Feature: Is England in Trouble?

Image via Zimbio/GettyImages

The departure of Capello had definitely put a lot of people in shock. No matter what the real reason is for him to come to such a decision, WHO should be the new manager is a more important question. With Euro 2012 in 4 months time, this is really a bad timing to get a new manager.

England FA has already announced Stuart Pearce as caretaker manager for the upcoming friendly against Netherlands, but it looks unlikely that he will be the long-term manager for England senior side. Pearce is already the manager of England Under-21 team AND the coach for the Great Britain Olympic football team. It would be impossible for him to take on another job, especially when Euro and Olympic are so close to each other. If he has to take England to the Euro, it will be hard for him to prepare for the Olympic properly.
 
So who else? Pearce is actually not people’s favorite for the England job. Most people prefer Harry Redknapp to be the next England manager. If Capello stepped down AFTER the Euro, Redknapp will definitely be that man. Yet, the timing is odd here. Redknapp makes it clear that he has a responsibilities at Tottenham. The team is doing so well this season, and has the chances to be in top 4 and challenge the title, it seems unlikely that he will give up his team mid-season. It will be way too risky for the FA to allow Redknapp to take over England at the end of the season, which makes him unlikely to be the man after all.

Another name that popped up is Guus Hiddink. The Dutchman is now without a job and he did have good reputation in coaching, despite his recent failure to bring Turkey to Euro. However, according to ESPN, his close relationship with John Terry may become the reason that stop FA from appointing him. Moreover, he will need more time than Redknapp or Pearce to learn about the English players. So I don’t  think he will be a good choice for the job.

Now, you see why England may be in trouble? In such short time, England cannot take the risk to appoint someone completely new. When I say someone completely new, it means someone who has no knowledge of the English players. Four months time is not enough for a manager to learn about each of his players, so he should better be someone in the Premier League or at least know the Premier League very well.  It also has to be someone who is experienced enough to take the pressure. England needs a new manager and a new captain now. With Capello resigned at such time, the England camp must be shaken. The new manager has to be good enough to stabilize his squad, someone who doesn’t has a reputation will not be able to do it.

England has a strong squad now, a squad that Capello formed. And we always know how new manager likes to make changes to form a team of their own. This is another risk that England cannot take. So somehow the FA has to make sure the new manager can stick to Capello’s squad, at least for Euro. Tough call, huh? Apart from the three names mentioned, Martin O’Neill, Roy Hodgson and even David Beckham were all seen as possible new manager for England. Martin O’Neill seems to be the better choice among these three. Who do you think can bring England out of this mess?