It would have been so tidy.

Jurgen Klinsmann, the coach who is leading the U.S. national soccer team into irrelevance, was interested in the England job. England was interested in him.

At points over the past two weeks, bookies in England (they will bet on anything in Britain; anything) had the German as the favorite to get the job.

The U.S. Soccer Federation establishment, which often seems paralyzed when it comes to Klinsmann, could simply have waved goodbye and offered him a ride to the airport.

Now, it seems all but certain England will choose one of its own, Sam Allardyce, and the U.S. remains stuck with Klinsmann.

Klinsmann might even had some success with England.

He is the man who tells players things like “go out and express yourself” when it comes to game strategy.

That is ridiculous advice for the U.S. national team, which needs to be disciplined and structured to succeed. The day may come when Yanks match up with the global elite when it comes to soccer skills, but they are not yet there.

With England, however, which has lots of talent playing in the world’s strongest professional league (the Premier), players might even have thrived with a guy who sketched out the barest outline of a game plan and just turned them loose. Which might have been an improvement on outgoing coach Roy Hodgson and his constant lineup and shape tinkering.

Klinsmann’s claim to fame is getting Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup, ending a period when the Mannschaft had been struggling. That probably was the guy who Sunil Gulati, U.S. Soccer president, thought he was hiring, back in 2010.

Anyway, Klinsmann is not going to England, and we could feel his chances fading away, the past few days. The Guardian, for example, in a story comparing the strengths and weaknesses of what it considered the top four candidates, said of Klinsmann’s shortcomings:

“Critics have expressed doubts about how good a coach lurks behind an admittedly bewitching exterior. Many say he needs a top, technically skilled, No. 2 by his side. Was his success with Germany mainly down to the input of his successor and erstwhile assistant Joachim Low? Has a habit of falling out with employers and making life needlessly difficult. Left Bayern Munich before the end of a hugely disappointing season which saw him fail to implement certain promises and forfeit credibility with a few daft innovations. Relations with his U.S. superiors are currently strained. Lacks potentially invaluable club experience and has certainly not done the “hard yards” completed by rivals. Adores the sunshine and lifestyle in Southern California and may find scouting at Stoke and Sunderland a culture shock. Perhaps most importantly, has never managed in England. In the final analysis, might he bewilder more than bewitch?”

We have to wonder, too, if England’s Football Association picked up on the number of Americans saying, “Klinsmann? You want him?!? Feel free!”

Having Klinsmann jump over the Atlantic would have gotten U.S. Soccer off the hook for the final two years of his contract and also would have given his successor (Bob Bradley redux, anyone?) six weeks before World Cup qualifying resumes.

The Yanks, remember, still run a risk of not reaching the final round of Concacaf qualifying, thanks to the sterling work of Jurgen Klinsmann, would-be coach of England.

Alas, it is not to be. We are unlikely to see an end of the Klinsmann Era until the team goes out of the 2018 World Cup. Assuming it gets that far.