England Football Campaigns
More to follow (probably tomorrow at this rate), but following a meeting with David Bernstein et al, Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager.
Hardly a surprise given some of the recent nonsense that’s surrounding the England team but resigning four months before a major tournament is…well, I know what I think. And if you stay tuned, when I’ve calmed down then you’ll be able to read it.
If you’ve come here looking for our take on whether or not John Terry should have been stripped of the England captaincy or not or whether Fabio Capello should leave the England job now, then you might be a bit disappointed. All I’m going to say is that France have a terrific group of young strikers and to be honest, right now (a freezing cold afternoon in February) it doesn’t matter who the manager is.
Although we’re at the end of the Capello years, he’s still getting paid a decent wage and he’s got some thinking to do before the summer. Guest blogger Richard Smith takes a look at both the Terry issue and an area that always seems to be problematic for the team before major competitions.
As Euro 2012 approaches the England problems seem just on the verge of emerging. Firstly the Wayne Rooney ban which has cost England his services in for the opening two fixtures has been followed by the crass FA decision to remove the captaincy from John Terry.
In some respects, England are lucky that Rooney’s ban was not the original three matches but nonetheless, the absence of the Man Utd striker for two games is bad enough and makes life very difficult to replace him.
As far as the Terry situation is concerned, then the FA have done him nor the national team any favours by going above Fabio Capello’s head and removing him as team captain, due presumably to his impending court case where he has been accused of racism towards Anton Ferdinand. That case is not due to be heard until after Euro 2012 and whilst the full and due process of law is running its course, Terry remains innocent until proven guilty. This is of course unless you are the FA who clearly sees the case as a cut and dry affair and that Terry must be guilty as charged. It is a position that is seen as outrageous by most in football and one that proves if nothing else that the FA are no friends of the individual footballer nor respecters of the England fans nor it seems the due process of law as their action has made Terry look guilty even though he is pleading the opposite.
At least it seems that Terry will be able to wear the Three Lions shirt in Poland and the Ukraine which will be very important for team continuity albeit if you believe what you read in the papers this may not be the case! It is almost a prerequisite that the England preparations prior to a major tournament are disrupted and with five months before the tournament kicks off, it would appear the pantomime has already begun.
Back to team matters, there is already much debate as to who Capello should select as the four for Euro 2012 and with Rooney a definite pick, the other three places are up for grabs.
Darren Bent of Aston Villa is probably the man who holds sway at the moment but his good form of last season has not been so evident this term as his Villa team struggle in mid-division of the Premier League. Bent has scored nine times in the Premier League and managed three England goals during Euro 2012 Qualification.
Jermaine Defoe has been a regular squad member for the last few seasons, but he is struggling to establish himself in the first team at Spurs this season and hasn’t been on the scoresheet for England since his hat trick against Bulgaria in September 2010.
Emerging talent comes in the form of Danny Welbeck of Manchester United and Daniel Sturridge of Chelsea but neither have had a long enough run in the national team to establish themselves and may be considered by Capello as too inexperienced to take. Bent’s team mate at Aston Villa, Gabi Agbonlahor is another player who is just falling short of international recognition and now at the age of 25 one feels his best chances are gone despite him being one of the very quickest players around. Bobby Zamora now of QPR has been given a couple of chances but he is a player who would be more of a last resort than a certainty and at 31 he has seen better days too.
This does not leave Capello very much left to choose from, Andy Carroll of Liverpool showed signs under Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool that he is beginning to mature but is facing mounting criticism for his lack of goals. If the £35m man can continue in that vein as well as find the net a few times before the season ends, then he could make a late run for the squad but as it stands currently, the four strikers would almost certainly comprise of Rooney, Bent, Defoe and Sturridge but with Rooney out for the first two games, it’s safe to say none of the England contingent will be in the reckoning for the Euro 2012 Golden Boot and who starts upfront against France on Monday 11th June is still very much anyone’s guess.
We should have a better idea when England take on the Netherlands at Wembley on 29thFebruary when it will make a refreshing change for football to dominate the back page, let’s just hope it’s positive column inches!
Easily the best footballing side in the Championship last season, it’s hardly a surprise that Swansea have been attracting a lot of positive attention due to their performances in the Premier League. Thomas Rooney thinks a couple of Swans should be given a chance in the England squad and if the widely predicted changes happen after Euro 2012, Thomas has a point!
