Was it Wrong of Me...

...to laugh uproariously when Scott Carson let that first Croatian goal in last night? By the time he'd conceded the second I was rolling on my living room floor in fits of uncontrollable laughter. The source of my unalloyed joy was two-fold. On the one hand, England's certain defeat after those two goals would surely mean the long overdue dismissal of Steve McClaren as manager. Indeed, he was sacked this morning, paving the way for the FA to employ somebody competent in the role. (Although, knowing the FA, they'll probably appoint Sam Allardyce instead). Secondly, as a (still estranged) Spurs fan, I was happy to see the much vaunted pretender to Paul Robinson's Number One jersey prove that he isn't fit to lace Robbo's boots, let alone be selected ahead of him for international duty.

Actually, the selection of Carson as goalie for such a crucial match summed up everything that was wrong with McClaren's approach. OK, so I can understand that, in view of Robinson's recent dip in form, there was a case for resting him. But to replace him with a keeper who had played only one international match previously was nothing short of irresponsible. Particularly bearing in mind that another, far more experienced keeper, David James - who is enjoying a great run of form with Pompey - was available. As for the decision to play only that lanky streak of piss Crouch up front, don't get me started. So, all-in-all, despite a slight pang of guilt at laughing at the England team's misfortune, I don't think it was wrong of me to react in that way. Let's face it, although failure to qualify for Euro 2008 is a disappointment, in the long-term it's for the best. We're rid of McClaren now - even if we'd qualified, any team managed by him would have embarrassed us at the finals. All we can do now is hope the FA select the next manager wisely and look forward to the 2010 World Cup.