Steve Mclaren In Possible Return To Club Management

The ‘wolly in the brolly’ as described by some sections of the media section , or Steve Mclaren known to most has been speculated to be leaving the English game for a team who wear a European Football Shirt, FC Twente in the Dutch league.  Current FC Twente coach Fred Rutten was believed today to be on the verge of leaving the club ensuring an open path for Mclaren’s appointment as manager. Mclaren was is Holland recently to experience the club qualifying for next season’s Champions League , an achievement that would tempt any manager to take the reigns of a new club.

Mclaren’s career to date has been a controversial one, enjoying success and failures both domestically and internationally. He was appointed the manager of the England national side for one of the shortest periods in history following the departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson, where he did the fans who buy England football shirts wrong by failing to reach the finals of Euro 2008. There were a number of significant events that increased the downwards spiral of his England managerial career. In Zagreb for example against a Croatia side that hadn’t lost a home game in a number of years, he played an experimental 3-5-2 formation which backfired, consequentially losing the game two nil. Mclaren subsequently failed to get the England team to this summers European Championships and was given a golden handshake by the FA. Mclaren’s achievements in club football – with Middlesbrough FC was however more successful. He got them to the Uefa cup final (losing 4-0 to Sevilla) and won the Carling cup. Before management he was a successful assistant manager to Alex Ferguson of Manchester United. Ferguson, regarded as one of the true great managers of the world acted as a solid mentor to Mclaren.

FC Twente is not the only team to be linked with Mclaren. Getafe of La Liga has also shown an interest in securing Mclaren’s services for next season.

Mclaren has recently made a significant effort to broaden his horizons in the world of football, by learning Spanish, visiting Barcelona and learning Dutch coaching methods. The next few weeks will be a testing time for Mclaren and will ultimately make or break his career in football management.