The England football team rolled into Tel Aviv on Thursday  with an entourage of  support staff and court reporters who are next in line in logistical numbers, probably only to the President of the United States.

Perhaps as well as the American president, probably only the Pope gets more international coverage.
An England away game is a managed operation down to the last crossed T and dotted I. The Israel-England match in Tel Aviv is probably the most high-profile sporting event ever to take place in the country. Certainly it is in terms of the number of journalists covering the event from all over Europe and even far beyond, and it is a remarkable sight to watch the English hacks at work.

Superagent Pini Zahavi, an Israeli who has many close ties in English football, said in an interview this week that the UK press would "drink Steve McClaren's blood" if England do not get a good result and play convincingly in Tel Aviv.

But perhaps that is one of the big problems with England. There is no respite for the team and this is so evident from the way the pack of journalists fire question after question at their subjects. When the England manager is up on the stage with the only distraction being a background of sponsors' logos, he has nowhere to hide. Clearly, this is the most professional group of sports journalists anywhere.They have fitted into the slick media operation which the FA's media officials manage, in a very disciplined manner, but they will not be denied. They know the territory like the back of their hand and are versed perfectly in the procedures.

An England manager's press conference is unlike any other. The questions come thick and fast, with the reporters, all well versed in the procedure, knowing almost telepathically when to butt in. There is no pause, the reporters don't have time to think or consider anything. They know they must ask a quick, succinct and probing question which they hope will illicit the response they are trying to squeeze out. They cannot be philosophical ortoo verbal because they would simply be dismissed by their colleagues.

The answers are equally swiftly delivered; it is all almost expected. Few comments stray beyond the bland replies as the manager tries to fend off his critics who are looking for even the smallest chink in his armour as he knows full well that they will pounce at the slightest sign on a breach in his defences. There are those who have described the England football manager's job as being second only in stress levels to the prime minister.

It's true that the prime minister of any democratic country needs to be able to manage very complex situations and he or she is judged harshly for failing, regardless of the circumstances. The England manager needs only to get good results, it's much more straightforward for him. If he were capable of winning every game with 11 men from the lower divisions, nobody would say a bad word about him. But failing with some of the best and highest-paid players in the world in your side is simply not an option.

Simply put, if McClaren's men fail to deliver the desired result on Saturday night, the
ballistic missiles will start flying in his direction and a manager already under intense pressure
for what his critics say is his unimaginative and conservative style of play will be nuked out of
the water.

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