Capello Tearing England Apart!

The distinctly dodgy performance of Joe Hart yesterday illustrated perfectly the way Capello has led England to the edge of a precipice over which there is a very real danger we will topple. Foster and Robinson have both retired from international football because of the insensitive way in which Capello has handled them, and Green had to be persuaded not to allow his gloves to slip off the hook he attempted to hang them upon. When the squad was originally announced Calamity Carson and Fulham Number Two Stockdale were the only understudies to Hart.

Now Crouch has retired from international football, pissed off at the way Capello has repeatedly called him up and then humiliated him. Look at Crouch's scoring record. Fair enough, he wouldn't be your first choice if trying to beat Germany or Brazil, but the guy is ideal when playing against the likes of Switzerland, Tunisia and Slovenia. But time and again, Capello has ignored him, opting yesterday to play Bent and name Zamora on the bench, neither of whom can hold a torch to the gangly one's scoring record at international level.

Time and again we see evidence of Capello's poor man management skills: the way he handled the captaincy issue was appalling; his premature announcement of Beckham's retirement from international football was disgraceful; his decision to leave out Walcott from the last World Cup was myopic; and his failure to identify his first choice keeper ahead of the last World Cup proved to be utterly self defeating, ridiculously increasing the pressure on first Green and then James. The fact that Hart subsequently emerged as his number one choice speaks volumes for Capello's incompetence.

Surely everybody was as amazed as me when Young was not in the starting line up for yesterday's game? Capello had allowed Young to talk to the press, explaining how he hoped he had proved his merits at international level in the last two games, and promptly benched him. Why would you do that? If Young had walked out of the squad, I would have understood his motivation, just as I understand Crouch's position.

For as long as Capello is in charge, the England team is in cold storage, anchored on the Italian buffoon's meat hook. He should be sacked and sacked now. The excuse that the England players were "tired" was pathetic. Should we qualify, the players will be just as tired in the tournament next June. But that tiredness is mental, not physical, and a good manager motivates his team to rise above mental exhaustion. In truth it is Capello who is tired. He has been found out and now needs to be turfed out. Otherwise, we may qualify and find we haven't got 23 players willing to accompany Fabio to the tournament!

Brooking is aiming his ire in the wrong direction when he criticises the players. It is clear that Fabio is the architect behind all these premature retirements from international football. A man who turns to Carragher and Scholes after they have shunned England and disregards Parker and Dawson, who clearly have a burning passion to represent their country, is clearly a total arse!