Fabio Capello Resigns

[smokie36]

Pearce to play the kids at the end of the month and storm into the job.

I'm off to the bookies...!

[Abrak]

About time to,four years in the job and paid nearly £ 24,000,000, how preposterous,I could have done a better job.

It's time for an English man to run the England team and Harry does seem the man for the job.

Tax evasion acquittal or not.

Sent from stoney's iPad using ThaiVisa app

Yes I am sure there is lots that makes a good manager - tactical awareness, man management, organization etc. If you choose to appoint an english manager who cant speak english, man management is not going to be your strong point. If you cant even pick up the phone to tell him why he is no longer the captain you are at a disadvantage.

You know I am not trying to make up any complex theory of football management here. To state the obvious being able to speak english would generally be a requirement for an english teacher. It is not a huge jump of logic to think that in order to be a manager you should be able to communicate with the people you manage.

Anyway where does Capello get his moral values from in any case. I understand the principle that a 'charge' of 'racial abuse' means you are innocent until proven guilty, however if you are guilty of shagging a colleagues girlfriend at what point are you entitled to be guilty but worthy of being restored as the England Captain.Why not simply argue that assuming the trial happened tomorrow and he was found guilty, the maximum penalty would be 1500 quid which he would pay, which would leave him totally free to captain the side without any court case overhanging him.

[nikster]

the disgusting golf club that is the FA.

Finally we agree.

The fish starts stinking at the head... IMO the incompetent clowns at the FA are the only problem in English football...

The big price tag players deserve their places in the teams - they wouldn't be there if they were not that good. But good players don't make a good team as England learns again and again every 4 years

But hey things could be worse. Imagine you have a football organization as bad as the FA but also only crap players, crap managers, and no money. That's us in Austria. An embarrassing joke...

Edited February 9, 2012 by nikster

[MrRed]

The fish starts stinking at the head... IMO the incompetent clowns at the FA are the only problem in English football...

The big price tag players deserve their places in the teams - they wouldn't be there if they were not that good. But good players don't make a good team as England learns again and again every 4 years

But hey things could be worse. Imagine you have a football organization as bad as the FA but also only crap players, crap managers, and no money. That's us in Austria. An embarrassing joke...

You have great winter sports teams in other areas though.

[spongeman]

Euro 2012 = Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Croatia.

All ahead of England.

Why not try Hiddink ?

[theblether]

I have a shock for some English compatriots, we Scots are not anti-English, we are anti Little Englander.

with respect mate i don't think you speak for all of scotland there.

i always liked renton's speech in trainspotting. i don't hate the english, they're just wanke_rs. we on the other hand are colonised by wanke_rs. can't even find a decent culture to be colonised by, we're ruled by effete <deleted>.

seemed spot on to me.

Right you....I'm trying to be diplomatic and your blowing my cover!!!

Don't forget the old saying......."if you can fake sincerity you've got it made". The only tournament that England ever won was rigged and a homer too.......

[KamalaDreamer]

The fish starts stinking at the head... IMO the incompetent clowns at the FA are the only problem in English football...

The big price tag players deserve their places in the teams - they wouldn't be there if they were not that good. But good players don't make a good team as England learns again and again every 4 years

But hey things could be worse. Imagine you have a football organization as bad as the FA but also only crap players, crap managers, and no money. That's us in Austria. An embarrassing joke...

You have great winter sports teams in other areas though.

Jamaica bobsleigh. Well said Mr Red

[KamalaDreamer]

Euro 2012 = Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Croatia.

All ahead of England.

Why not try Hiddink ?

Nice one. Might go to Chelsea though?

[KamalaDreamer]

I have a shock for some English compatriots, we Scots are not anti-English, we are anti Little Englander.

with respect mate i don't think you speak for all of scotland there.

i always liked renton's speech in trainspotting. i don't hate the english, they're just wanke_rs. we on the other hand are colonised by wanke_rs. can't even find a decent culture to be colonised by, we're ruled by effete <deleted>.

seemed spot on to me.

