Après moi.....?

"Why should he get a penny?" was the front-page headline in one of the papers yesterday, and certainly is a question being asked by a lot of people in this country at the moment. "He" of course is Steve McClaren who was sacked as England manager following defeat in the Croatia match on Wednesday, and who, it is now revealed, will get £2.5m in compensation. Well, the answer's very simple - because that's what his contract says! He is doing no more than getting what he is legally entitled to under the terms of the agreement he entered into when he took on the job. You can argue whether or not the contract should have been drawn in that way, but that's a matter you would have to take up with the FA, and it may well be that that was the only way they could persuade him to accept what everybody knows is a poisoned chalice. After all, if you were considering going for a job where you knew that almost all of your predecessors had been fired - or left "by mutual agreement", which amounts to pretty much the same thing - you would be a wally if you didn't try to ensure that you would be protected financially should the same thing happen to you. And if you really want an example of "being paid for failure" look no further than the players, who are still there, still picking up their big fat pay cheques. Perhaps if their jobs were on the line, we might see a team with a bit more motivation and desire.