Is Klinsmann the right man for the England job?

   

   The word that comes up most frequently when discussing Jurgen Klinsmann is ‘polarising’.

             To some, the favourite for the England manager’s job is a reformer who helped set in motion Germany’s return to the summit of international football and is building for a similarly bright future in the United States.

             To others, he was a failure at Bayern Munich without Joachim Low by his side and has taken more credit than he has actually earned for his work across the Atlantic.

           If Klinsmann is at the front of the queue to replace Roy Hodgson it is not difficult to see why the Football Association, who once again find themselves questioning the very foundations of the national game, have been attracted by his reputation for building from the ground up. "He would fit well [with England],” Olivier Bierhoff, a close confidant of Klinsmann’s who worked under him with the German team, said this week.

             "We started together in 2004 and it isn't always easy with him, because he wants to change things. But he brings motivation with him. He has the courage to change things and make difficult decisions, and sometimes that is exactly what you need.”

          “In my opinion he absolutely would be perfect for England,” Maximilian Schmeckel of Goal Germany adds. “Firstly, he speaks perfect English having played for Spurs and lived in California for years. He also knows English football because he played for Tottenham.

Jurgen Klinsmann was USA haed coach and has got to go. It’s not that we lost 4-0 to one of the best teams in the world featuring one of the greatest footballers of all time. It’s not that we came out showing the deference of a whipped puppy. It’s not that the United States now mostly seems to perform only with “backs against the wall.”

           It’s that 5 years and some $12.5 million later, the results haven’t changed. Klinsmann hasn’t used his “knowledge and experience” to “advance the program.”

The 2014 World Cup was Klinsmann’s 1st “real test” as a manager. Fair play to him, the United States emerged out of a tough group. Then it lost in the first round of the knockout stages. Bob Bradley, the previous manager, made it just as far in the 2010 World Cup (and on about a fifth of the salary). Bruce Arena made it to the quarterfinals in the 2002 World Cup. Would you call that progress?

           Or look at the Gold Cup. The United States won the 2013 Gold Cup with Klinsmann at the helm. But the United States had been at least finalists in the previous four Gold Cups. A Gold Cup win is expected. Fast-forward to the 2015 version, four years into Klinsmann’s reign. One-goal victories over Honduras and Haiti. A draw with Panama. A six-goal win over Cuba followed by a loss to Jamaica and a loss in the third place match to Panama. Add in a missed opportunity to go to the Confederations Cup. Would you call that progress?

          The youth sides don’t seem to offer any more proof of advancement. The Under-23s failed (yet again) to qualify for the Olympics. The Under-20s and Under-17s have shown little to no improvement in their World Cup performances.