OT- Capello Quits England Job
Capello today quits the England National Team. He was supposed to leave before the 2014 World Cup anyway but not before Euro 2012.
What's really amazing is that Capello never seemed particularly loyal to any captain before including Terry removing the captain's armband once before from Terry for maybe sleeping with a teammates partner. Apparantly it's not okay to punish a player before a trial if it's a racial complaint but it is okay if it's adultery.
According to Wiki since 2008 England has had 6 captains under Capello (Terry, Ferdinand, Gerrard, Beckham, Rooney, and Lampard). I don't get where this suddenly loyalty to Terry is coming from (and I'm a Chelsea fan who loves England's Brave John Terry).
Favorites to take the job seem to be Harry Redkanpp (Tottenham), Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid), Stuart Pearce (England U-21 and Team Great Britain), Alan Pardew (Newcastle) and Roy Hodgson (West Brom).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/08/fabio-capello-resigns-england-manager-live
February 8th, 2012 at 4:38 PM ^
As an Arsenal supporter I wouldn't mind seeing Redknapp leave for greener pastures.
February 8th, 2012 at 4:41 PM ^
Apparently we have a Spurs fan on the board.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:23 PM ^
Scum! Ugh, there's a guy in my class that is "a fan of the Hotspur."
He's hardly a soccer fan and I thin he just likes saying that name. If he wasn't such a nice guy (and ignorant about the sport) I'd probably hate him
February 8th, 2012 at 5:57 PM ^
fan; never heard him use the word "Hotspur." Too wierd even for a fan to say. He was maybe the most educated guy I've met in my entire life, too. Rolled a mean spliff. Big-ass jazz collection. Memories.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:41 PM ^
Yeah exactly. No one calls them "Hotspur."
February 8th, 2012 at 5:21 PM ^
Fellow Arsenal supporter.
Isn't it time to give Fergie a call?
February 8th, 2012 at 8:51 PM ^
Isn't Fergie managing the Olympic team? Might have just been a rumor. There's more rumor in Euro football than college football recruiting.
February 8th, 2012 at 4:40 PM ^
They've called Saban to picque his interest, and Nick was willing to listen.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:38 PM ^
This is Englandfergodsakes.
February 8th, 2012 at 7:02 PM ^
Just sayin'.
February 8th, 2012 at 9:26 PM ^
This is sort of true (and hilarious) in terms of the performance of the team. Would Clausen, Tate, and Floyd be the Golden Generation?
I thnk there's a distinction in the fact that most of their fans are utterly cynical about the team at this point. Anytime there's an even mildly optimistic piece on the Guardian about England (which is rare, and done more for the sake of contrarianism than anything else, I think) the comments are absolutely dripping with disdain.
So basically, England fans seem to be sort of like what Michigan fans would be like if the football team played like Notre Dame, is the conclusion I just talked myself into.
February 8th, 2012 at 9:45 PM ^
of England fanbase. Think the average English guy manages to talk himself into the team in just about every tournament, only to scream "WHY DIDN'T I SEE THIS COMING?" at the inevitable exit.
Like in the 2010 World Cup, a number of English people felt the team was one of the favorites to win it all.
February 9th, 2012 at 8:10 AM ^
there is no such thing as "the average English guy (or fan in this case)" Just about every English football fan is fanatical about the football squad. My family moved here when I was young (from England) and we are a family of football fans. I have seen England play many times and the "average" English football fan would be be comparable to the most fanatical college football fan you could think of. That is the average in England.
And I agree with the above poster, most fans aren't very comfortable with the direction the squad is heading.
February 8th, 2012 at 4:40 PM ^
Holy Moley
February 8th, 2012 at 4:43 PM ^
I follow soccer pretty well, but maybe one of you with more knowledge can answer this: Why hasn't Sir Alex ever managed the English side and why is his name never mentioned as a possibilty? Is it lack of interest on his part?
February 8th, 2012 at 4:46 PM ^
He would not be interested in leaving. ManU is not the kind of job that you leave. Also he is Scottish and there have only been two non-English managers of the team (Capello being one of them). There is a bit of a rivalry and dislike towards England from Scotland so that might play a factor too.
February 8th, 2012 at 4:50 PM ^
Beat me to it.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:16 PM ^
He stepped in and managed Scotland for the final qualifiers and at the '86 World Cup after Jock Stein passed away (managing Aberdeen and Scotland at the same time, which is basically unheard of).
