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It’s no news that the hot favourite for the England job is Jose Mourinho. From football experts to ex-players to press columnists, almost everyone seems to be almost unanimous about TSO taking over the under-performing England.

When Derek Robson wants TSO as the manager for England, you can find out how intense it is. The Telegraph does its part in lobbying for JM but knows and says that he is over qualified for the job! Terry has also voted to work under Jose again.

The other contenders are Harry Redknapp, Marcello Lippi, Capello etc. For some reason, I don’t think FA is looking for an English coach. At the same time, with Lippi and Capello, there’s going to be communication issues as their English as poor as my Italian. Harry Redknapp rues that he got arrested for the match-fixing allegations or whatever. May be, he would not be in contention any longer due to this.

What does FA need or England national team need? Under Sven, England were said to be underachieving but under McClaren we all realise that we were over-expecting when it came to England, because they are not such a good team after all. Under Sven, England did not get those trophies or get anywhere near it, but under McClaren they simply got humiliated.

To start with, England should not want anymore humiliations, England should start winning the games that they should. When they want a draw at home, they should get it, no excuses here at all. Simply put, they should be in control of their destiny as much as possible. They have all the talent at their disposal to do this. Both Sven and McClaren were very bad media handlers. I believe poor media handlers cannot be great motivators. It is just all about how effectively and smartly they communicate. They want results and they want a manager who can shut mouths, of the Press or of their own players or of the Croatian coach.

This where TSO fits in. He has an incredible trackrecord and one of the most acclaimed manager of his times. There’s hardly any who could say he can’t turn around England. He can pretty much turn around any team (read Spurs). So the question is not so much about JM fitting the England job. It is more on whether he would like to take this job and FA can pay him the price. Of course, JM is an expensive manager, who delivers the money’s worth and more.

JM is young and he is big in club football. If he is available, the biggies are going to be after him. He might always rate club football above international football. He wants to be in the buzz. He wants to see his team play every week. He wants to be with the players as much as possible. With international football, you’re going to be working with an occasionally assembled team playing once in a few months. The carrots are the prospect of winning the world cup and, of course, the big pay packet FA might offer, especially for JM.

In his previous interviews, JM has said that he would go back to international football only at the last stage of his career and it would only be the Portuguese national team. Still, for the right price, FA can tempt JM if not convince him.

Being the manager of England gives JM the power and the authority that could renew his contacts and rivalries in England. For the premier league managers, to see JM as the England coach would be little uncomfortable. Most (or all?) of the England players play in the premier league. All these English league managers would have to negotiate with JM for the availability of players etc. Think of the conversation between JM and Avram Grant for releasing Chelsea players a couple of days earlier or how he will deal with this issue in the Press!

Finally, the fans are absolutely drooling over the possibility JM for England. I’ve read/seen many many blogs, websites, sports news reports – JM seems to be the near unanimous choice for the job. There is even this website – http://mourinhoforengland.co.uk – which is a kind of an online petition for hiring JM for the England job. The desperation of the England fans can be understood when I say this website got 10,000 hits within 48 hours. Read the first line of that page! I’m not surprised that the Man Utd fans are hoping to get JM and they may not want him to take the England job for that.

The next competitive match for England is not in the next few months. FA can take their own time in finalising the candidate but JM would find himself managing a major club next season, if FA does not act quickly enough. Personally, I’d like JM to work with a club, which would be more competitive and fun. I’d like to see JM as an opponent and how he deals with us and how we deal with him. For FA to offer or for JM to take up another job, it’s going to take many months, unless Rafa gets sacked mid-season as rumours say the American owners of Liverpool want JM to manage Liverpool. Too many permutations and combinations possible at this moment. Will be interesting to see them unfold in the next few months.

{democracy:82}