Thursday, February 9, 2012

the future of the England national team

On Wednesday, Fabio Capello resigned from his duties as England national team manager, posing the question, 'What's next'?

Tim Matthews/Sportsphoto/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

With England's opening match of the European Championships just four months away, the FA has to act quickly in order to ensure their pride and joy doesn't become the laughing stock of the continent come Poland/Ukraine. How to do so? First up, hire a new manager. Below are a few potential options.

Harry Redknapp
I hear a lot of the pundits continue to exalt HR as an obvious choice. I can't say I disagree that he would be an awesome pick. However, one of the main things hindering him in the selection process is that he has never managed a national side before. There are loads of differences between club and country. The club level requires a more hands-on approach day-to-day preparing for 1-2 games a week. Nationally, a manager's daily duties fall more on scouting and deciding which players to utilise for a particular tournament. Once said tourny comes around, so too does the climax of the job offering all the pressures and stresses of world football. Redknapp has managed clubs from Bournemouth to Spurs and consistently done well relative to expectations. However, the next question is could he do the same with all of England watching?

Stuart Pearce
Could the man currently in charge of the U-21 team get a chance to lead the senior side? His tenure at Man City wasn't great but he's done well with the under 21's and will coach the senior squad against Holland on the 29th. The fact that he's already been in the English national system for some time gives him a huge advantage in my opinion.


Guus Hiddink
Hiddink made his way into the hearts of Chelsea fans in 2009. But what he's really known for is his phenomenal work on the international level. In 2002, Hiddink brought South Korea to the semi finals of the world cup in which they co-hosted. They remain the only Asian team to have ever advanced as far in the world's greatest sporting event. He followed this feat with a round of 16 showing for Australia and a Euro semis berth for the Russians, both beyond expectations. But can he match the ungodly bar set by the fine folks of St. George's cross?

other viable options include Jose Mourinho (restrain from schoolgirl excitement), Roy Hodgson, and David Moyes. What's everyone think?
-twil

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