Sven's Vague Comments Give False Hope To Fringe Players

Is anyone else tired of hearing Sven say the door is still open? Yesterday he gave us this vague comment:

"We will announce the World Cup squad in May so of course there is time for players to force their way into the squad. The Uruguay game is the last game before the World Cup, but after it I will be going around watching matches as usual.

The reality is that certain players can book their summer holidays now. I'm talking about the likes James Beattie, Andy Johnson and Scott Parker. Players who Sven has overlooked all season but who might think they have a chance and will have their hopes falsely raised by Sven's comments.

He's never been a manager that selects teams on form. He should just be honest and confirm that no matter how badly they play between now and May, Jermaine Jenas and Owen Hargreaves will make the final 23.

England Or Newcastle?

If you're a high profile footbal manager looking for work the two big vacancies right now are at England and Newcastle. Given the choice, which of these two gigantic poisoned chalices would you take? Guus Hiddink, Sam Allardyce, Martin O'Neill and Felipe Scolari (pictured above, possibly mulling it over, possibly picking his nose) are some of the men who may be faced with this decision in the future, so to help them out here's the 45eachway guide to the two jobs:

SALARY
No contest, after Sven negotiated his salary up to around £4.5 million a year the England hotseat is the place to be. The Newcastle job should pay well above minimum wage, but it won't match what the FA offers. Shouldn't really matter though as none of the candidates are struggling to pay the bills.

WORKLOAD
In terms of man-hours, the England job is a lighter workload. You only have to coach your team every two or three months and you get free tickets to Premiership games of your choice. You do have to work every other summer though (hopefully). On the flipside most international managers complain about missing the 'day to day' involvement of club management. If you screw up at work (losing to Northern Ireland for example) you have to wait a while before you can put things right, which must be agonising.

TO-DO LIST
Newcastle need a turnaround, and quick. With Boumsong and Bramble looking more like a comedy duo than a defensive partnership, sorting out the centre backs is a priority. With the transfer window closed (Souness' firing came exactly one month too late) this will have to be rectified on the training ground.
After England's inevitable quater final penalty shoot out defeat in Germany, the new coaches first task will be to lift the national morale via some impressive performances en route to qualifying for Euro 2008. If England fail to qualify from their easy looking group the new man will be ripped to pieces by the press-pack. The Newcastle to-do list sounds harder but at least it comes with an excuse.

THE PRESS
The local Newcastle press is intense, and will scrutinise the new man to within an inch of his life. The national press is just as bad but has a larger audience. At least the Newcastle man could go to London for a breather. Worse, when you're England boss it's not just your professional but also your private (meaning sex) life which is up for debate. Though if you're smart you won't sleep with FA staff.

THE FANS
If Sven somehow earns his 4.5mil and wins the World Cup then the Swede's successor will have big shoes to fill. If Sven fails miserably the size of his shoes will be of no concern. England fans are notoriously fickle though and a couple of bad results, or even performances will lose the crowd.
Whoever takes the Newcastle job has nothing but five trophyless decades to live up to, and to begin with at least, will receive great support from the Toon Army. The price of the Toon Army's loyalty is that popular decisions are demanded. If you cross the fans heroes then you're finished (just ask Ruud Gullit).

originally published on Soccer-Weblog