Steve McClaren fired as England coach

England manager Steve McClaren did not attend the emergency meeting of the FA board this morning where he was sacked after failing to get England qualified for the Euro 2008 tournament. The 46-year-old football coach remained at home, still refusing to resign, while ten men took their fateful decision at FA headquarters in London's Soho Square.
They were David Gill, the Manchester United chief executive; Sir Dave Richards, Premier League chairman; Lord Mawhinney, Football League chairman; Phil Gartside, chairman of Bolton Wanderers; David Sheepshanks, Ipswich chairman; plus five regional FA directors, Dave Henson, Michael Game, Roger Burden, John Ward and Barry Bright.
Chief executive Brian Barwick and chairman Geoff Thompson did not have a vote.
The terms of McClaren's departure are not yet known but it is thought he will receive a pay-off approaching £2.5m. He was only 15 months into the four-year contract he signed in August 2006, which was meant to see him continue in the post until the conclusion of the 2010 World Cup finals.
His hapless predecessor Sven-Goran Eriksson received a £3.7m pay-off - but then he did manage five years in the job, including two World Cup finals plus Euro 2004, even if England couldn't win any of them.
Brian Barwick confirmed today that nationality would not be an issue in the hunt for McClaren's successor, which puts Jose Mourinho, the Portuguese coach of Chelsea until this summer, and Ulsterman Martin O'Neill, manager of Aston Villa, among the frontrunners.
Last word to an onlooker in Soho Square this morning: "At least there were no women involved this time."