Right you....I'm trying to be diplomatic and your blowing my cover!!!

Don't forget the old saying......."if you can fake sincerity you've got it made". The only tournament that England ever won was rigged and a homer too.......

Scottish Braveheart hanging from a bar at Wembley. Give it a rest.

[Abrak]

Euro 2012 = Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Croatia.

All ahead of England.

Why not try Hiddink ?

Well....

1) It would be a little strange/hypocritical to choose a convicted tax fraud over one that had at least been declared innocent

2) In the long run we are all dead. Choosing a 65 year old to run the team would imply you expect short term success (which is rarely achieved and only worth achieving as a precursor to long run success)

3) If in the short term he is unsuccessful you will sack him while if he is successful in the short term you will have to replace him as he will be dead

[KamalaDreamer]

I have a shock for some English compatriots, we Scots are not anti-English, we are anti Little Englander.

with respect mate i don't think you speak for all of scotland there.

i always liked renton's speech in trainspotting. i don't hate the english, they're just wanke_rs. we on the other hand are colonised by wanke_rs. can't even find a decent culture to be colonised by, we're ruled by effete <deleted>.

seemed spot on to me.

Right you....I'm trying to be diplomatic and your blowing my cover!!!

Don't forget the old saying......."if you can fake sincerity you've got it made". The only tournament that England ever won was rigged and a homer too.......

BTW. Nobody fakes sincerity and gets away with it. Ask a farang and a Thai girl since we are on TV.

[KamalaDreamer]

Euro 2012 = Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Croatia.

All ahead of England.

Why not try Hiddink ?

Well....

1) It would be a little strange/hypocritical to choose a convicted tax fraud over one that had at least been declared innocent

2) In the long run we are all dead. Choosing a 65 year old to run the team would imply you expect short term success (which is rarely achieved and only worth achieving as a precursor to long run success)

3) If in the short term he is unsuccessful you will sack him while if he is successful in the short term you will have to replace him as he will be dead

Interesting to know if Fergie and Roman would agree with your age thingy?

PS. Short posts are usually the best ones. Yours are always a trifle long.

[theblether]

I have a shock for some English compatriots, we Scots are not anti-English, we are anti Little Englander.

with respect mate i don't think you speak for all of scotland there.

i always liked renton's speech in trainspotting. i don't hate the english, they're just wanke_rs. we on the other hand are colonised by wanke_rs. can't even find a decent culture to be colonised by, we're ruled by effete <deleted>.

seemed spot on to me.

Right you....I'm trying to be diplomatic and your blowing my cover!!!

Don't forget the old saying......."if you can fake sincerity you've got it made". The only tournament that England ever won was rigged and a homer too.......

BTW. Nobody fakes sincerity and gets away with it. Ask a farang and a Thai girl since we are on TV.

At the risk of being cheeky.......garbage.

People get away with it every single day in life, every single day.

Just have a look at all those money grabbing badge kissing skunks that are known as professional football players as a prime example.

[KamalaDreamer]

Sincerity.

Lionel Messi?

The fans in the stands will decide who they think is sincere.

So will the Thai girl.

Up to you.

[spongeman]

Euro 2012 = Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Croatia.

All ahead of England.

Why not try Hiddink ?

Nice one. Might go to Chelsea though?

Maybe Capello might go to Chelsea, look who the captain is there...........

[salty]

spongeman,

Maybe they might try to steal Trap.

[StevieH]

Harry Redknapp will come fully furnished with the experience of winning bugger all in his 30 years of football management,the difference is that he is proven at not being very good tactically.....everybody says he is a great man manager....NO HE IS NOT,again if he had a cupboard full of trophy's then yes you can see it,but he hasn't.

It will be the biggest mistake in England's history to appoint him,especially with the expectations the already frenzied media have built up with him.

