The events of the England national football team could quite genuinely be a written script for some ITV commercial littered soap opera. A one series hit with minimal viewing figures peaking halfway through with a dramatic dip towards its cataclysmic conclusion. The events of this week have been no different and now, currently, this moment in time the football team of this nation does not have a manager or a captain.
Firstly I feel a little tribute should be said toward Fabio. In his time we may not have achieved much but we did achieve redemption over Croatia, twice. We beat the world champions as well lets not forget. But his reign will quite obviously be defined by that defeat to Germany and the captain merry go round that has ultimately, cost him the job.
This is a disaster, catastrophe, mayhem or perhaps not? At least not in the long term; Capello was a great team coach who built excellent rapport with his players. A strict authoritative disciplinarian who also knew how to develop a winning mentality amongst a team I mean Cristian Panucci followed him to 3 clubs so he commanded respect amongst many of his players. However his approach may be hard to get used to in not quite short enough bursts when the team meet up. A successful team coach he definitely was but perhaps his strict approach wasn’t the way amongst the ego whirlpool that is the England national football team.
The man should not be misunderstood by what he has done today as a quitter. He is a man of principles, rightly or wrongly, principles he felt he could no longer oblige to if he stayed as England boss. A man who felt the decision as to whether John Terry’s presence in the dressing room was disruptive was his and his alone and the interference of the FA was a sucker blow to his command that could not be recovered from. At the start of this week I found it hard to believe Capello would be off the canvas by the end of it. He made it to about a 5 count before the referee realised there was nothing left. His comments on Italian TV the other day were comments of an angry man, a proud man who felt undermined by politics and internal strife. His position was untenable. Capello had to go.
When I first heard Capello may have breached the terms of his hefty contract my first reaction was that the FA should cut their losses and relieve him with, I imagine, a considerably lower compensation payout then if they were to do so after the World Cup. My personal reasoning’s revolved mainly around a topic I discussed in a local bookie with some friends just this weekend. When the subject came to predicting a few results Bristol City vs Leeds United was bought to my attention. Despite their desolate form and The Robins recent resurgence I had Leeds down as a banker. Neil Redfearn, the caretaker manager, the main symptom of ‘new manager syndrome’. Leeds were rampant in a convincing victory. At national level this will not be much different. A honeymoon period of around 6 months might just be enough to see us successful at the Euros. It’s a long shot but the idea of a fresh slate, new manager, new captain perhaps a few new faces into a once again stagnant side may be the impetus this flagging footballing nation needs. That and a little bit of slack from a demanding public, less interference from those above that have never played the game and for the press to get behind our worthy players for once instead of finding every opportunity to berate them for being better looking, richer and more talented than they have ever been. Journalists of the UK, envy is an ugly sin, and mudslinging won’t help.
But who should be given the poison chalice that is the England job, which is fast becoming the most challenging job in world football. Harry Redknapp has become the evident favourite. I think he is a great man for the job. He has a proven track record as a manager, the respect of most professionals in the UK and he is also English which seems to be a pre-requisite on this occasion. I personally however have my reservations, this is a man today cleared of serious criminal allegations, who has previously been linked with tapping up players and also recently underwent delicate and dangerous heart surgery. Is this the man to lead our country? Undoubtedly talented enough but is this not more mud to throw into an already pretty messy stable.
Whoever it is has the opportunity to fledge an exciting side with an abundance of bursting talent on the underbelly of the undeniably talented and experienced names of Gerrard, Lampard, Parker and Rooney. Welbeck, Sturridge, Jones, Walker, Richards, Wilshere, Cahill, Smalling and Hart are an exciting generation of talent who could be the backbone of a team for years to come. If some of the unnecessary fat is trimmed there may even be room for a few howitzers such as Oxlade-Chamberlain, Spearing and Livermore. Capello wasn’t going to realistically give these boys the chance to shine. His time was up after Euro 2012 and he would have picked the best team for that job, regardless of the future, and who can blame him. When you are paid the money he was you are paid to get results NOW not in 4 years time. Now we have a chance to build a team that plays exciting and modern football in the way of the Germans and the Spanish. The raw ingredients are there all that is needed is the correct chef.
What would the build up to a major tournament be without a little bit of drama in the England camp, we have just started a little earlier this time. Maybe we won’t get some ridiculous injury days prior to kick off on this occasion? I don’t see these necessarily as bad times, worrying maybe, but also exciting. Coincidentally this morning I watched a programme on the life and career of Fabio Capello and he said some words that are now very apt, more so in his absence.
‘’To think of the past and what you have succeeded or not achieved is to stop still. You must move forward and create a better future.’’
Thanks for the wise words Fabio and the building blocks that have been implemented must now be built upon but improved for a brighter future. So, now the chalice is passed on to the next man brave enough to drink from it.
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