Forgot Jose, Capello is England’s man
Comment and analysis round up
Quote of the Day: “Since we beat Valencia (in October), we have won a lot of games and we have played better football — even with a lot of injuries. It shows the character of the team. You see Arsenal when they have injuries and what has happened to them in the last couple of games. The same happened to Manchester United at Bolton without Wayne Rooney. Even Liverpool, without Yossi Benayoun, lost at Reading.” - A resurgent Avram Grant shows that he can play the psychological game with his competition.
Runner-up: “We are not going to sell Ronaldinho. We are not in contact with Chelsea, Milan or any other team.” - Joan Laporta.
As Jose Mourinho appeared to categorically rule himself out of the running for the England job, today’s papers seem to divided between a collection of journalists who are smugly telling there audience ‘I told you so’, whilst the remainder are trying to convince us that Fabio Capello was, and is, a far better choice. For the dissenting voices, Henry Winter believes Lippi should be the man.
Other stories filling the back-pages include why we should have a winter break (this seasonal ‘chestnut’ acts as a reminder that Christmas in just 2 weeks away) and attention is paid towards Liverpool before their crucial match-up against Marseilles tonight.
Kevin McCarra states the case for Fabio Capello as the new England boss. “While holes can be picked in Capello’s credentials, they are small ones indeed. Maybe domestic titles with all four of the clubs he has managed actually show that he is better equipped for the domestic grind, since they have been accompanied by a single Champions League, with Milan. None the less, a manager with his knowledge and experience would hardly be flummoxed by World Cup qualifiers. In view of the speed with which he learned to speak Spanish impeccably, he would also be confident, in due course, of communicating his message in English. Few footballers, in any event, have ever been unclear about orders issued by a tough character. Old school as he seems, Capello’s command of the contemporary scene is never in question.”
Richard Owen continues the charm offensive for Capello. “Capello has a reputation in Italy as an intelligent and impatient man who likes getting his own way. England supporters may be worried that he does not speak English, but Italian journalists who have crossed his path say he is so clever that he will be able to learn the language in a week. ‘Don’t worry,’ one journalist said. ‘He is much brighter than Marcello Lippi or Claudio Ranieri. He speaks fluent Spanish and he will have no problem learning English.’”
Kaveh Solhekol illustrates the characteristics and management style of the Italian through the following story. “When Milan went to China in the summer of 1996, the players thought that they were in the Far East to make friends and sell shirts. Capello soon set them straight. Playing against a China XI in Beijing, the coach started with three attackers – Di Canio, Roberto Baggio and Gianluigi Lentini. At half-time and with Milan leading 1-0, Capello took off Di Canio and replaced him with a midfield player to protect Milan’s lead. ‘Why are you so obsessed with the result of a friendly?’ Di Canio said before he and Capello squared up. ‘You are an ugly c*** and your face looks like a penis,’ Capello shouted. Di Canio never played for Milan again.”
Regardless of the qualities of the new England coach, Matt Dickinson puts forward the case for Brian Barwick’s immediate dismissal. “Once the national team improve, as they surely will even under a man whose English is not perfect, we will go back to laughing along with the John Smith’s “ ’Ave it” advertisement rather than acknowledging, ruefully, that it reveals a national weakness. A familiar complacency will take hold unless someone stops it and who better than someone starting afresh, someone from outside the game, someone installed right at the top of the pyramid? The new independent chairman, like the next England head coach, should be appointed in time for the next FA board meeting on December 19.”
Henry Winter puts his vote behind Marcello Lippi. “Now Mourinho is out of the running, Capello remains favourite, but Lippi should be. He has already managed a team including England’s most important player, Steven Gerrard, sending out a European XI against United at Old Trafford. Ferguson prevailed, 4-3, but he had years preparing the team. Lippi had hours. Barwick must talk at length to Lippi before taking Capello’s name to the FA board.”
George Caulkin appears to support the idea of a winter break, whilst pointing the finger at Manchester United as have a personal interest in voting against the proposal. “The demand for a fortnight’s hiatus after Christmas is not new, but Allardyce, the Newcastle manager, believes that the growing impact of the Cup of Nations has strengthened the argument. ‘Losing players in January is going to be a big problem for me and everyone else in the Premier League,’ he said. Manchester United are a rare exception and are alone among the ‘big four’ clubs in having no exposure at the tournament.”
Gabriele Marcotti and Guillem Balague meet Kenny Dalglish and Fernando Torres at a joint interview, with the journalist drawing comparisons between the former and present Liverpool forwards. ” It is not only that both are strikers, both have the star sign Pisces, both were Liverpool’s record signings, both have the ability to turn the Kop into a frenzied hive of humanity. Or even that, less than 24 hours earlier, against Bolton Wanderers, Torres had delivered a finish that was uncannily similar to Dalglish’s famous match-winner against FC Bruges in the 1978 European Cup final: the same timed run, the same right-foot caress, the same gentle bounce just before crossing the goalline, the same helpless goalkeeper.”
Frank Malley questions some of Rafa Benitiez’s decisions. “Has Benitez overdone caution, underused Crouch, failed to impose clear direction or forged a consistent pattern of play? Most of all, has he jettisoned the traditions of Shankly in the pursuit of pragmatism? If the answers to those questions are yes, then wilful surrender at Reading almost certainly will return to haunt Benitez.”