In World football he will be ripped to pieces.

oh be fair now, harry redknapp has won one FA cup. this is a good read and the sort of honest critique of redknapp you won't read much of in the flagwaving rush to give the job to a bally englishman, what what.

Feeling Sick At This Stalinist Whitewash...

http://www.football365.com/john-nicholson/7498696/John-Nich

There is a case for Harry Redknapp as England manager but there is also an argument against - but you won't hear this in the media today. Apparently, we all want him...

Okay deep breath. Settle down. Fabio Capello has gone. Harry Redknapp will replace him.

It won't affect much. England won't be any better or much worse. The players are still the players and still won't be able to retain possession but will have enough quality to win some games. The same old story.

There is a case for Redknapp as England manager. Many don't like him and think he's not good enough, others do. It's like that with most managers.

But it is an appointment campaigned for by large swathes of the press and most of the broadcast media output; a triumph for favouritism over meritocracy.

They seem psychotically desperate for him to take over; they want it with a lust that I have never known at any other time. They talk about him as though he is a family member. It is nothing less than a determined, concerted campaign and like any political campaign; they protect their candidate from any criticism. Henry Winter says 54 and a half million Englishmen want Harry Redknapp and the other 500,000 are Spurs fans who don't want him to leave. This is just untrue but it was asserted on Radio 4 this morning as though it was. This is the mood music. A story has been created and nothing which does not fit the plotline is being reported. It is a Stalinist whitewash to get one man elected.

Serious critique of Redknapp's management of almost any club he's been in charge of has always been very limited because presumably, no-one likes to criticise a friend. But this is not good enough.

Simply put, almost all media outlets and employees seem biased in his favour. Nothing which paints him in a bad light is published. When Spurs play badly it is never his fault. When they lose, it is the players who lose. When they win it is his talent. His Spurs reign has been described by slavering acolytes as 'magnificent' and 'extraordinary'. It is in such hyperbole that this awful favouritism reveals itself.

He's done a very good job, but not an extraordinary job. No manager is this perfect. Everyone does things wrong. Redknapp is no exception. He is being rated far too highly. This isn't to say he is without qualities nor even that he shouldn't manage England, but the way he's talked about across the media you'd think he'd turned water into wine, Michael Dawson into Franz Beckenbauer.

Think otherwise? It will never be raised in the media. The voices against him are muted and not given a platform, Right away, as soon as Capello resigned, there was a media maelstrom, telling us 'everyone' wants Redknapp as manager, when that just isn't true. Even the normally excellent Mark Chapman on 5live got caught on this media-generated story arc said it was 'unanimous' before, to give him his due, qualifying the statement somewhat. There is always a tendency for a collective group think in football where assumptions are made by a few and adopted by many others. This must explain why Capello, win ratio of 67% and all, is being described as though he was a failure and a bad manager, a bad man, even.

There are and always have been fans who have questioned Redknapp's abilities and there are even now. You don't have to hate him or think him useless to think and understand that he is far from perfect. But we are painted a picture as though he is capable of transforming ordinary talent into worldbeaters, of making players feel so good that they perform extraordinary feats.

Stan Collymore was reporting players' favourable response to a Redknapp appointment as though this in itself would justify it but surely he is not so dumb as to not realise that players always back the new man, just as they always back the old man right up until he is sacked or resigns. They gravitate to the power. It is proof of nothing and even if it was, should the FA really appoint a manager on the say-so of the players?

"The foreign managers have been useless," one caller said to 5live. This is the dumb level reached. This is who supports the Redknapp appointment.

The anti-Capello sentiment, like the anti-Sven sentiment before it, is nothing less than vile. His achievements are wiped away in this media frenzy which re-writes history in the same way a totalitarian regime does.

