Capello looks increasingly like he won’t do this to the FA
The odds of Fabio Capello taking over from Jose Mourinho at Inter seem to be growing each passing day. Massimo Moratti has ruled out the return of Roberto Mancini and Rafa Benitez and seems to have targeted the return of Capello to the Serie.
Capello himself did not rule out a life other than England’s coach after the World Cup in his press interview before the Japan match.
The FA with the resignations of Lord Triesman, its chairman, and Ian Watmore, the CEO could not have come at a worse time. The sudden departures seems to have left Capello wondering about leadership in England’s footballing affairs.
These have been a distracting last few weeks for the normally sure footed England manager with the revelation of the Capello Index, a rating tool that could be used against his own players while lining his pockets, the phone calls to Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher, and now the equivocation to a post World Cup future.
England’s squad has proved no less problematic. There are questions in every area of the field. The choice of Rooney’s partner is a vexed one – it would be Peter Crouch’s purely on statistics, he has scored the most international goals. But Capello has always liked Emile Heskey as seen in that little cameo against Japan.
Michael Carrick could have been part of the midfield but his wheels seem to have come off with the resulting experimentation with James Milner. On right back, Glen Johnson has show such great liabilities that it must outweigh the consideration for his undoubted attacking talent.
The new FA chairman, Sir Dave Roberts is set to meet with the Italian in a signal that the house needs to be in order before the World Cup begins and to cement his future commitment to the national job.
As this article points out, two clauses in Capello’s contract are to be reviewed and it is understood that both parties want to remove them. One states that Capello can be sacked after the World Cup for a set compensation and the other allows the England manager to enter into discussions with clubs for future employment.
The dismissals of these clauses were set into motion under Lord Triesman and Capello’s anxiety might have been compounded by the change in leadership throwing these agreements into jeopardy. But this does not seem to be the case anymore as Sir Dave Roberts appears eager not to upset the status quo.
Capello also signed on as England’s manager while the FA restructured the national team to be run more like a club. He is familiar with the changes sought and his continuation is important to its timely implementation. It is increasingly likely that he will commit to a 2012 deadline and we should see words to that effect before the England team departs for SA.