AS THE FURORE surrounding England's World Cup debacle shows no sign of slowing down, it's interesting to see various members of the football press in this country being so wise after the event.
The cream of the nation's hacks, from Brian Woolnough to Henry Winter, have been scathing in their criticism of manager Fabio Capello, and insist that the Italian should have been sacked after failing to take the 'golden generation' beyond the second round in South Africa.
That's right, the very same journalists that were praising Capello to the hilt after a successful qualifying campaign, and heralding him as the man who was set to end the country's frankly embarrassing trophy drought, have quickly changed their stance to mirror that of disgruntled supporters up and down the country, as they so often do.
It amazes me why, after topping a qualifying group in which the biggest threat came from a Ukrainian side clearly in decline, everything was deemed to be so rosy, and Capello could do no wrong in the eyes of the British media. The sad reality is that, any half-decent English manager could have secured qualification in a similar vein to Capello, particularly with such a talented squad at his disposal.
The reason Capello's fall from grace appears so brutal is because of the way he was built up prior to the tournament, and for that, the media have nobody to blame but themselves.
The cream of the nation's hacks, from Brian Woolnough to Henry Winter, have been scathing in their criticism of manager Fabio Capello, and insist that the Italian should have been sacked after failing to take the 'golden generation' beyond the second round in South Africa.
That's right, the very same journalists that were praising Capello to the hilt after a successful qualifying campaign, and heralding him as the man who was set to end the country's frankly embarrassing trophy drought, have quickly changed their stance to mirror that of disgruntled supporters up and down the country, as they so often do.
It amazes me why, after topping a qualifying group in which the biggest threat came from a Ukrainian side clearly in decline, everything was deemed to be so rosy, and Capello could do no wrong in the eyes of the British media. The sad reality is that, any half-decent English manager could have secured qualification in a similar vein to Capello, particularly with such a talented squad at his disposal.
The reason Capello's fall from grace appears so brutal is because of the way he was built up prior to the tournament, and for that, the media have nobody to blame but themselves.
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