After a quick look through England's recent qualifying past (since the 1984 Euro campaign) in both the European Championship and World Cup, the following facts popped out:
- Euro 2008 was the only instance where England lost 3 qualifiers. It's the only time they've played 12 games, but still a telling fact.
- 16 goals scored at home was the highest tally since the 1994 WC qualifiers when England also scored 16...and didn't qualify.
- In the WC 2002 campaign, England qualified on the last day after a draw with Greece. They conceded 6 goals during qualification. For Euro 2008 and WC 1994, they conceded 7 and 9 respectively.
These few tidbits add up to some of the damning evidence against Steve McClaren, who unsurprisingly lost his job with the FA this morning.
The final qualifying game yesterday was dreadful, with many of McClaren's personnel changes failing to pay off. Carson was an embarrassment, Wright-Phillips was ineffective and the five-man midfield simply looked clogged.
I sincerely hope Brian Barwick, chief executive of the FA and the man responsible for appointing McClaren, is being honest when he says he plans to rebuild the England team. It is a process that is long overdue.
The other sad result from yesterday was Northern Ireland's loss to Spain in Las Palmas. This means that the British Isles will be absent from a major tournament for the first time since the 1984 Euro in France.
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