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Fabio Capello has gone because he couldn't care less about public perception while the FA sways in the wind
The governing body played the populist game and lost a manager who still had English football's best interests at heart but would not accept responsibility without command
10 Feb 2012 11:53:00
Getty Images
COMMENT
By Peter Staunton
A close-up camera shot of John Terry during Chelsea's Premier League clash with QPR in October initiated a sequence of events which ultimately led to the separation of Fabio Capello from his England national team post.
Had the Sky Sports cameraman failed to trail his lens on the erstwhile England captain during a verbal spat with Anton Ferdinand, then it would have been very difficult for a case of alleged racism to be brought against him. As it was, the camera recorded the words reputedly mouthed by Terry. Police charges were brought, the court case set for July 9 and the FA was left with a decision to make.
The governing body had to react because that is what is demanded in English football. Individuals thought to have transgressed accepted societal behaviour, such as Terry, are punished twice. First by an omnipresent media in the aftermath and for a second time in the subsequent, usually warranted, punishment.
Sometimes though, the latter punishment comes as a result of the former. And there exists no more capable body than the FA to attempt to extrapolate popular sentiment and make its decisions from there. Not for the first time, English football's decision makers have unleashed a beast of their own making. Far from alienating fans, however, this time the FA has alienated the man they employed to deliver the European Championship trophy.
By stripping John Terry of the captaincy, the FA waded into on-field matters; a harking back to the days of the 'men in blazers' who picked the England team instead of a coach. The man who made the football decisions for England, and who was paid £6 million per annum to do so, was not consulted before the FA stood Terry down from his post.
That level of interference is not something Capello tolerated throughout his long, distinguished career in Italian and Spanish club football. A 'yes man' was the last thing the FA wanted when it decided to replace the hapless Steve McClaren. He was too matey, too familiar with the players. The English press and wider public demanded an authority figure and the FA delivered one. But Fabio Capello proved on Wednesday that he would not accept the responsibility without the command.
The money Capello was paid assured that he held the interests of the England team in the highest regard. His unwavering support of Terry illustrated that. His intransigence towards team selection and squad-management methods were not an attempt at insubordination; to bring England down from the inside out. He had England's football interests at heart. Capello did not care about the off-field perception of him or his players or the association he represented. The FA did, and still does. Playing the populist game has cost it a manager and provoked chaos despite the airy and light optimism that the appointment of a successor to Capello will bring forth.
Furthermore, the decision to revoke Terry's armband was not as firm a stance as it initially seemed. The FA should have informed Capello that Terry would be unavailable for selection until the conclusion of his court case. No compromise, no space for ambiguity.
Ultimately, Capello was unhappy at being undermined in football matters. The FA, for its part, was unimpressed that an employee had spoken so grossly out of turn. Whatever the posturing, the England team faces four months of uncertainty, without a manager or a captain, before a major tournament. This was surely not the resolution either party had in mind. It is quite clear that the FA has no contingency plan ready to implement. If it had, it would have dispensed with Capello for breach of contract. It is not Capello's concern what becomes of an England captain accused of racism after the trial on July 9, nor the England team after Euro 2012. He was paid to prepare a football team for June and not after.
The Evra - Suarez imbroglio, as well as the Ferdinand - Terry one, again brought racism to the forefront of the English football consciousness. The FA could be seen, in PR terms, to condone it implicitly or otherwise. An appeal to cultural nuances was not enough to spare Suarez from his fate. A police charge and a case to answer, likewise, was enough for the FA to resolve that Terry was unfit to captain England at Euro 2012, innocent or guilty.
The FA had been swift, too swift even, in its dealing with Terry in the absence of his manager. Capello in turn had been too strident in his rebuke to his paymasters. But it was clear he had no intention of altering his standpoint. The impasse produced the inevitable. A toxic Kool-Aid of ineptitude and incompetence was stirred. The poisoned chalice takes another victim.
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By Peter Staunton
A close-up camera shot of John Terry during Chelsea's Premier League clash with QPR in October initiated a sequence of events which ultimately led to the separation of Fabio Capello from his England national team post.
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Had the Sky Sports cameraman failed to trail his lens on the erstwhile England captain during a verbal spat with Anton Ferdinand, then it would have been very difficult for a case of alleged racism to be brought against him. As it was, the camera recorded the words reputedly mouthed by Terry. Police charges were brought, the court case set for July 9 and the FA was left with a decision to make.
The governing body had to react because that is what is demanded in English football. Individuals thought to have transgressed accepted societal behaviour, such as Terry, are punished twice. First by an omnipresent media in the aftermath and for a second time in the subsequent, usually warranted, punishment.
Sometimes though, the latter punishment comes as a result of the former. And there exists no more capable body than the FA to attempt to extrapolate popular sentiment and make its decisions from there. Not for the first time, English football's decision makers have unleashed a beast of their own making. Far from alienating fans, however, this time the FA has alienated the man they employed to deliver the European Championship trophy.
By stripping John Terry of the captaincy, the FA waded into on-field matters; a harking back to the days of the 'men in blazers' who picked the England team instead of a coach. The man who made the football decisions for England, and who was paid £6 million per annum to do so, was not consulted before the FA stood Terry down from his post.
Fabio Capello proved on Wednesday that he would not accept the responsibility without the command |
 |
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That level of interference is not something Capello tolerated throughout his long, distinguished career in Italian and Spanish club football. A 'yes man' was the last thing the FA wanted when it decided to replace the hapless Steve McClaren. He was too matey, too familiar with the players. The English press and wider public demanded an authority figure and the FA delivered one. But Fabio Capello proved on Wednesday that he would not accept the responsibility without the command.
The money Capello was paid assured that he held the interests of the England team in the highest regard. His unwavering support of Terry illustrated that. His intransigence towards team selection and squad-management methods were not an attempt at insubordination; to bring England down from the inside out. He had England's football interests at heart. Capello did not care about the off-field perception of him or his players or the association he represented. The FA did, and still does. Playing the populist game has cost it a manager and provoked chaos despite the airy and light optimism that the appointment of a successor to Capello will bring forth.
Furthermore, the decision to revoke Terry's armband was not as firm a stance as it initially seemed. The FA should have informed Capello that Terry would be unavailable for selection until the conclusion of his court case. No compromise, no space for ambiguity.
Ultimately, Capello was unhappy at being undermined in football matters. The FA, for its part, was unimpressed that an employee had spoken so grossly out of turn. Whatever the posturing, the England team faces four months of uncertainty, without a manager or a captain, before a major tournament. This was surely not the resolution either party had in mind. It is quite clear that the FA has no contingency plan ready to implement. If it had, it would have dispensed with Capello for breach of contract. It is not Capello's concern what becomes of an England captain accused of racism after the trial on July 9, nor the England team after Euro 2012. He was paid to prepare a football team for June and not after.
The Evra - Suarez imbroglio, as well as the Ferdinand - Terry one, again brought racism to the forefront of the English football consciousness. The FA could be seen, in PR terms, to condone it implicitly or otherwise. An appeal to cultural nuances was not enough to spare Suarez from his fate. A police charge and a case to answer, likewise, was enough for the FA to resolve that Terry was unfit to captain England at Euro 2012, innocent or guilty.
The FA had been swift, too swift even, in its dealing with Terry in the absence of his manager. Capello in turn had been too strident in his rebuke to his paymasters. But it was clear he had no intention of altering his standpoint. The impasse produced the inevitable. A toxic Kool-Aid of ineptitude and incompetence was stirred. The poisoned chalice takes another victim.
Follow Peter Staunton on
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