World Cup Dreams

The Manager

How can we win this? I really don't know what to do. We came into this tournament as one of the dark horses but our performances have left a lot to be desired. Before it started I had it all, a great squad, fantastic fans and plenty of passion and hope. What do I have now? A striker that can't hit the target from two yards out, a midfield that have lost the ability to pass the ball, a defence that can only tackle by trying to break the opposition’s legs and a goalkeeper who can't catch.

These are not the players I qualified with, well they are but they did not play like this. As I look down the bench I see a lack of experience and no real game changers, but I need to do something or we will limp out of this World Cup. A laughing stock when there was so much hope.

The problem is not only what formation to change to or who I bring on but, more importantly, who I take off. Those eleven on the pitch are established names. They are key parts of elite club sides. If I take one off and we lose the media will have a field day, "why did he take him off?' they will ask, “he was clearly their best player,” they will say. In the same vain if I leave them on and we lose I will be lambasted for sticking with the old formula when we needed something different.

It is alright if the players have one bad tournament, they get World Cups and continental championships every couple of years. Just by playing well in the next they will be fine. Why, as a manager, do I not get that luxury? If we go out only one man's head is on the line, mine! But I have picked the best team and thought about tactics for every game, it is those guys on the pitch that haven't performed. Sometimes I feel like the scapegoat for others ineptitude. A player has a bad game and I did not manage him correctly, the team do not play well and I have chosen the wrong tactics, the nation’s Football Association pick the wrong place to train and I have hindered our preparations even though I told them of their error.

The stress gets to you all the time, it makes you think twice before doing anything. But I don't want to regret this moment for the rest of my life, I would rather go out having tried something different than just fade away, too scared to do anything at all. I want to be thought of as a manger that was proactive, that saw a problem and tried to solve. At the end of the day I am the boss, I am in charge and I will do something to sort out this shambles whatever the consequences.