McClaren’s reputation in tatters, he took on a role with QPR, working as Harry Redknapp’s assistant. Just three months into his new role, he was approached by Derby County, a club he had played for as a player, and he was duly appointed manager. McClaren transformed Derby from a mid-table side into promotion contenders. A magnificent run saw the Rams just missed out on automatic promotion. Heartbreak followed in the play-offs as they were beaten in the final by the club McClaren started the season at, QPR. Despite failing to reach the Premier League, McClaren was praised for the way he had a moulded a young Derby squad into a slick passing outfit.
Derby went into the 2014-15 season as promotion favourites. They made a decent start and found themselves once again challenging at the top end of the table. However, after McClaren was linked with Newcastle mid-season, the wheels began to come off. Derby finished 8th and despite McClaren promising to stay on as manager, he was sacked by the club’s board.
Newcastle have wasted little time in finally securing the man they first set their sights on six months ago. This will be McClaren’s first job in the Premier League for nine years. McClaren is much more experienced than he was back then having tasted international and European football, and while McClaren has not been a success everywhere he has been, he deserves another chance in the Premier League. Now he must take that chance with both hands and be the man to turn around Newcastle’s fortunes.
