WHO TAKES OVER AS ENGLAND'S MANAGER AS FABIO CAPELLO BOWS OUT?

Fabio Capello’s resignation as manager of the English national team due to a fallout he had with the FA over John Terry’s loss of captaincy doesn't look like a good development for England at this point despite the truth in the saying, “coaches come coaches go”. It is far from what the country needs with barely four months to Euro 2012. Capello, having led England through a famous unbeaten record in the qualifiers for Euro 2012, seems to have left a huge a big vacuum behind for whoever succeeds him. It apparently was a herculean run for Capello since he took over four years ago but a 28 wins, 8 draws and only 6 loses in 42 matches stat is not a bad record for anyone to muster with a team left in near shambles by Sven-Göran Eriksson. Consequently, it becomes imperative for the English FA to expedite its actions in bringing on board a new coach who will be competent enough to deliver nothing less than Capello’s record. The question is: who?

Already, Harry Redknapp is the name on the lips of almost every football fan in England especially bearing in mind the seemingly unavailability of top choice coaches such as Guus Hiddink, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger. Speculators are therefore considering other British options such as David Moyes, Martin O’ Neill, Stuart Pearce and Roy Hodgson but it appears none has as much clout needed to handle the team as Redknapp. This explains why some players in the team have publicly proclaimed him as their favorite replacement. But then is it enough to have a new manager in someone whom the people have grown fond of? It appears “the long run” has glaringly beclouded England’s vision of Euro 2012 even though the competition is very much in sight. Can Redknapp take the team beyond the quarterfinals if he was appointed coach in the nearest future? This is hard for anyone to place a bet on but the reality now is that in the absence a great foreign manager, it’s important to give an indigenous coach a try. And Reddknapp remains one of the best around.

All over the world, fingers are crossed as build up to Euro 2012 becomes more interesting.