Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: “As far as the situation with Capello is concerned, what we heard initially was about Terry. This is what the English FA was saying. But of course, this is not the real reason. It is clear the FA was looking to fire him. They wanted an excuse to do that. They weren’t happy with his performance. Any coach who doesn’t perform at the level expected, especially at the World Cup, is one whom they immediately look to replace. They had been looking to replace him for a long time, and Terry came at exactly the right time. It all comes down to Capello not performing to their expectations. The English FA can say whatever they want, but they will not fool me. I know exactly why Fabio Capello was fired, and it has nothing to do with John Terry.” – Diego Maradona.

Runner-up: “It was a court decision in the end. We had our preference, of course, but I’m not sure if that preference made an impact on the court’s decision to delay the case. Whatever the consequences of events that ran after, we had nothing to do with it. It shows maybe a lack of communication between both parties. Whenever I speak, because I represent the club, I need authorisation. And I’m not sure that was the case in the unfortunate chain of events that led to the parties being in disagreement regarding what was said [by Capello] to Italian TV. But I prefer to focus on Capello, the manager, and the big loss for the national team, which I hope can be recovered by finding the adequate person for the job. It surprised me, for sure. First, it will be very, very difficult for the FA to find a manager with Fabio’s CV because it is one of the best in the world. He has been a successful manager with most of the clubs he has managed. He had a spectacular qualification for Euro 2012 and it comes to an end before the tournament, which I think is hard to take for the English national team. All I can say is it’s a surprise for England to lose such a successful figure in world football.” – Andre Villas-Boas.

Today’s top stories

£10m for Harry Redknapp but will it be just for the Euros?

The FA have not ruled out Harry Redknapp becoming England manager just for Euro 2012 — then letting him return to Tottenham. (Shaun Custis, The Sun)

£10m Harry fee – that’s what it will cost to prise manager from the Lane (Neil Ashton, Daily Mail)

Spurs to charge FA £5m for Redknapp (John Cross, Daily Mirror)

Harry Redknapp ready to say yes to England job on temporary basis for Euro 2012 (Henry Winter, Daily Telegraph)

In case the FA hadn’t heard, the English press wants Harry Redknapp in as England boss

My family has gone from one storm to another… but I prefer this one (Jamie Redknapp, Daily Mail) “I don’t want this to sound selfish, but whatever my dad ends up doing, he has to do what is best for him. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, it’s not meant to, but, after what he has been through for the last five years, it has to be his choice.”

Appoint Harry long-term or not at all (Steven Howard, The Sun)

An England manager’s essential quality: be different from the last one (Chris Taylor, Guardian)

Harry Redknapp the logical choice as England seesaw tilts once again (Richard Williams, Guardian)

My friend Harry Redknapp is an exceptional manager (Milan Mandaric, Guardian)

How the FA can win with Harry’s game (Martin Hardy, The Independent)

Jermain Defoe on the magic of Redknapp (Darren Lewis, Daily Mirror)

Redknapp will be a great England boss, but not before he leaves Spurs with a top, top parting gift (Robbie Savage, Daily Mirror)

The dissenting voices

I’m worried players back Harry (Roy Keane, The Sun) “No matter who England appoint as manager, I can’t see them winning Euro 2012.”

Why so few English candidates? (Ian Wright, The Sun)

No manager, no captain and best player is banned… but at least FA’s flights are booked (Martin Samuel, Daily Mail)

It’s so simple, all England have to do is recruit a manager, go to Poland and achieve success (Jim White, Daily Telegraph)

Don Fabio linked with Chelsea

Chelsea want Fabio Capello (Rob Beasley, The Sun) “Fabio Capello last night emerged as a shock contender to replace Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea. The Italian’s resignation as England manager has immediately cranked up the pressure on the beleaguered AVB.”

Beasley, recently at the centre of the Harry Redknapp tax evasion case, is known to have good contacts at Chelsea but this does seem a little far fetched.

Blame for this awful mess lies squarely with Capello (James Lawton, Independent) 

Capello gagged by worried FA (John Cross, Daily Mirror)

A new England “race storm”

England in race storm No2 (Shaun Custis, The Sun) “The England football team was plunged into a new racism storm last night after Stuart Pearce was named as caretaker manager following Fabio Capello’s resignation. Pearce, 49, had to apologise to black star Paul Ince for allegedly racially abusing him when both were players.”

Pretty spurious stuff this from The Sun – dredging up an incident from 1994. An excellent example of how the press undermine the England team on a regular basis.

After a week from hell, race row is the final sucker-punch (Sam Wallace, Independent)

Stuart Pearce needs to clear the air after allegations of racist abuse towards Paul Ince emerge (Paul Hayward, Daily Telegraph)

Gossip

Real Madrid to open the bidding at £30m for in-demand Arsenal captain Van Persie (Daily Mail) The Mail copy Marca’s front page from Thursday.