Who would have thought that the beautiful game could prove so ugly for retail? But last night Steve McClaren was not alone in contemplating his future after England’s disastrous performance against Croatia knocked them out of Euro 2008.

Sports Direct founder and football fanatic Mike Ashley must have felt a double blow as he watched Croatia deny glory not only to the England football team, but to his troubled sports empire as well.

Ashley, who owns Newcastle United, will have been relying on sales of the new England away shirts to reverse the poor performance at the retailer he floated only nine months ago.

Instead, Sports Direct has been left out in the cold, issuing the latest in a string of profit warnings this morning.

The news raised eyebrows in the City as usual, leaving Pali International analyst Nick Bubb bemused that the “belated” warning was blamed on the battle fought at Wembley last night. “We suspect that the real issue is poor trading in the core business and always assumed that profits would be down anyway,” he said in a note.

Panmure Gordon analyst Philip Dorgan agrees. “We believe that there is more wrong with Sports Direct than the sale of a few England shirts,” he said. But Sports Direct, for once, is not alone in this storm.

Shares in England kit manufacturer Umbro slipped almost 4 per cent, off the back of a statement issued this morning saying its profits would be hit hard. And shares in JJB Sports fell 8 per cent – a relatively minor slump when compared with a stinging 17 per cent drop for Sports Direct.

In addition, Ashley could still score a hat trick of disappointments. England’s defeat represents something of an own goal for both Sports Direct and Nike over their battle surrounding the ownership of the Umbro.

Speculation that Sports Direct, which has a stake of nearly 30 per cent in Umbro, will block Nike’s proposed£285 million bid for the manufacturer has fallen, although Umbro shares are languishing well below the 193p a share offer price. Nike may now prove too important to have on-side at Sports Direct. However, that logic has rarely stopped Ashley from forging ahead with his own inexplicable agenda.

While McClaren’s position as England coach has become untenable, it is unlikely that the resilient Ashley will take defeat lying down – he will remain in the game as long as it takes.

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