Jose Mourinho (Getty Images)
COMMENT
Who's the best man for the job?
That's the burning question on the lips of every long-suffering England fan following the sudden departure of Italian Fabio Capello after four years in charge.
With the European Championships in Ukraine and Poland slightly over four months away, the search is never going to be easy. But already, several managers have been touted as potential replacements, with one name ringing louder than the rest — Harry Redknapp.
Timing-wise, it seems perfect as the 64-year-old Spurs manager has just been cleared of tax evasion charges — thought to be the only thing clouding his candidacy — just hours before Capello cleared his desk. Heck, Redknapp's even got the stamp of approval from Wayne Rooney, who went on Twitter to proclaim him the ideal candidate.
Bookmakers in Britain have also slashed the odds on Redknapp being offered the job, with William Hill changing the odds from 2/1 to 1/2. It's not hard to see why as other names in the frame include West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson (surely not) and Newcastle's Alan Pardew (definitely not).
But is ol' Harry really the man for the job? I don't think so.
Redknapp is without doubt a fine manager, with Spurs flying high in the Premier League. But with such gifted players like Gareth Bale, Emmanuel Adebayor and Rafael Van der Vaart playing the best football of their careers so far, can they NOT be soaring?
My point is any half decent manager will be able to achieve the same results — or more — with Spurs' glittering wealth of talent.
The Spurs manager may be widely lauded for his man-management skills but he certainly left those abilities behind when he embarrassed Darren Bent after a match against Portsmouth in 2009.
Then, after the hapless striker missed an easy header to score, Redknapp famously uttered the words "my missus could have scored it".
To be fair, Redknapp has since apologized for his gaffe but with Bent among the leading candidates set to shoulder England's goal-scoring hopes in the Euros (Rooney suspended for the first two games), the duo will make for an uneasy relationship. The other big question, of course, is would Harry want the job? He's guided Spurs into a serious title contender, and even he — though he's openly admitted interest in the England job before — may want to see this through.
But if not Redknapp then who? The easy answer: look to Spain. More specifically, at Madrid where a certain sulking Portuguese maestro is making his unhappiness known in no uncertain terms.
Jose Mourinho is the perfect man to take over the poisoned chalice that is the England football manager's job for several reasons.
He has the right credentials and experience having won domestic and continental titles with almost every team he's managed. And his ability to bring out the best in his charges is unquestioned. More importantly, he will be able to massage Terry's ego at losing the captaincy for the second time from their time together at Chelsea, while also making sure the Blues skipper is committed to the cause.
At a time when England's other options at centre-half are either chronically injured (Rio Ferdinand), not getting regular games at their clubs (Gary Cahill) or too inexperienced (Chris Smalling and Phil Jones), Terry's whole-hearted participation and dedication in Ukraine-Poland is critical.
The charismatic Mourinho's skilled handling of the British press will also be crucial. One of Capello's major failings as England manager was his inability to engage the unrelenting media hacks. In contrast, Mourinho seems to have an unfinished love relationship with the journalists and will have no problem getting their support and endorsement — yet another pre-requisite for any aspiring England manager.
Ideally, Mourinho can be England manager all the way through till the next World Cup in Brazil in 2014 (provided England qualifies), before stepping down to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United (heh, that's my wish anyway).
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would be a major stumbling block to Mourinho becoming available but with the FA having deep pockets to pay for any compensation, Perez being Perez can surely be bought.
So, it's time to act now, FA. Get Mourinho in the hotseat quickly before the real battles begin on the pitch in June.
46 comments