He is Scottish and would tell England to GIRUY.
February 8th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^
He's turned it down a couple times before, calling it a "terrible" job and a "poisoned chalice" (hooray for MacBeth references!). He also thinks the fact that he's a Scotsman would be tough to overcome for much of England.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:44 PM ^
Being a national team manager is almost more of a part-time job. You only coach like 10 matches a year. Club managers are much more busy.
February 8th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^
Redknapp getting cleared today has to give him the best chances but the question is does he take it? I woudln't leave Tottenham now with a shot to win the EPL. Maybe Redknapp after Euro 2012 if Tottenham win this year?
I don't see Mourinho splitting time between England and Real Madrid but if both allowed it then and only then might he take it.
I really believe Hughes or Martin O'Neil would have had it if they didn't recently take jobs at QPR and Sunderland respectively.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:57 PM ^
Redknapp has always wanted the England job and has made no bones about it being his eventual goal. Tottenham fans understand this and have always resigned ourselves to losing him, but we were thinking it would be next year. Things have now become REALLY interesting and given our rather uninspiring assistants, I'm not thinking there'll be any interim managers or promoting from within.
February 8th, 2012 at 4:52 PM ^
Does anyone understand Capello's sudden loyalty to Terry? Does Terry have something on Capello? He replaced him as Captain for rumors of an affair, he constantly rotated captains, renames Terry and then Terry is alledged to say something racist (to Ferdinand's brother no less) and suddenly Capello is quitting becuase Terry lost the armband before his trial.
Crazy.
Maybe it has more to do with the FA stepping in over him?
February 8th, 2012 at 5:06 PM ^
I think it has to do with the FA. Umbro also just dropped Terry from all of their campaigns.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:24 PM ^
What pissed him off is that the FA decided to strip Terry of the captaincy and he felt it was none of their business and should be the manager's decision.
Sort of a "Screw you guys, I'm going home!" moment, but I could definitely see a guy in that job not wanting to be undermined by the folks behind the scenes at the FA.
February 8th, 2012 at 4:55 PM ^
Regardless of Manager, England will be best suited to go with a youthful lineup. You have got to put Jack Wilshere (once hes healthy) in the middle with Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott pacing the wings. Throw Rooney as a true #10 and Ashley Young as a #9, and suddenly England looks young and dangerous.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:26 PM ^
As a Gooner, I would hate to see Wilshere come back from injury just to play in the Euro. However, as a Jack Wilshere fan, I want him to be on this team to improve his future chances at captaincy.
Walcott and Lennon would be great, but what about Oxlade-Chamberlain? I think he would be a great addition (not a starter obviously).
February 8th, 2012 at 5:31 PM ^
Oxie could be dangerous... but the dude is still 18. Hes just not ready yet. Maybe by 2014 he will be
Lats year in the Champs League round of 16 Wilshere was by far the most dangerous gunner on the pitch against Barca, the dude has the intensity of a bull and knows when to use his pace. I cant say Im a fan of any English teams but I respect the shit out of Arsenal because their best players are always homegrown. I hope Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Wilshere, and Jon Toral (fuck you for taking him from the camp nou) can guide Arsenal back to their rightful place in the Champions League
February 8th, 2012 at 7:52 PM ^
Eh Theo was 17 when he was called up for the 2006 World Cup. Ox has a better build, but less top team experience, than Theo had at that age.
I was just suggesting another youngster to go along with some of the ones you mentioned.
February 8th, 2012 at 8:04 PM ^
yeah i hear ya, he deinately has a ton of potential. hope he turns out. footie is better when arsenal is great
February 8th, 2012 at 4:59 PM ^
That guy is not a good human being and a constant distraction to the team. I think that England is a better team with him off the pitch.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:09 PM ^
Why is he not a good human? I say let the dude have his trial. He's played with a majority of black players for years on Chelsea including the guy lined up right next to him at LB and there have been absolutely zero leaks about JT being anything but a good Chelsea captain.
I don't get why anything players say on the pitch can be used in courts. How often in the US do players taunt other players or threaten to "eat their children" yet they are never prosecuted over it.