Today's arrogant bully, let us not forget, was appointed to instil discipline into a side indulged by Steve McClaren and Sven. It is a bitter irony that Sven was castigated - by those who now accuse Capello of being too cold and aggressive towards the players - for indulging the WAG culture and not showing enough emotion. What is a man to do? These two men took England through five qualifying campaigns and lost just two games. The Englishman in the middle of them lost three in just one. To ignore this fact as an inconvenient truth is an emblem of the stupidity on display here.

It now seems forgotten that the players had grown fearful of the shirt and of playing at home before Capello arrived. All was not sweetness and light before the evil Capello snake polluted the Garden of Eden.

The impression we are being given, as ever, is that it's not the players' fault we're losers at tournaments, it is the manager. But it's not the manager, it is the players, players who - like Redknapp - are all too often and easily over-rated.

A quick example: Joe Hart. A great shot-stopper, now regularly called the best keeper in the world on TV and in the press. However, Hart comes for and flaps at a lot of crosses; the world's best keeper wouldn't. This awkward fact is just totally ignored, is not commented on, and the great shot-stopping is focused on instead. So when he plays for England and he flaps at a cross, and someone scores as a result, it will be presented as though it is out of character or that he's playing worse for England than his club. He's not. A false impression has been created.

I hope Redknapp's legendary man-management powers will transform England from also-rans into champions. I see no reason why, if true, it would not work immediately. Presumably he will be sacked if this is not the case. Virtually the only quality assigned to him by his followers is man management, so if that is proved bogus, the reason for his appointment evaporates.

We've been down this populist manager route before with Kevin Keegan who, oh, he was English and could speak English fluently. It never ends well.

This whole affair is far too emblematic of the hysterical, bi-polar, idiot culture which underlies the national game.

But this love will end in tears. It always does with England. They will turn on the man they now vaunt and adore. They eat their own, this mob. It is sick.

They think they have won but more truthfully it reveals we are all losers.

[carmine]

John Nicholsons a good read.

Why are so many jocks interested in our next manager? Seemingly far more interested than me! Just my thoughts for the morning.......

[StevieH]

John Nicholsons a good read.

Why are so many jocks interested in our next manager? Seemingly far more interested than me! Just my thoughts for the morning.......

apparently aston villa fans have started a petition named 'mcleish for england'.

[spongeman]

spongeman,

Maybe they might try to steal Trap.

I Doubt it Salters, as Trap has a brain.

[oldgit]

Harry Redknapp will come fully furnished with the experience of winning bugger all in his 30 years of football management,the difference is that he is proven at not being very good tactically.....everybody says he is a great man manager....NO HE IS NOT,again if he had a cupboard full of trophy's then yes you can see it,but he hasn't.

It will be the biggest mistake in England's history to appoint him,especially with the expectations the already frenzied media have built up with him.

In World football he will be ripped to pieces.

oh be fair now, harry redknapp has won one FA cup. this is a good read and the sort of honest critique of redknapp you won't read much of in the flagwaving rush to give the job to a bally englishman, what what.

Feeling Sick At This Stalinist Whitewash...

http://www.football3...98696/John-Nich

There is a case for Harry Redknapp as England manager but there is also an argument against - but you won't hear this in the media today. Apparently, we all want him...

Okay deep breath. Settle down. Fabio Capello has gone. Harry Redknapp will replace him.

It won't affect much. England won't be any better or much worse. The players are still the players and still won't be able to retain possession but will have enough quality to win some games. The same old story.

There is a case for Redknapp as England manager. Many don't like him and think he's not good enough, others do. It's like that with most managers.

But it is an appointment campaigned for by large swathes of the press and most of the broadcast media output; a triumph for favouritism over meritocracy.

They seem psychotically desperate for him to take over; they want it with a lust that I have never known at any other time. They talk about him as though he is a family member. It is nothing less than a determined, concerted campaign and like any political campaign; they protect their candidate from any criticism. Henry Winter says 54 and a half million Englishmen want Harry Redknapp and the other 500,000 are Spurs fans who don't want him to leave. This is just untrue but it was asserted on Radio 4 this morning as though it was. This is the mood music. A story has been created and nothing which does not fit the plotline is being reported. It is a Stalinist whitewash to get one man elected.

