It's a brave new world, just like the previous six

Succeeded Bobby Robson in 1990 after best-ever World Cup on foreign soil.

What he said: 'Winning the World Cup is the bottom line of what is expected of me. We ought to be able to put ourselves up there on a par with the West Germans. They expect to reach the semi-finals and invariably do. Is there any reason why we shouldn't have the same expectations?'

What happened: Er, yes Graham, plenty of reasons actually. England didn't win the World Cup. In fact, they didn't even qualify and Taylor became forever synonymous with a certain root vegetable before going in 1993.

TERRY VENABLES

Given the job of restoring pride after embarrassing failure.

What he said: 'I'd like to have a team that the public admire and want to watch, I want a team that plays with imagination. The target for me is Euro 96.'

What happened: Just fell short in semi-finals on penalties but his team were admired after crushing the Dutch 4-1.

GLENN HODDLE

Took the baton from Venables to become England's youngest ever team boss at 39.

What he said: 'All my efforts will be centred on qualifying. That's why I have focused in the past few weeks on Italy. I know how I want to play. It's a matter of getting the right individuals to fit the system.'

What happened: Focusing on Italy didn't really work — England lost at Wembley five months later — but true to his word, Hoddle did concentrate on qualifying and a battling draw in Rome did it. Maybe he should have given the Finals in France a bit more thought, too. Those dreaded penalties!

KEVIN KEEGAN

Took it on part-time after Hoddle's exit. Later went full time for Euro 2000.

What he said: 'I told the FA, I won't leave Fulham. But it will give me four games and a lot of experience. All I'm doing is keeping my word to people who took me to Fulham.'

What happened: If only he'd kept his word ...

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON

Salvaged the World Cup 2002 campaign as first foreign boss.

What he said: 'There are still six games to go and I think we will do it. I am very pleased the FA are preparing five years in advance, not just for the next World Cup. I think I'll stay five years. I hope so. Even seven.'

What happened: Three quarter-finals. Pity it wasn't seven years.

STEVE McCLAREN

Eriksson's No. 2 became the No.1 after FA's failure to land Luiz Felipe Scolari.

What he said: 'It's going to be totally different from Sven, I'm going to do it my way. I'm looking forward to the big challenge ahead.'

What happened: It was certainly different from Sven — England failed to qualify.