Premier League Nonsense

OK so he wasn’t a Roman, he was born near the Slovenian border but why let a minor irritant like the truth ruin a good headline. Red tops have been doing it for yonks and anyway he played for and coached AS Roma.

You would think that in the wake of Fabio Capello’s departure as England manager just weeks away from the Euros in Poland and Ukraine he had become Interpol’s most wanted. People have been queuing up to slate the Italian saying he only came to England for the money (!), he never understood England and he never understood English football.

The Emperor hasn’t even packed his bags and the media are clamouring for his replacement to be an Englishman. Because, so goes the reasoning, only an English manager can understand English players. And, perhaps, their penchant for getting pissed, getting in brawls, racially abusing opponents or just sleeping with their wives or girlfriends.

With Fabio’s dismissal coming just after hours after Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was cleared of avoiding tax everybody with an opinion has been opining and it seems opining with one voice. That Harry be the next manager of the England national team.

The players want him appointed. Ex players want him appointed. The press want him appointed. No doubt if we were to ask the Queen’s corgis who they would want appointed they would all bark Rosie in unison. It’s the kind of herd mentality that takes countries to war and leads banks to bankruptcy. It seems there is no one out there saying hold on a minute. Does it have to be Harry?

It seems so ironic that Fabio should quit for his support of his captain John Terry while he faces racism charges yet the knee jerk reaction of middle England is no more foreigners! Indeed in a normal world shorn of hysteria Capello’s support of his captain would be widely admired. After all, there used to be this idea that an Englishman was innocent until found guilty. But as former minister Chris Huhne is finding out, that doesn’t necessarily apply to people in the public eye.

As people are falling over themselves to point out that Fabio never took time to understood the English mentality it’s worth pointing out that his record actually was not that bad. He won 28 of the 42 games he took charge of, a 66.66% success rate that exceeds previous managers like Terry Venables and Kevin Keegan. It’s worth remembering they were two very popular appointments whose reign ended with more whimper than bang despite all the hype that surrounded them. Keegan won 39% of his games while Venables won a measly 52%.

The Football Association needs to make sure history doesn’t repeat a third time and that is why they should block out the din for Harry and take their time. Redknapp may have been found not guilty in one case but there is a high chance others are lurking under the surface and who really knows how many skeletons there are in his closet. For now he gets an easy ride but there are no guarantees that will last forever.

That much maligned Swede Sven Goran Eriksson also stands tall in the pantheon of England managers if we can ignore the fact that he dropped his trousers more often than he ever lifted a trophy. Only Capello, Sir Alf Ramsey, the only manager to actually win a trophy, and the much maligned Glenn Hoddle have better records than Eriksson.

Managing England is a poisoned chalice. Hardly anybody leaves with his reputation intact. Graham Taylor, Steve McClaren and even Bobby Robson were hounded out of the job by poor results, none of them won more than half their games, while Revie was accused of financial impropriety; something the FA should keep in mind while they examine Redknapp’s dossier.

There is much to consider when the FA do consider their next appointment. But their utmost priority has to be to find the best man for the job. And quality is not limited to the passport. It ain’t about pleasing the pundits or the press; it’s about ending that 46 year drought that hangs like an albatross round our necks.

# posted by Me @ 2:55 PM