Serious critique of Redknapp's management of almost any club he's been in charge of has always been very limited because presumably, no-one likes to criticise a friend. But this is not good enough.

Simply put, almost all media outlets and employees seem biased in his favour. Nothing which paints him in a bad light is published. When Spurs play badly it is never his fault. When they lose, it is the players who lose. When they win it is his talent. His Spurs reign has been described by slavering acolytes as 'magnificent' and 'extraordinary'. It is in such hyperbole that this awful favouritism reveals itself.

He's done a very good job, but not an extraordinary job. No manager is this perfect. Everyone does things wrong. Redknapp is no exception. He is being rated far too highly. This isn't to say he is without qualities nor even that he shouldn't manage England, but the way he's talked about across the media you'd think he'd turned water into wine, Michael Dawson into Franz Beckenbauer.

Think otherwise? It will never be raised in the media. The voices against him are muted and not given a platform, Right away, as soon as Capello resigned, there was a media maelstrom, telling us 'everyone' wants Redknapp as manager, when that just isn't true. Even the normally excellent Mark Chapman on 5live got caught on this media-generated story arc said it was 'unanimous' before, to give him his due, qualifying the statement somewhat. There is always a tendency for a collective group think in football where assumptions are made by a few and adopted by many others. This must explain why Capello, win ratio of 67% and all, is being described as though he was a failure and a bad manager, a bad man, even.

There are and always have been fans who have questioned Redknapp's abilities and there are even now. You don't have to hate him or think him useless to think and understand that he is far from perfect. But we are painted a picture as though he is capable of transforming ordinary talent into worldbeaters, of making players feel so good that they perform extraordinary feats.

Stan Collymore was reporting players' favourable response to a Redknapp appointment as though this in itself would justify it but surely he is not so dumb as to not realise that players always back the new man, just as they always back the old man right up until he is sacked or resigns. They gravitate to the power. It is proof of nothing and even if it was, should the FA really appoint a manager on the say-so of the players?

"The foreign managers have been useless," one caller said to 5live. This is the dumb level reached. This is who supports the Redknapp appointment.

The anti-Capello sentiment, like the anti-Sven sentiment before it, is nothing less than vile. His achievements are wiped away in this media frenzy which re-writes history in the same way a totalitarian regime does.

Today's arrogant bully, let us not forget, was appointed to instil discipline into a side indulged by Steve McClaren and Sven. It is a bitter irony that Sven was castigated - by those who now accuse Capello of being too cold and aggressive towards the players - for indulging the WAG culture and not showing enough emotion. What is a man to do? These two men took England through five qualifying campaigns and lost just two games. The Englishman in the middle of them lost three in just one. To ignore this fact as an inconvenient truth is an emblem of the stupidity on display here.

It now seems forgotten that the players had grown fearful of the shirt and of playing at home before Capello arrived. All was not sweetness and light before the evil Capello snake polluted the Garden of Eden.

The impression we are being given, as ever, is that it's not the players' fault we're losers at tournaments, it is the manager. But it's not the manager, it is the players, players who - like Redknapp - are all too often and easily over-rated.

A quick example: Joe Hart. A great shot-stopper, now regularly called the best keeper in the world on TV and in the press. However, Hart comes for and flaps at a lot of crosses; the world's best keeper wouldn't. This awkward fact is just totally ignored, is not commented on, and the great shot-stopping is focused on instead. So when he plays for England and he flaps at a cross, and someone scores as a result, it will be presented as though it is out of character or that he's playing worse for England than his club. He's not. A false impression has been created.

I hope Redknapp's legendary man-management powers will transform England from also-rans into champions. I see no reason why, if true, it would not work immediately. Presumably he will be sacked if this is not the case. Virtually the only quality assigned to him by his followers is man management, so if that is proved bogus, the reason for his appointment evaporates.

