The witch hunt for Capello continues

England’s return to winning ways on Friday night has been met with a measured response by pundits and fans alike. The consensus seems to be that although people are happy with the victory many feel like Capello is still hanging on by his coat tails. Once again the English media have turned on the manager rather than the players; even with the revelations about Wayne Rooney in the News of the World on Sunday.

The build up to the World Cup in England was more subdued than it has been in recent tournaments. There seemed to be a feeling of ‘we are just happy to be here’ rather than the normal overblown rubbish about being favourites and ‘we have the best league in the world’ that we normally get force fed. However, once England were out everybody turned immediately on the manager; he cannot be defended entirely but the realisation that England’s players’ are distinctly average has still not sunk in.

Capello is an immensely stubborn man who rarely changes his mind once a decision has been made. He has been an incredibly successful club manager who has won titles wherever he has been, falling out with many high profile players on the way. He boasts a win percentage over his career of 56.99% which is excellent when compared to many of his rivals; Ferguson – 57.54%, Louis van Gaal – 57%, Jose Mourinho – 67.1%.

The problem with the England national side can be attributed to the mentality of their player’s. There are certainly players in the squad who are blessed with the ability to compete with the best in the world but the mentality is completely missing. Wayne Rooney has ability but continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, Jack Wilshire who is England’s most promising young player goes out after games and starts fights. These traits are innate in most of Britain’s young footballers and will take years to remove, it is almost unthinkable that Cesc Fabregas would be caught up in either story – he is a consummate professional who simply wants to play the game at the highest level he can. The British players assume they should be the best because they are ridiculously overpaid by their club sides.

The only way England can hope to improve is to learn from managers’ such as Capello, Ferguson, Lippi and Mourinho. It is a real shame that England cannot produce any truly exceptional managers; Allardyce and Redknapp have both been linked with the post in recent years but neither is astute enough to manage at the highest level. The whole game in this country needs an overhaul, the Spanish and the Germans have done it, why does England refuse to accept it?

The English national side should qualify for the European Championships in 2012 but they will go into the tournament far behind Germany, Holland and Spain. If Lampard and Terry had been fit England would have had 9 of the 11 that started against Germany 2 months ago; lessons have been learned but the changes do not appear to be taking place as quickly as required. To blame Capello continually will get England nowhere, they need to heed his advice and learn…quickly.