Post by Neko Bazu on Dec 14, 2007 10:51:18 GMT -1
Very good article, I thought.
msn.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_2964267,00.html
At least one member of the media is willing to admit that maybe we're not the greatest side in existence
msn.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_2964267,00.html
There's only one real problem with appointing Fabio Capello as England manager and it's not his inability to speak fluent English (see Steve McClaren and his shiny new 'Foot In Mouth' award for evidence that fluent English does not always result in effective communication). The problem is that he's our best chance of success and his appointment will give us no more excuses for failure.
If England are rubbish with one of the best managers in the world in charge, then we can conclude that England are in fact rubbish.
We were happy to point the finger at Steve McClaren because he was obviously under-qualified for the job. Blaming Capello will be a ridiculous notion because he does quite clearly know a great deal more about winning football matches than just about everyone else in the world.
This is the first time that England will have a manager widely acknowledged as among the best two or three tacticians of the last ten years. If this man cannot get our players to perform, then nobody will. If he cannot come up with the tactics and motivation to make some of Europe's most high-profile players play to their club standard then we must accept that these players just do not have the attitude or the skill to succeed at international level.
Is this a Golden Generation of footballers? At last we should find out.
At least with Capello we know that he will not pick players on reputation or because they send him friendly text messages. Can you imagine him referring to 'Stevie G' or 'JT'? Can you imagine him rolling around on the floor with the England captain during a training session? He will be their manager, not their friend - because if you earn £100,000 a week, the last thing you need is another friend. What you do need is someone to tell you how to win football matches and make it clear that there are other people lining up to take your place if you fail.
Capello could well solve all those problems that we believe are holding back England - the Gerrard-Lampard axis, the goalkeeper question, the Rooney-Owen issue, the lack of pace throughout the team - by making all the right decisions and saying all the right things. Then if we get no further than a limp quarter-final exit in the 2010 World Cup, it might just be time to give up and admit that we're a second-rate side.
If England are rubbish with one of the best managers in the world in charge, then we can conclude that England are in fact rubbish.
We were happy to point the finger at Steve McClaren because he was obviously under-qualified for the job. Blaming Capello will be a ridiculous notion because he does quite clearly know a great deal more about winning football matches than just about everyone else in the world.
This is the first time that England will have a manager widely acknowledged as among the best two or three tacticians of the last ten years. If this man cannot get our players to perform, then nobody will. If he cannot come up with the tactics and motivation to make some of Europe's most high-profile players play to their club standard then we must accept that these players just do not have the attitude or the skill to succeed at international level.
Is this a Golden Generation of footballers? At last we should find out.
At least with Capello we know that he will not pick players on reputation or because they send him friendly text messages. Can you imagine him referring to 'Stevie G' or 'JT'? Can you imagine him rolling around on the floor with the England captain during a training session? He will be their manager, not their friend - because if you earn £100,000 a week, the last thing you need is another friend. What you do need is someone to tell you how to win football matches and make it clear that there are other people lining up to take your place if you fail.
Capello could well solve all those problems that we believe are holding back England - the Gerrard-Lampard axis, the goalkeeper question, the Rooney-Owen issue, the lack of pace throughout the team - by making all the right decisions and saying all the right things. Then if we get no further than a limp quarter-final exit in the 2010 World Cup, it might just be time to give up and admit that we're a second-rate side.
At least one member of the media is willing to admit that maybe we're not the greatest side in existence
