The Sporting Hack

Fabio Capello’s resignation from the England head coach position was met with a raised eyebrow, a tilt of the head and a curl of the bottom lip before a slight nod (a bit like Harry Redknapp pictured above) – the right decision? Definitely maybe. But what’s done is done and the England national side is once again at a crossroads. The (sometimes) ponderous Italian, Capello who had a healthy habit of winning, also had a tendency to ‘put his foot in it’ and the media could not wait for their mock-up of pizza eating clown to make another error. The latest ‘gaffe’ centred around an interview on Italian television station where ‘The Don’ expressed his backing of now former captain John Terry – stripped of the armband for his major role in a much protracted race row of course. It wasn’t naive of the 65-year old manager to think no one might actually translate this interview from his mother tongue, it was stupidity. Speaking of mother tongue, Capello arguably did not endear himself to ...

A Manchester United fan from Macclesfield rang a radio phone-in on Saturday night to express his desire to see the club he supported field a ‘B’ side in the English leagues. It is an idea that has been mooted by foreign managers from Arsene Wenger to Andre Villas-Boas but has been declared ‘fanciful’ by traditionalists and many ‘morally correct’ former professional footballers. The presenter of the radio show, rightly, quizzed his caller as to a) why he didn’t support Macclesfield and b) what would happen if Manchester United reserves took the 16 th position of League 2 which the Moss Rose side currently occupy? His answer that he was desperate to travel to Torquay on a Tuesday night to see a mixture of kids and crocks play took some believing. At this point, and after a bit of internet research, I’d like to highlight the case of a German-born Spaniard called Joselu (above). A ‘promising player, one for the future’ – but then again, who at the Santiago Bernabeu isn’t? The only ...