Would Wenger or Fergie receive the same treatment as Capello?
Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 03 September 2010 - 15:33
Author: Nigel Brown
It seems par for the course when the English FA appoint a respected and experienced professional to manage the England team that no matter how big or small a standing in the game, by the end of their tenure they emerge battered and bruised with their previous reputation in tatters.
You only have to look at the last four permanent managers, Steve McClaren, Sven Goran Eriksson, Kevin Keegan, and Glenn Hoddle. All have had to embark on a rehabilitation programme of priory proportions after seeing their careers rubbished and ridiculed in the press. In some cases, quite rightly, but in others there is an argument for a dash of reverence to be considered.
Despite a rigorous interview process, England managers seem to have an uncanny knack of being chewed up and spat out by the English press, with the inevitable backlash from fans resulting in a former Three Lions boss taking a sabbatical or period of leave before even considering working in England again.
Manners maketh man
With Capello under pressure having faced a summer of abuse from the redtop press, including headlines such as – Weirdo! Donkey! Monster! We are now in a position where respect and basic manners have been forgotten. Was it a disastrous campaign in South Africa? Yes. Does he deserve the disrespect? No. The criticism? Well, for me, even that is up for debate. Although he has made mistakes, which all managers do, his record remains impressive for an England boss.
Not even a man with the CV of a Champions League triumph, Super Cup win, Five Serie A titles, and two La Liga titles is safe from the gunslingers of the English red tops. Should it be expected that the England hot seat is a fiery pit where reputation is discarded and the selection process ridiculed, where you are judged harshly only on the cold hard facts of results.
Well, if that is the case, then doesn’t Capello deserve to be lauded, rather than lambasted? Since arriving in February 2008 the 64-year-old Italian has seen his Three Lions play 29 times, with 20 wins, 4 draws, and 5 defeats – a 68 % win ratio. Compare that with Sven at 59%, McClaren at 50 %, Keegan at 38%, and even Sir Bobby Robson at 49%, our current incumbent fairs very well.
Even the great Sir Alf Ramsey cannot compete with the Italian with a 61% win ratio. And yet, if the vultures had their way, we would string our Italian friend up, and have the nation queue up to heave rotten vegetables (or worse) at Mr. Capello.
It is simple. Fabio must be given more respect. Sorry, Mr Capello. Not only for what he has achieved at club level, but also for the job he has done with the national side. Would the English press treat Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson differently if they were in the job? I would like to think they would have to…
In the future how can the FA expect to attract a top manager whether he is English or foreign, if the applicants know that at some point during their tenure the press will delve for the jugular with petty, rude and spiteful remarks? As a manager why would you bother applying?
Even Sir Alex Ferguson admitted in the summer he has been approached on two occasions previously, but apart from being Scottish, his reaction was well, who in their right mind would want that job? I rest my case.
Sir Alex said: "I was offered the chance to manage the England team on a couple of occasions but, of course, it was just out of the question. It's a poisoned chalice anyway.
"I think it's a terrible job, plus the fact that I would have had a tremendous handicap being Scottish; no matter which way you look it, that's important."
I hear some of the cynics screaming from the rooftops that Capello deserved the national criticism after the teams display in the World Cup, and well, that’s the nature of being England manager.
But, surely no man deserves the abuse Capello has received after the job he has done at the helm of English football. I could just about understand it if we had not qualified for the World Cup with the talent at his disposal, but I implore all to remember where we were before the Italian took over.
Wednesday 21st November 2007 – England 2 – 3 Croatia
On a wet and miserable evening with the “Wally with the brolly” leading English football into a summer of booze riddled disappointment, England fans were subjected to the melancholic outlook of not qualifying for the European championships…even Austria and Switzerland managed to seal a place. As far as Steve McClaren was concerned, he was now the second cheek of the same ass that got sacked previously. And, quite rightly.
So from feelings of involuntary suicide our so-called Weirdo! of a boss has pulled England from the pit of despair and the literal armpit of international dejection to a side that was talked up to win the World Cup. Ok, it didn’t go to plan, but how Capello reacts to this failure is what he should be judged on, not an abject World Cup campaign.
So before you call for Sam Allardyce to lead our nation, and begin to scream demonic obscenities at the television in hopeless despair at the England performance just remember what this man has achieved, as there are very few that can boast the wealth of medals in his trophy cabinet. Remember he has been written off at Madrid, Juventus and AC Milan, but he still went on to succeed. On reading the reportage of the international week ask yourselves if the press would treat Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson differently? And judge him fairly with respect.
The rallying call in the Wembley dressing room from Steven Gerrard should ring simple and true:
“Ask not what Fabio Capello can do for you, but what you can do for Fabio Capello.”
The players and the public should take heed.