Overall my very biased pro-JT pro-Chelsea opinion is 1) I don't think JT said what he is alleged to say because a) there was no reaction on the pitch from Ferdinand, b) nobody else has said they heard anything and c) the guy who did complain, Ferdinand, has a reason to lie about this (not saying he is, just that he has a reason), 2) if he did say it who cares, he's clearly not a racist (or he's fantastic at hiding it) and probably only meant to wind up the opponent which doesn't make it right but it is a heat of the moment thing and 3) the only other "blemish" on JT's long career is an alleged affair that both he and the women deny and that the aggrieved husband used to get a relationship with a girl group singer 15 years younger than himself which screams "family man" to me. Even if he did have the affair, so what? He's a soccer player. It seems like the vast majority of them do.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:18 PM ^
- There is a lot of evidence proving that Terry cheated on his wife with Wayne Bridge's girlfriend.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1247408/John-Terry-Wa…
- Who cares if Wayne Bridge is not a "family man". Frankie Sandford is an upgrade IMO.
- Another blemish on his career would be that slip in the 2008 Champions League Final.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:13 PM ^
If you want more evidence that John Terry is a terrible human being, go read Wikipedia about what he said to American tourists stranded at Heathrow Airport after September 11th.
Also, repeatedly cheating on the mother of his children while she was pregnant, let alone sleeping with his friend Wayne Bridge's girlfriend.
This guy is a disaster, a terrible person, and he deserves everything that he gets, because he has f'd up over and over again.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:09 PM ^
Lampard not Terry mocked American's on Spetmeber 12th. Terry was just there. In any case, I don't trust Wikipedia or the British tabloids to determine whether someone is a good person.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:17 PM ^
oh cool. the douchebag who downvotes all soccer threads is back. i bet he feels like a big man.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:21 PM ^
Stupid people are going to continue to be stupid. Most people don't know this, but Brian is a huge fan of the USMNT.
I'm tempted to downvote the next baseball thread. Most likely whoever did this loves baseball.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:30 PM ^
I love baseball and I love soccer so don't be rash.
February 8th, 2012 at 7:18 PM ^
The baseball hate for soccer and the hockey hate for basketball are just bizarre.
February 9th, 2012 at 8:16 AM ^
I like Baseball, Soccer, Basketball and Hockey. In fact, there isn't a sport I don't enjoy that I can thnk of.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:28 PM ^
lol I thought it was just a Tottenham supporter downvoting my Arsenal love. Funny to see that it's someone who just hates soccer in general.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:31 PM ^
He just got canceled out. I hate soccer trolls.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:23 PM ^
but England has been the mnost severley underachieving squad in the world over the past few decades. I am a fan of England and have rooted for them since I was born (family is from there) so I would Love to see J.M> find a way to manage both RM and the England squad. It will take a very high profile no nonsense coach to get that squad back on track.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:31 PM ^
Would RM allow him to split time?
I can't really think of a coach splitting time with a major club and a national team. I think it would be too hard for someone to coach a huge club like RM and also take on national team duties.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:16 PM ^
Sir Alex Ferguson did it with Aberdeen and Scotland back in the run up to the 1986 World Cup.
And how hard could it be for Mourinho? He has dozens of assistants in both jobs, and when Madrid is on break, he can lead England. He knows all the English players already, and he'd have a month to prepare for the Euros.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:24 PM ^
I guess he can delegate duties of a national team coach to his assistants or even to the U-20 coach if he needed to.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:53 PM ^
There's not enough room in Wembley for Mou's ego.
Not that I'm biased or anything.
But if he were hired just make sure everyone has a nice pair of goggles, he goes for the eyes.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:03 PM ^
That was one of the craziest things I have seen out of a coach. Also him giving Messi the stink face was hilarious. Other than watching RM lose, I was the Clasico just so I can watch the craziness that is JM. It is too bad that he has been "normal" the past few games.
February 9th, 2012 at 8:21 AM ^
His ego and intensity is what I love about the guy. I have never been a fan of any team he has coached, but I have always been a fan of his. He just seems to know how to get things done. Now his stop with RM is just unfortunate timing being that he is in the same league as the best team the world has ever seen, but the guy can manage a football squad and I love how intense he is. I think he would be the only one who could turn Englands fortune around at this point (given what other choices are out there). I don't see it happening, but I wish it would.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:15 PM ^
I don't understand this meme. I've always suspected that England just doesn't really produce much top flight football talent. Maybe too few players spread over too many sports (cricket, rugby, etc.)? Most really good teams from small countries (and even some medium-sized ones, like Germany) funnel all their athletes into one sport.