While The F.A were busy announcing an upcoming friendly fixtures against Holland, it was Swansea that were evoking memories of the Dutch pass masters of years gone by as they sauntered past Arsenal while Fabio Capello watched on from the rocking Liberty Stadium stands.
Those studying mobile free bets note how Brendan Rodgers’ side have become the feel-good story of the season, and the fairy-tale ending, or at least the pinnacle of their achievements this season, likely came as Danny Graham slotted home the winner against Arsenal recently. Although Capello may have come to cast his eye over Theo Walcott, who despite getting on the scoresheet continues to be an enigma when it comes to producing consistently decent performances.
Although Walcott may have been in Capello’s thoughts before the game it was the Welsh outfit’s band of Englishmen that would have occupied his drive home to the capital after the game.
Scott Sinclair, Nathan Dyer and Danny Graham have all proved themselves wonderfully capable of adapting to life in the Premier League, and soon they will be joined by another precocious talent, Chelsea’s Josh McEachran who completed his loan move from the capital earlier this week.
Graham in particular has thrust himself into the limelight ever since his move from Watford over the summer with his clinical and powerful finishing.
Dyer and Sinclair have long been talents that have been marked for bright futures – few would have envisaged however that they would find a home and room to flourish with a newly promoted side given little chance of survival by the experts. These three fit seamlessly into a side that contains no less than seven men who would be available to Capello, and it is their style of play along with their results that have won them praise this season.
Occupying a large point of the Italian’s mind ever since the draw took place, is of course Euro 2012, and he will already have in his mind an almost fully formed picture of the squad he will take with him into battle once more.
It is unlikely any player wearing the white of Swansea will make it into his final squad. It is their effervescence as a unit that appeals most about Swansea, their philosophy under Rodgers that brings them together and allows them to out-pass the finest English passing side of the last twenty years, Arsenal.
But while they may miss out on Capello’s final squad, perhaps due to the lateness of their charge or even the fact they come from a distinctly unfashionable club, there are few who would begrudge Swansea their success. Keep your eye open for a few of them in Rio in 2014, at least a few of them will be there, at the World Cup.
Regular guest contributor Pete South looks at today’s breaking news: Fabio Capello’s decision to rule himself out of the Inter Milan job.
Fabio Capello has rejected the offer to return to club management with Inter Milan after officials from the club approached the 65-year-old, according to the manager’s son.
Capello reiterated his intention to quit his post as England boss after Euro 2012 and has been linked with a return to Italy previously, but the Inter approach marks the first time anything concrete has been put on the table before the former AC Milan manager.
Speculation had increased that he was in talks with Inter, and it was his son Pierfilippo Capello that revealed there had been contact between the two parties.
When asked by the Sun if Capello had been approached by Inter he responded: “Yes. But Fabio will remain with the FA.”
Capello is said to be keen to repay the faith the FA showed in him after England’s poor World Cup performances last year by seeing out the remainder of his contract.
Inter are in the market for their third manager in little over 12 months since the departure of Jose Mourinho after former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was sacked after six months and Leonardo’s departure for a role with French side Paris Saint-Germain.
However the club’s sporting director denied Capello’s son’s claims and said there had been no talks between Inter and the FA or Capello.
I can confirm that Inter has not contacted Fabio Capello or the English FA,” said Inter Milan sporting director Marco Branca.”We are not interested in Capello. There are still no developments on the coaching front.”
While Capello will stay put until next summer’s European Championships, his right hand man Franco Baldini looks set to leave the England set up and take up the offer to work with Roma after media reports suggested the FA had allowed him to talk to the Italian club.
The general manager will take up a similar position at the end of England’s qualifying campaign – but could return for the finals should England qualify.
Adrian Bevington, the managing director of Club England remained tight-lipped on the subject, but said the issue will be dealt with after England’s final qualifier against Montenegro in October.
“We are confident from our conversations with Franco that he will remain solely focused on England’s qualification campaign,” said Adrian Bevington, the managing director of Club England. “Once we’ve qualified we can look at it again.”
The former midfielder is said to be keen to get back into the day-to-day routine of new football kits and weekend matches that club management brings, but would like to show his loyalty to Capello.
The loss of Baldini would be a huge blow for England ahead of a major tournament, with the 50-year-old acting as a key link between the squad and the manager.