Steve McClaren can't have any qualms about being sacked this morning. It's a shame he didn't resign - at least he might have ended with a shred of dignity. Instead, he is clinging on for compensation - which is really for people who deserve it.

McClaren doesn't. What were his achievements over the past eighteen months? Emile Heskey in the home win over Russia was as good as it got. He said "judge me after twelve games" - fair enough. Level on points with Israel having been beaten twice by Croatia, the only decent opponent in the group.

Has there been a worse period than this for England for decades? Failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup under Graham Taylor is always mentioned as a low point but that flop was basically down to two defeats by Holland and Norway. In this qualifying campaign, five out of the twelve games were awful: Croatia home and away, Macedonia at home, Russia away, Israel away. What a dire ratio that is.

It would take all day to point out the mistakes McClaren made. One of the most crucial yesterday was trying to accommodate. Why play two up front against Austria last Friday but not last night? Because McClaren decided he'd rather have Frank Lampard in midfield than Jermain Defoe up front replacing the injured Michael Owen. But that meant playing a 4-5-1 system that gave the initiative to Croatia as well as making the England players uncomfortable.

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English football has to be better than this; and, when it is not, the man in charge knows what to expect

Martin Samuel

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BACKGROUND

• McClaren sacked as England coach

• Dismissal is no compensation for England fans

• Jitters destroy England’s composure

• Turnip or terrific? Fans give answer to McClaren

BACKGROUND

• How England rated

• If O’Neill says no, will the FA call Klinsmann?

• Terry defends man in charge

• Why England will be sorely missed in finals

BACKGROUND

• Let’s not just blame the team, blame the Americans too

• Good riddance to fear factors

• Echoes of Bogota as Croatia official is accused of shoplifting

• Seven deadly sins

BACKGROUND

• McClaren: the buck stops with me

• Analysis: Gabriele Marcotti

• 'Not even prepared to get his hair wet!' - the fans' verdict

• Barwick: McClaren had to go

BACKGROUND

• England's qualifying horrors

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• England fans: let off steam here

• How the drama unfolded

• Is McClaren a scapegoat?

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• What you should do next summer

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• Turnip or terrific? Fans give answer to McClaren

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• How the drama unfolded

And what happened? Defoe ended up playing 45 minutes with McClaren asking him to be the second-half saviour. The head coach didn't fancy him then ended up relying on him. As for Scott Carson's inclusion, when you drop the number one goalkeeper it's normal to go for the second-choice - David James - not to go straight to the third-choice.

At least this will force the FA into appointing someone totally different in style to McClaren and his predecessor, Sven-Goran Eriksson. Someone who is bold not wishy-washy, someone who can give this England side an aura. A manager in the mould of Jose Mourinho would be ideal - because Chelsea never got rolled over, their players performed to the maximum, they were brave, organised, united and confident. You could never say that about England under McClaren. But with the players at England's disposal, it should have been the case.