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Home  » Sports » Tabloid names star after McClaren

Tabloid names star after McClaren

March 28, 2007 18:04 IST
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Former England managers have been depicted as root vegetables but the tabloid teasing of present incumbent Steve McClaren aimed a little higher on Wednesday.

The Sun newspaper said it had named a star 'Planet McDonut' in his "dishonour" after a mediocre start to McClaren's reign in charge of the national team.

Saturday's 0-0 draw in Israel, which followed a 2-0 defeat in Croatia and a 0-0 home draw with Macedonia, has left England's hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals in the balance.

British newspapers have lambasted McClaren for the team's failings, with The Sun going as far as to say he should be "banished to outer space" if his star-packed team fail against tiny Andorra on Wednesday.

The tabloid said it had registered a star in the Leo constellation with the International Star Registry in Switzerland. It gave the co-ordinates RA11h10m53.47sD-6 12'28.58" should the England coach need to look to the heavens for inspiration.

"With the aid of a telescope, McClaren can take a peek at his new home from his hotel window in Barcelona tonight if the unthinkable happens and England flop again," the paper said.

"Even a draw would rank as one of the biggest upsets in international football history and consign McDonut to the outer reaches of the universe."

The newspaper's back page was devoted to a photograph of a glum looking McClaren tied to a rocket next to a headline "Shine like a star tonight or get off this planet".

The Sun famously portrayed former England boss Graham Taylor as a turnip after a 1992 loss to Sweden while McLaren's Swedish predecessor Sven-Goran Eriksson rather predictably became a swede after his team were humbled by Northern Ireland.

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Source: REUTERS
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