Sunday 7 September 2008

The Capello Project is d-o-o-o-med if Premier League bosses don't respect him.

Low confidence, a lack of attacking adventure and only two-goals scored against low calibre Andorra - but it's hardly surprising Fabio Capello's England is misfiring.
He has little support from inside the English game. "We're All Doomed" if we're not in this together.
Capello's agitated by a perceived lack of respect from fellow managers in the Premier League. He was disappointed by Harry Redknapp's comments about England's performance in the friendly against the Czechs. After all, when Fabio watched Portsmouth, Fabio didn't pass comment on the way Pompey played up. Fabio kept it professional.
Capello's antennae are well-tuned. His intuition about a lack of respect is right. How are we going to forage through Europe without co-operation from the Home Front?
But unwelcome comments about his team from fellow managers are just the tip of the iceberg.
Premier League bosses think nothing of withholding their players citing spurious fitness concerns. "England needs that player?"... Tough!
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez saw this international window as the ideal chance to put Steven Gerrard under the surgeon's knife. The operation though necessary, didn't need doing now; better Gerrard misses a couple of games for England than for Liverpool, eh Rafa?

Gerrard's drive in midfield is sorely missed and England's best starting line-up is compromised by outside forces.
Capello's been highly-visible stadium-hopping to assess the form of his prospective squad, but he's not across another major issue; a meaningful dialogue with managers about the players he needs.
Sven recognised this and often resorted to the press to air his grievances with managers by using the backpages to put them under pressure.
He was a canny operator was Sven. Fergie and Co were often forced onto the backfoot when it came to making players available for England. Remember how Sven scooped an injured Rooney off to the 2006 World Cup against Fergie's wishes?
Capello has a more rigid mindset than Sven and frankly, he doesn't seem to have the Premier League with him so far.
There are FIFA rules about making players available for international duty, but there's no help more locally from the FA to steer Premier League managers to play ball on a more informal basis.
Until Capello grapples with his peers and starts winning these mini-battles with the clubs, Capello's England Project looks compromised - and ultimately doomed.

3 comments:

  1. Just watched, like every proud Englishman, a rousing 4-1 win in Croatia.

    It's a results game - and now Capello's task of winning over the English game's powerbrokers will be a whole lot easier.

    Come on England!

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  2. I was going to say hmmmmm. We didn't do badly last night. Is he still doomed? Or has he redeemed himself? And dozy as I can be, has he found the next Beckham?

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  3. He got it exactly right did our adopted Englishman. Now Premier League bosses: stick that in your pipe - and get behind Capello!

    As for last night's hattrick hero, "I've seen the future - and it's Walcott!"

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