We've been down this populist manager route before with Kevin Keegan who, oh, he was English and could speak English fluently. It never ends well.

This whole affair is far too emblematic of the hysterical, bi-polar, idiot culture which underlies the national game.

But this love will end in tears. It always does with England. They will turn on the man they now vaunt and adore. They eat their own, this mob. It is sick.

They think they have won but more truthfully it reveals we are all losers.

A very good summary of the hypocrisy,stupidity and idiocy that pervades English football reporting in general and the Premier League in particular The people that take the cake are ex footballers,who having tried their hand at managing and failing dismally,weasel their way into our living rooms via the TV couches, and solemnly preach their drivel to the mass audience.The cosy atmosphere is rarely broken,total unity and agreement being the policy.When,however,someone does go out on a limb,he is quickly slapped down.How dare you have your own opinion?

When the Redknapp experiment starts to falter,as it undoubtedly will,the wagons will circle and they will turn on him like a pack of wolves.Turnip head for Graham Taylor.What caricature awaits Redknapp? Because the football punditry and red top reporters can never seen to be wrong.

Edited February 10, 2012 by oldgit

[StevieH]

Harry Redknapp will come fully furnished with the experience of winning bugger all in his 30 years of football management,the difference is that he is proven at not being very good tactically.....everybody says he is a great man manager....NO HE IS NOT,again if he had a cupboard full of trophy's then yes you can see it,but he hasn't.

It will be the biggest mistake in England's history to appoint him,especially with the expectations the already frenzied media have built up with him.

In World football he will be ripped to pieces.

oh be fair now, harry redknapp has won one FA cup. this is a good read and the sort of honest critique of redknapp you won't read much of in the flagwaving rush to give the job to a bally englishman, what what.

Feeling Sick At This Stalinist Whitewash...

http://www.football3...98696/John-Nich

There is a case for Harry Redknapp as England manager but there is also an argument against - but you won't hear this in the media today. Apparently, we all want him...

Okay deep breath. Settle down. Fabio Capello has gone. Harry Redknapp will replace him.

It won't affect much. England won't be any better or much worse. The players are still the players and still won't be able to retain possession but will have enough quality to win some games. The same old story.

There is a case for Redknapp as England manager. Many don't like him and think he's not good enough, others do. It's like that with most managers.

But it is an appointment campaigned for by large swathes of the press and most of the broadcast media output; a triumph for favouritism over meritocracy.

They seem psychotically desperate for him to take over; they want it with a lust that I have never known at any other time. They talk about him as though he is a family member. It is nothing less than a determined, concerted campaign and like any political campaign; they protect their candidate from any criticism. Henry Winter says 54 and a half million Englishmen want Harry Redknapp and the other 500,000 are Spurs fans who don't want him to leave. This is just untrue but it was asserted on Radio 4 this morning as though it was. This is the mood music. A story has been created and nothing which does not fit the plotline is being reported. It is a Stalinist whitewash to get one man elected.

Serious critique of Redknapp's management of almost any club he's been in charge of has always been very limited because presumably, no-one likes to criticise a friend. But this is not good enough.

Simply put, almost all media outlets and employees seem biased in his favour. Nothing which paints him in a bad light is published. When Spurs play badly it is never his fault. When they lose, it is the players who lose. When they win it is his talent. His Spurs reign has been described by slavering acolytes as 'magnificent' and 'extraordinary'. It is in such hyperbole that this awful favouritism reveals itself.

He's done a very good job, but not an extraordinary job. No manager is this perfect. Everyone does things wrong. Redknapp is no exception. He is being rated far too highly. This isn't to say he is without qualities nor even that he shouldn't manage England, but the way he's talked about across the media you'd think he'd turned water into wine, Michael Dawson into Franz Beckenbauer.

