Since Fabio Capello’s acrimonious departure just over two months ago, all the back pages and column inches have been filled by journalists touting their man for the England job. Harry Redknapp your country needs you, ‘Arry for England, the best man for the job. In fact, Redknapp has been getting so many headlines that Katie Price must be pulling her hair out, probably thinking of sending her own application in just to get involved.
It was not that long ago we appointed Steve McClaren with a suspicious CV so she has got a great chance, good luck to her. But as it stands, Redknapp is at the front of a one man queue; he is the stand out candidate at a time when great English managers are few and far between. But this is nothing new; the last English manager to win the league and then go on to be England manger was Don Revie in 1974 after considerable success with his Leeds United machine.
So who are David Bernstein, Adrian Bevington, Alex Horne and Sir Trevor Brooking? No, these are not the new Strictly Come Dancing judges (the public wouldn’t stand for that after Alesha-gate) these are the four men entrusted with finding our new England manager. Bernstein said that all diaries would be cleared and finding a new manager would be the priority. So, what have the FA been doing for 2 months?
How long does it take to contact Tottenham Hotspur and sort out a compensation package? If the FA do not want to make this look like a one horse race then surely contacting West Brom, or at a push Newcastle would have been their first, second and third ports of call? To “parachute” a manager in, as Sir Trevor Brooking put, would surely have disastrous consequences. 60 days to go until the tournament and it is blind arrogance to think that a manager can write 23 names on a piece of paper and then go and win a tournament. Complacent, arrogant and just darn stupid. Many pundits and writers praised Stuart Pearce, the caretaker manager, for bringing in young players, if inexperienced, yet it can be easy to take those gambles when you plan for one game at a time.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger plan for matches weeks and possibly months in advance and OK, there are differences in club football and international football but the premise is the same. There is no doubt that Joachim Löw will have plans for his first game against Portugal by now and Vicente Del Bosque for Italy. England will play France on the 11th June but is anyone keeping an eye on their key players form? Is anyone keeping an eye out for a surprise pick, a French Oxlade-Chamberlain you might say, maybe Marvin Martin?