billycopper
Player Valuation: £40m
I get the impression that Capello imparts no more to his players than Eriksson did. Can you imagine sitting in the dressing room? You'd expect that Stuart Pearce relays a lot of the tactical information. The players clearly disagree with the formation and the personnel that he chooses to employ. I think Cole is the only player petulent enough to demonstrate the level of contempt with which Fabio is held. It's hard not to overreact to the 'snub'. Clough or Ferguson would have immediately dropped him. Someone like Robson or Venables would probably have a word with him behind closed doors.
The way in which Capello handled picking the England squad was very poor. It seems like it was a panicked move to try and recall the likes of Scholes and Carragher, especially as he gave them so little notice. Speaking as an Evertonian, it didn't sit well that Baines played in the warm up games, but that Warnock was the one who made the plane to South Africa.
Promoting players from the U21 set up seems like another desperate move. The message appears to be 'here is the next generation that you have been crying out for'. When it inevitably fails, because the players simply aren't ready, he can say 'I gave you what you asked for. I'm not responsible that it didn't work. You don't have the talent.'
There is a generation of players in the age group 24-26 who should now be being blooded. Kieran Richardson was sensational as a left winger when he first made his debut. The fact that he is more than competent as a left back aswell would make him a valuable asset in tournament football. David Bentley, although he might struggle to dislodge Lennon on the right side of midfield for club and country, looked like the natural successor to Beckham when he first made the step up to international football. Micah Richards didn't look out of place when he took over from Gary Neville before Glen Johnson's emergence. These are the sort of players that Capello should be inspecting in the aftermath of the World Cup.
My prediction is that the players just won't perform for Capello, just as they didn't do it for McLaren before him, in the hope that a dismal qualifying campaign will get their message across. We've seen before now how Rooney simply won't participate if he's sulking. Sooner or later, the Italian manager will be walking out of the door with a fat payoff. I can't see him lasting the qualifying campaign myself.
The way in which Capello handled picking the England squad was very poor. It seems like it was a panicked move to try and recall the likes of Scholes and Carragher, especially as he gave them so little notice. Speaking as an Evertonian, it didn't sit well that Baines played in the warm up games, but that Warnock was the one who made the plane to South Africa.
Promoting players from the U21 set up seems like another desperate move. The message appears to be 'here is the next generation that you have been crying out for'. When it inevitably fails, because the players simply aren't ready, he can say 'I gave you what you asked for. I'm not responsible that it didn't work. You don't have the talent.'
There is a generation of players in the age group 24-26 who should now be being blooded. Kieran Richardson was sensational as a left winger when he first made his debut. The fact that he is more than competent as a left back aswell would make him a valuable asset in tournament football. David Bentley, although he might struggle to dislodge Lennon on the right side of midfield for club and country, looked like the natural successor to Beckham when he first made the step up to international football. Micah Richards didn't look out of place when he took over from Gary Neville before Glen Johnson's emergence. These are the sort of players that Capello should be inspecting in the aftermath of the World Cup.
My prediction is that the players just won't perform for Capello, just as they didn't do it for McLaren before him, in the hope that a dismal qualifying campaign will get their message across. We've seen before now how Rooney simply won't participate if he's sulking. Sooner or later, the Italian manager will be walking out of the door with a fat payoff. I can't see him lasting the qualifying campaign myself.