Think otherwise? It will never be raised in the media. The voices against him are muted and not given a platform, Right away, as soon as Capello resigned, there was a media maelstrom, telling us 'everyone' wants Redknapp as manager, when that just isn't true. Even the normally excellent Mark Chapman on 5live got caught on this media-generated story arc said it was 'unanimous' before, to give him his due, qualifying the statement somewhat. There is always a tendency for a collective group think in football where assumptions are made by a few and adopted by many others. This must explain why Capello, win ratio of 67% and all, is being described as though he was a failure and a bad manager, a bad man, even.

There are and always have been fans who have questioned Redknapp's abilities and there are even now. You don't have to hate him or think him useless to think and understand that he is far from perfect. But we are painted a picture as though he is capable of transforming ordinary talent into worldbeaters, of making players feel so good that they perform extraordinary feats.

Stan Collymore was reporting players' favourable response to a Redknapp appointment as though this in itself would justify it but surely he is not so dumb as to not realise that players always back the new man, just as they always back the old man right up until he is sacked or resigns. They gravitate to the power. It is proof of nothing and even if it was, should the FA really appoint a manager on the say-so of the players?

"The foreign managers have been useless," one caller said to 5live. This is the dumb level reached. This is who supports the Redknapp appointment.

The anti-Capello sentiment, like the anti-Sven sentiment before it, is nothing less than vile. His achievements are wiped away in this media frenzy which re-writes history in the same way a totalitarian regime does.

Today's arrogant bully, let us not forget, was appointed to instil discipline into a side indulged by Steve McClaren and Sven. It is a bitter irony that Sven was castigated - by those who now accuse Capello of being too cold and aggressive towards the players - for indulging the WAG culture and not showing enough emotion. What is a man to do? These two men took England through five qualifying campaigns and lost just two games. The Englishman in the middle of them lost three in just one. To ignore this fact as an inconvenient truth is an emblem of the stupidity on display here.

It now seems forgotten that the players had grown fearful of the shirt and of playing at home before Capello arrived. All was not sweetness and light before the evil Capello snake polluted the Garden of Eden.

The impression we are being given, as ever, is that it's not the players' fault we're losers at tournaments, it is the manager. But it's not the manager, it is the players, players who - like Redknapp - are all too often and easily over-rated.

A quick example: Joe Hart. A great shot-stopper, now regularly called the best keeper in the world on TV and in the press. However, Hart comes for and flaps at a lot of crosses; the world's best keeper wouldn't. This awkward fact is just totally ignored, is not commented on, and the great shot-stopping is focused on instead. So when he plays for England and he flaps at a cross, and someone scores as a result, it will be presented as though it is out of character or that he's playing worse for England than his club. He's not. A false impression has been created.

I hope Redknapp's legendary man-management powers will transform England from also-rans into champions. I see no reason why, if true, it would not work immediately. Presumably he will be sacked if this is not the case. Virtually the only quality assigned to him by his followers is man management, so if that is proved bogus, the reason for his appointment evaporates.

We've been down this populist manager route before with Kevin Keegan who, oh, he was English and could speak English fluently. It never ends well.

This whole affair is far too emblematic of the hysterical, bi-polar, idiot culture which underlies the national game.

But this love will end in tears. It always does with England. They will turn on the man they now vaunt and adore. They eat their own, this mob. It is sick.

They think they have won but more truthfully it reveals we are all losers.

A very good summary of the hypocrisy,stupidity and idiocy that pervades English football reporting in general and the Premier League in particular The people that take the cake are ex footballers,who having tried their hand at managing and failing dismally,weasel their way into our living rooms via the TV couches, and solemnly preach their drivel to the mass audience.The cosy atmosphere is rarely broken,total unity and agreement being the policy.When,however,someone does go out on a limb,he is quickly slapped down.How dare you have your own opinion?

