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Steve McClaren v Slaven Bilic — The Rematch!

By on June 11, 2015

Newcastle United versus West Ham United. It’s not exactly a Premier League classic; however, next season when the two sides clash there will be an interesting subplot on the touchline between the two new managers. The Magpies beat the Hammers 2-0 on the final day of the 2014/2015 season to secure their top-flight survival and the next time the two clubs meet it will be just as interesting: an intriguing rematch between Steve McClaren and Slaven Bilic. Both managers have been appointed to their new positions this week, with John Carver sacked at St James’ Park and Sam Allardyce departing Upton Park in May by way of mutual consent. Sports Direct and Newcastle owner Mike Ashley will be hoping for a better return in performances under McClaren than Carver; in East London, David Gold has ambitions of Bilic taking West Ham to the next level before they enter their new stadium next year of the famous Olympic Stadium.

When the updated Premier League fixtures for 2015/2016 are released at 9am UTC on Wednesday, June 17th, eyes will be cast towards the first meeting between the newly instated bosses Steve McClaren and Slaven Bilic. Revenge will be at hand for the former, who was the former England head coach. Bilic broke the hearts of the nation and ruined the reputation of a man in 2007, when his Croatia side beat England 3-2 at Wembley and prevented them a place at Euro 2008. England failing to reach a major tournament in such a style was almost as shocking as finding out this week that model Kate Moss uses EasyJet. Almost. There was no need for the England squad to use EasyJet for travel, or lack thereof, in the summer of 2008, however, thanks to mistakes of goalkeeper Scott Carson and the Croats lead by Bilic. Steve McClaren lost his job largely thanks to the defeat at the hands of Bilic’s national squad and was ridiculed by the British press with the image and headline of ‘the wally with the brolly’.

McClaren may be the same name as a Formula One racing car team, but there was no quick turnaround in his career after the FA gave him the sack for his failings with England. It took a lot of hard work to rebuild his reputation and even took to trying his hand at accents abroad with Dutch club FC Twente. In an infamous and online viral video, McClaren tries his hand at a Dutch accent, while speaking in English, which is not going to get him a job as the next Lenny Henry. The attempted Dutch accent was about as poor as some of those England performances under his guidance — pretty bad. However, it was his good work abroad which gave him another chance to come back to Britain as a boss of club sides. McClaren had two spells in charge of Twente and had a stint in the Bundesliga managing Wolfsburg. The former Middlesbrough manager and ex-Manchester United assistant manager regrew his trade across Europe before his return to the English shores in the Midlands.

But back to Bilic, who played for West Ham as a defender for a year between 1996 and 1997. Now, he’s rejoining as the rock-star type manager finally arrives in the Premier League after time abroad. It has long been awaited and expected that the Croat would get a go at managing West Ham, with his man management approach impressing many while in charge of Croatia and most recently the Turkish side Besiktas. The ex-Hammers player has already had his experience facing top English clubs in the 2014/2015 campaign, as Bilic lead Besiktas to results against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the UEFA Europa League and a narrow defeat to Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League play-off stage last August.

Bilic has already brought in his first new signing at West Ham, with the confirmation of the capture of Spanish Under-21 midfielder Pedro Obiang from Serie A side Sampdoria for a reported fee of £4.4 million on a four-year contract. The 23-year-old could be the first of many new additions brought in by Bilic this summer as he attempts to rebuild the squad for a potential Europa League venture, which they qualified for via the Fair Play table at the end of the season. David Gold may not know what Obiang looks like — confusing him with Juventus’ Angelo Ogbonna in a tweet — but he is young and talented, the ideal type of player West Ham are interested in this summer. However, Bilic will be sure to ask for some cash to also spend on experienced additions in the coming weeks and months.

Both McClaren and Bilic will want to improve their respective new teams’ form in cup competitions, with Newcastle encouraged by former great Alan Shearer to play stronger sides in the League and FA Cup. McClaren would do well to listen to Shearer’s early advice, as the fans want to see their club give it a good cup run and eventually lift some silverware. West Ham, meanwhile, will have to balance their resources between the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League in the new campaign.

When the side in claret and blue meet the team in black and white stripes, my advice to McClaren would be to not take an umbrella, whatever Rihanna says and however bad the whether is in the UK. Even if it is raining cats and dogs, Steve McClaren should leave that brolly at home and set out on beating Bilic’s West Ham side. McClaren was sacked as manager of Derby County for failing to make the play-offs in the Championship, eventually finishing eighth in the table. He could face the axe again if he cannot improve on his end of season return at Derby with Newcastle — John Carver was sacked after struggling to find wins in the second half of last season. McClaren knows the market well and could find some bargain buys from the Championship and across Europe. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice may not be out until next year, but we should see McClaren vs. Bilic: The Sequel, by Christmas. Tim Krul better not drop any clangers on that day or McClaren may experience some major deja vu!

Photo credit: Thomas Rodenbucher on Flickr

About Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can relate almost anything to football and quite often does! You may have seen Richard's previous ideas and work in the BBC Match of the Day Magazine, from 2011 to present. He is a Manchester United and England fan, but has gone to see Leyton Orient play with his O's season ticket in the 2013/14 campaign. Aside from football, Richard has written articles on Doctor Who and studies English Language and Linguistics at the University of Westminster. Aspiring sports journalist.