Happy as...Harry

Football Crazy

What a crazy week or so in the football world!! Arsenal winning 7-1 against Blackburn, a cat on the pitch at Anfield on Monday, the F.A. strip the England captaincy from John Terry and now England have no one at the helm just before a major championships. This, I cannot get my head around.


Let's start with Terry. The guy is definitely a little bit dodgy. He does come from a background of drug dealing and god knows what else, but nothing excuses casual racism during a "game"  of football, or at any other time for that matter. The thing is, however the words he said to Anton Ferdinand look on the tv, we have a system in this country where you are innocent until proven guilty and I think the F.A. should respect that. I understand that the press would have a field day during the European Championships when Terry would have to conduct interviews, but it isn't as if he hasn't been engulfed in controversy before (notably when he couldn't keep his trouser snake out of his best mate's girlfriend). The job of a captain and manager is to take all the criticism and flack and deflect it away from the rest of the squad so they can concentrate on football. I know that this is a fairly perverted view, but I think that if all the focus was on him, the rest of the team could get on with their preparations and think about winning the bloody thing!

So, the F.A. called Terry in for a meeting and politely asked him to step down as captain, which was certainly a sensible thing for him to do on paper, but as the patriotic and committed player he flatly refused, which I think does show why he has the mental strength to lead his club and country. Unfortunately they said "fine, we've given you the option so we'll make you piss off ourselves!" Not sure those were the exact words, but you get the gist. The problem was, they went behind Fabio Capello's back when doing this, and the last time I checked it was the kind of decision that involves the manager. You wouldn't see the Glazers demoting Vidic from the captaincy at Manchester United. Every decision involving the squad would be made by Ferguson, and I don't understand why it isn't the same at international management. Why employ a guy when you are only going to disregard his opinion anyway?

Capello says "Ciao"

Last night, the shocking news unfolded: "Capello steps down as England boss".  I was fairly taken aback to be honest. I new the two parties were in for the meeting yesterday, but I thought they would keep Fabio from reeling with a nice big cheque and a pat on the back with the assurance that it was the last involvement in team matters until he steps down as manager after the Euros. Apparently it was all something to do with an interview Capello made to an italian newspaper undermining the F.A.'s decision, but I'm not entirely sure, but what I do know is that the whole thing is a bit of a mess. One day we will go in to a major championships without any hoo-ha or scandal and be totally focussed and win a bloody trophy!!

Replacing Fabio

The next task is to get someone in, pronto. There is one obvious candidate. A man who literally hours before Capello's resignation was giving a press conference outside Southwark Crown court after clearing his name for tax evasion. A story in which there were more dodgy dealings than a Guy Richie movie and involving two of the seediest characters in English football. A man who, when phoned up will either be at the dogs or eating ham, egg and chips. Harry Redknapp. To be fair to him, he is the most successful English manager around at the moment. He has taken Tottenham from their worst start to a season ever, to Champions league and playing the best football in the premier league at times. He oozes Englishness with his cockney ramblings and "Dirty 'Arry" nickname. He is one of the only managers in the league who seems to give the press the information that they need. When asked about potential transfer dealings and targets, you can always tell he is giving as much information as he knows or can be allowed to divulge. If you have a good relationship with the journos it's half the battle won already!

After going down the foreign route a couple of times, I think everyone would like to see an Englishman at the helm. Someone who can actually do a job, unlike Steve McClaren who was given it too early and  was totally over whelmed. The big problem is the fact that Harry was lined up to take the job at the end of the summer. Tottenham would have finished the season, the Euros would have been done and dusted and a fresh start could have been made for the world cup in two years time. Unfortunately this has all happened prematurely. Will Redknapp leave Tottenham right near the end of a season where they may finish above their great rivals Arsenal? I don't think he has the heart to do that to his most successful team he has managed in his long career.

Stuart Pearce has been announced as the care taker manager for the game against the Netherlands on 26th February. I think, if Redknapp is to take the job, he should be part of the behind the scenes team for that game and do it on a part time basis until the end of the season where he should take charge permanently. I cannot see a man so patriotic and striving to be the top dog in football turning down the biggest honour an English manager can be offered! Unfortunately this may happen.


Other Options


As I have said previously, I think the F.A. will try and go English or, at least, British. Other decent candidates are few and far between though. My next option would be Martin O'Neill. A man who actually applied for the job back in 2006. The way the Irishman has transformed an extremely average Sunderland side into a consistent and well oiled machine in such a short space of time shows his tactical awareness and ability to motivate players, which I think is more suited to international management, as a lot of the top clubs just buy the talent in and send them out to play, which you obviously can't do  with national sides. The problem in geting O'Neill would be that he has only been in his current role for a very short period of time and there is little or no chance of him leaving.

Alan Pardew is another name being banded about, but I dont feel he has proved himself at Newcastle quite yet after some dreadful spells at Southampton and West Ham. The rank outsider could be Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, who was superb in the Premier league last season and is in the same bracket as Redknapp with his patriotic and pure views on the game. After those names I really do draw a blank. Why is it we can't produce top English managers any more? There certainly aren't many in the Premiership!

Overseas candidates must include Arsene Wenger, who is surely nearing the end of the road at Arsenal, and Jose Mourinho, the Portugese genius who is rumoured to be leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season.

One thing is for sure, whoever takes the job is going to have to fight hard to get the English team back up with the best, and has the expectation of a nation, desperate for silverware. I certainly wouldn't want the task...would you?

This video is why Harry is perfect for the job!!

Who is your first choice? feel free to comment below and share this blog with your friends/enemies!