Optimistic England as Fabio Capello is captivating his high priced charges
Last updated 10/16/2008 10:19:03 PM
England Manager Fabio Capello
Not since Sir Bobby Robson and Terry Venables has an England coach captivated his high priced charges the way Italian Fabio Capello has.
Capello has had his problems with this group of players but seems to have gained their attention and focussed them on the serious matter of qualification for the World Cup Finals in South Africa in two years time.
With a maximum twelve points from their first four games it would now take a disaster of major proportions for them to fail , especially as they have beaten what was seen as their two biggest rivals, Croatia and on Wednesday Belarus, away from home .
They have scored a remarkable total of 14 goals – only two of those against whipping boys Andorra – and have grown in confidence as the tournament has progressed.
Remarkable considering this is pretty well the same bunch of players who failed so miserably to qualify for the European Finals and a tribute not only to those players who have responded to a strict manager but also to the manager himself who has shown he is prepared to bend and sway with the wind and change his own ways to fit in with what he has available.
He has tinkered with the formation and has always been prepared to make major amendments when things have been going badly. He has come to realise that English footballers have their own qualities which are not always the same as their counterparts from Italy and Spain.
Suddenly England have become a team to be feared in the second half of matches instead of trying to defend a single goal lead. At times in the past it genuinely looked as though they lacked match fitness – a ridiculous concept for any player who perform regularly in the toughest football league of them all, the Premiership.
There are no more WAGS; no more luxury hotels; no more player power. There is only one boss – and that is Fabio Capello with, it must be added, a wary eye on the brooding assistant, Stuart Pearce, the man known as Psycho.