If Redknapp is the best choice, what does this say about the state of English football?

It is amazing that in just 24 hours everyone appears to agree that Capello was a failure and that England is in a better position now than it was before yesterday. Capello has been subjected to criticism by everyone in the game, yet he has an excellent win ration of 67%, but apparently “players didn’t understand him”. He is disliked by a media because he didn't speak to them and is being described as though he was a failure and a bad manager, a bad man, even. The media are a vicious creature, who will build up someone in order to see them fall, and the blood will be spilled over their pages.

Without a manager and a captain is this a team that is ready to tackle the Euro’s? Who is the man to take on this poison chalice?  Harry Redknapp appears to be the unanimous candidate from all areas of the game. Like Putin in Russia it appears that his coronation has been planned for years; that the media has been awaiting this moment by creating the plethora of support for good old ‘Arry since Capello announced he would leave after the Euro’s.

If Redknapp did take over, would it really improve matters, would the team really improve? It will be the same players, the same mentality, the same failure. It may actually worsen; the media’s man at the helm, one who can no wrong, "this England team must be good enough to win now, they have ‘Arry!" However, it is still the same players who still won't be able to retain possession and who may be able to win some games, but when it comes to the crunch, as always, they will fail.

There is a case for Redknapp as England manager. Many don't like him and think he's not good enough, others do. There are other candidates to consider, yet the distinct lack of quality with managers from England is worrying. Alan Pardew has done an okay job with Newcastle, yet has won nothing and has no prior history of success. Roy Hodgson has an excellent resume and an understanding of international football, yet one worries if the same would happen to him as did at Liverpool; that he gets the job against the wishes of supporters and players, who in this case would prefer Redknapp. There is an argument to say that the populist view should not be listened to, think Keegan and what he achieved. However, another side of me believes that if they want him, let them have him. Let’s see how they do without any excuses, "this is what you wanted, go and prove that the manager was the problem all along." I doubt it, but there is no excuse when the populist option fails. Brian Clough will always be the man that should have managed England, yet would he had been a success? Who knows, but without it happening one can always believe.

I do believe that an English manager is required, Wenger, Mourinho, Hiddink, these are top class managers, but the worry should be, where are our top quality coaches? How can England not produce a single top quality manager? Quite simply there is not enough top quality English coaches and managers in the game. In the Premier League there just four English-born managers; Harry Redknapp (64), Roy Hodgson (64), Mick McCarthy (52) and Alan Pardew (49). These are the only English representatives drawing a wage as managers in the Premier League, does this make you feel worried? And abroad, how many coach in the top divisions across Europe? 1. Steve McLaren. How many English managers have won the Premier League, none. Not one has won their own domestic league in 20 years!

We need to address a serious problem. Why are foreign managers better than ours, why are they considered for positions over our own? These are interesting questions, I believe it comes down to opportunities and success. How many managers from Glasgow in the league? 6. Is this because they are better or because Ferguson has been successful, does success influence decisions. Did Villa Boas go to Chelsea because he had similar characteristics to Jose? I think so. I believe that success influences the decisions of managers. And yet this begs the question, why have not enough English managers been given the chance to succeed in England?

So where are the managers? In my opinion there is a big problem in this country of giving ex players managerial positions too early, before they have become an expert as a coach. They are thrown in and have more often shown to fail; think of Adams, Ince, Southgate and Shearer. They took roles before they achieved their qualifications, they were fast tracked because they were excellent players, yet this is not right and these rash decisions led to failure. Other countries laugh at our method of bringing through managers, they believe what you did is a player is not relevant, as Sacchi said “I never realised that to become a jockey you needed to be a horse first.” Mourinho, another without playing at the top level worked under Bobby Robson and Van Haal before he went into management, he learnt his trade, did his apprenticeship before taking over. He was patient and has been rewarded.

We need to realise that playing and coaching are two completely different roles, requiring different mentalities and methods. If the English game wishes more English managers, then they will benefit by giving potentially excellent coaches time to develop and opportunities to learn the trade. if all teams were required to have an English coach as assistant or coach then perhaps we could develop more top quality coaches. By having a mentor to educate, guide and learn from may be the key to producing successful managers. There is a problem and this is one which has been postulated and debated yet not acted on; that we fail at developing world class talent; whether players or managers. We sensationalise, we hyperbole, we heighten expectations and always end disappointed, because our players and coaches are just average, we try to succeed yet have low standards of what is required to succeed.

As for the present England job the case for Redknapp is interesting, momentum gathered by the media appears to have influenced many fans, showing suggestion to be such a failure of men. However along with media the players appear to want him too. As populist as it may be, the England job needs someone who has the immediate respect of the players and can unite and invigorate a group, whatever you say about him, Redknapp has those qualities; extremely popular with current and ex-players. Will this be a triumph for favouritism over meritocracy, only time will tell, but until we improve the standards of coaching and management in this country, Redknapp is probably the best man for the job. 

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