When the Redknapp experiment starts to falter,as it undoubtedly will,the wagons will circle and they will turn on him like a pack of wolves.Turnip head for Graham Taylor.What caricature awaits Redknapp? Because the football punditry and red top reporters can never seen to be wrong.

agree entirely, the media are for the most part total vermin. the pundits who annoy me most are those that have never even tried management really, gobshites like robbie savage, lineker, mark bright, hansen etc and not just those who tried and failed dismally like shearer, lawrenson and that berk claridge.

reckon redknapp's caricature is going to be the thing that he hates most, the wheeler dealer thing. they'll cast him as arfur daley or del boy, only capable of doing the odd deal here and there. what they did to graham taylor and bobby robson in their final days in the job was nothing short of disgraceful.

[MrRed]

Redknapp's caricature can only be an improvement.

There is not many people that could say that.

Edited February 10, 2012 by MrRed

[carmine]

You guys remember how the media scum bought up a story about an affair Sir Bobby? They put out the story a month before the '86 world cup about an affair he had.. the affair happened twenty years earlier. i can still remember Robson saying :they do this to me a month before the tournament and all i'm trying to do is win us the world cup.

Sums up the vile media and a stand out scumbag is that Brian Woolnough or whatever his name is.

[StevieH]

brian woolnough is an offensive fatheaded blowhard.

take your pick though from any who write for the s*n, the mirror, the mail, the express. even the supposedly higher brow papers these days are staffed by a lot of self-promoting gobshites.

[smokie36]

Gotta love the FA chief telling you all that the preparations for the Euros are all in place.

Booked flights, hotel, training ground and a few cones to run around. Fark I could have done that in 10 mins without sweat!

How much are they gettin' paid?

[StevieH]

they've booked the team a hotel in downtown krakow, smack in the city centre. what if the new manager prefers to have his players out in the sticks and away from distractions? outstanding work yet again by the FA.

[Abrak]

I am incredibly impressed with the way that the FA has tackled this issue.

They have totally disagreed with their managers argument 'innocent until proven guilty' by pointing out that the charge against Terry implies that he might be guilty of 'racist abuse'.

The FA also correctly pointed out in the Suarez case that what was acceptable language in the Uruguayan's home country was not acceptable in Britain.

If you are going to appoint 'Iti's' or 'Swedes' to manage the country's football club this is the sort of thing that happens. And if you are stupid enough to allow South Americans to play football in your country you are opening the door to cultural misunderstandings.

Racial discrimination is abhorrent. So making sure that only an Englishman can be the next manager of England is a good start to avoiding this sort of controversy in the future. I would also point out to the FA that if they intend to say introduce the Rooney rule, the fact that the top 50 candidates at betting sites, are all caucasian doesnt look good. However, dont worry as I have a lot of friends who are black or a decently milk free color of coffee who will happily turn up to an interview for the job if the compensation is enough.

IIf you pretty much allow players from any country in the world to be employed as a footballer within the football industry you are also asking for the trouble. The FA is going down the right road - if you insist the english manager must be English how could you possibly be accused of discrimination?

[Sparkles]

I find the tsunami of hysteria for Harry Redknapp to be appointed England's next manager quite amusing,even the current players are in on the act.Is Harry the only viable candidate in the whole of England ? I think not and whoever gets the job if they fail it will be a feeding frenzy for the tabloids once again if they fail. I don't think it matters a toss who takes them to the Euros,its the long term they should be concerned with ,what's the rush ?

[rixalex]

I find the tsunami of hysteria for Harry Redknapp to be appointed England's next manager quite amusing,even the current players are in on the act.Is Harry the only viable candidate in the whole of England ? I think not and whoever gets the job if they fail it will be a feeding frenzy for the tabloids once again if they fail. I don't think it matters a toss who takes them to the Euros,its the long term they should be concerned with ,what's the rush ?

Indeed. Seems like purely on the basis that he has been touted as the next man for so long, this makes him number one candidate. I think we, or should i say the FA, really needs to start with a blank piece of paper and forget about who the bookies or who the papers like.

Edited February 10, 2012 by rixalex