Football News: Should Newcastle Fans Be Glad Of McLaren

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Steve McClaren has had an extremely mixed coaching career, a wild ride in many ways. He started off as an assistant at Derby County and did enough there for Alex Ferguson to choose him as his assistant manager at Manchester United. He did well enough there to be asked to also help out as an assistant with England's national team.

From there his rise continued as Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson took a chance and made him Boro's new boss, where he led them to a UEFA Cup final and kept them competitive in the top half of the Prem. Soon England came calling and he left the Smoggies to take full charge of the national side, in what should have been the pinnacle of his career.

Sadly his time with England has indelibly marked his career with a black mark, as England failed to qualify for the Euros in 2008 and he was castigated in the media as 'the wally with the brolly'. He was almost hounded out of England by the coverage, ending up taking a job in the Dutch Eredivisie with FC Twente.

His time there was a success and he managed them to their first ever league title, but the English media were only interested in poking fun at an interview he did with an appallingly bad Dutch accent. VFL Wolfsburg saw enough to take him to the German Bundesliga, with his star once again in the ascendant, but it all turned sour once again and he was soon sacked by them and subsequently from his next job with Nottingham Forest.

A disappointing return to FC Twente saw his career looking pretty much over until Derby County decided to appoint him as their manager to much derision from rival fans and the media. He soon set about once again reviving his career as he made Derby a serious contender for promotion to the Premier League in his first season.

After failing to make it up through the play offs, last season saw the Rams among the favourites for promotion from the Championship, and they were soon up there at the head of the pack. A very public flirtation with Newcastle United saw Derby drop off the pace, ending the season with McClaren's sacking as Derby failed to return to the top flight.

The worst kept secret in football was finally confirmed when Steve McClaren was appointed manager of the Magpies to a very mixed reception from fans of the Toon. Will he once again be able to raise his career up or will it be yet another roadblock for him to hit?

McClaren has been unfairly labeled as a failure in the British press, he is clearly a very good coach, but he has shown a tendency to jump ship every time things are going well for him and take a 'better' offer. That to me is the main worry with him, even if he is successful, he will soon be on his way leaving the club to pick up the pieces.

He is exactly what Newcastle need in so many ways, a coach who can get the best out of players that are not the best, as Mike Ashley will never spend the money to buy top class talent. If only he had the loyalty to stay and see through a job, he might well be coming in to the Newcastle role as a fan favourite, instead of someone that divides opinion so bitterly.

Written by Tris Burke June 12 2015 19:32:21