Dutch hero Robben urges FA to end manager search

Arjen Robben warned the English FA they must make a quick decision over the next England manager after his brilliant double fired the Netherlands to a 3-2 friendly win at Wembley.

Robben’s superb solo effort opened the scoring for the Dutch in Wednesday’s friendly and his majestic strike in stoppage time condemned England to their first defeat since November 2010 after Stuart Pearce’s side had fought back from two goals down.

England caretaker manager Pearce hardly boosted his credentials to replace Fabio Capello, who resigned last month, with a disjointed display, but the FA board are still no closer to appointing a successor to the Italian.

Bayern Munich winger Robben believes the FA need to get their new boss in place soon so he has time to get his plans in place.

“There is always some excitement and drama with England,” Robben said. “Of course it is very important (for the manager) to work with a team and build on it.

“I think quite a few players were missing (against the Netherlands). They have great potential. They have great individual players.”

Former Chelsea star Robben learned all about the endless soap operas created by the England team after his successful spell at Stamford Bridge, but he remains a firm admirer of the English game.

Some are beginning to doubt the quality of England’s players and point to the poor showing in the Champions League this season.

With Manchester United and Manchester City already out and Chelsea and Arsenal facing tough last 16 second leg assignments, there is a real chance of all four Premier League clubs bowing out of the Champions League before the quarter-finals for the first time in 16 years.

But Robben doesn’t agree. “At the moment in the Champions League you see some teams having difficulties. But I think it is still a strong league and I had a great time here,” he said.

“It was great to be back in England, great to be back here at Wembley. It was lovely to play against England and it was a good game.”

No rush

Meanwhile, FA director Trevor Brooking believes England can afford to leave the appointment of a manager until the eve of the European Championships if necessary.

Brooking, who is part of the panel that will identify and appoint the successor to Capello, insisted that England would be able to wait until a few days before Euro 2012 to appoint a coach.

“Everything will be in place,” Brooking was quoted as saying in The Independent yesterday.

“The backroom staff is very good. Whoever comes in will be really happy with that. The issue is the timing, that is why we don’t think we are in any rush.

“I think you could get somebody parachuted in a few days before it, though I’m sure there are some people in our group who don’t want that.”

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is the strong favourite to get the England job, but the Spurs boss has ruled out leaving the club before the end of the season, meaning FA chiefs must wait until mid-May if they choose him.

Brooking said the hunt for a manager would give fresh momentum now that Wednesday’s friendly against the Dutch had passed.

“We’ve been concentrating on the Holland game,” he said. “Now we’ll sit down in the next few days and see what the timeframe is.

“We will take our time. I don’t see anything happening soon. We obviously want to be aware of all the sensitivities before taking it forward. There are sensitivities.”