SOCCER NEWS:THE ENGLISH Football Association is contemplating replacing Fabio Capello by bringing in a new England manager purely for Euro 2012 and then appointing a permanent replacement at the end of the tournament.
Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, will figure most prominently in the FA’s thoughts when the four executives empowered with finding Capello’s successor, led by the chairman, David Bernstein, meet today to draw up a shortlist. However, Bernstein has made it clear Redknapp will not be the only candidate and, to illustrate the point, he identified Stuart Pearce as a “first-class available option”.
The England under-21 manager has been asked to take charge of the senior team’s friendly against the Netherlands on February 29th, though the appointment has led to awkward questions for the FA given that Pearce once had to apologise to Paul Ince after allegedly racially abusing him during a match for Nottingham Forest at Manchester United in 1994.
Pearce’s elder brother was once a BNP campaigner but the FA quickly made it clear that it did not consider either issue to be relevant despite Capello’s departure coming about because of a separate race issue involving John Terry. “Stuart has made it clear that he is not involved in his brother’s political beliefs,” Adrian Bevington, the managing director of Club England, said. “I don’t think we can get to the realms of being judgmental on someone because of what their siblings’ views are. It’s a matter for Stuart Pearce’s brother rather than Stuart.”
Bernstein would not discuss Redknapp’s credentials but revealed that he and his colleagues would consider widening their search for two managers instead of one. “All options are open. I am only talking common sense. We are not prepared to restrict ourselves at this stage. He (Capello’s successor) might be English, he might be British, he might not be. He might be for the Euros only, he might be long term.”
That raises the possibility that England could have four managers in the space of five months. Jose Mourinho could be seen as a short-term option for this summer’s European Championship, but the likelihood remains that Redknapp will be invited to take over a squad that has been badly fractured by the John Terry affair.
Tottenham are braced for an approach over the coming weeks and their non-executive director, Keith Mills, said it was wrong to consider “it was a foregone conclusion” that Redknapp would leave White Hart Lane.
“If he is (approached) then clearly Harry has a big decision to make. I know he loves the club and he’s managing a top-three team in the biggest league in the world.”
As for Redknapp, he described himself as “shocked” by Capello’s departure but would not be drawn into talking about whether he would replace him. “I’ve not even thought about it. I’ve got a job to do. Tottenham is my focus . . . They (the FA) will make whatever decision they want to make. Hopefully it’ll be the right decision for the country.”
Bernstein defended the decision to remove the England captaincy from Terry because of his July trial for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. He said he “sympathised” with Capello for feeling undermined but criticised the Italian for publicly defying the FA during his interview on Italian television on Sunday. “His backing of John Terry wasn’t helpful and it did give the impression of a conflict of views between the manager and the board.”
The new manager faces the complicated task of trying to heal the rifts that have been caused within the England squad because of the Terry trial. Trevor Brooking, the FA’s director of development, was asked whether the only way to do this would be to leave Terry out of the squad. “That’s really up to whoever is in charge and the players,” he replied.
Bernstein added: “If there is a problem, it’s for the manager to assess it and sort it out. That is clearly down to the manager.”
Guardian Service
