England v Ghana: all I need is 100 words of English, claims Italian manager Fabio Capello

England v Ghana: all I need is 100 words of English, claims Italian manager Fabio Capello

Every silver lining has a cloud with Fabio Capello. Just when he should have been basking in the warm glow of a win over Wales, Capello lectured Andy Carroll on his drinking, claimed Jack Wilshere must improve his off-field behaviour and risked a ruckus with Jose Mourinho.

Talking tactics: Fabio Capello gets his point across, normally in 100 words or less, he says Photo: AP

By Henry Winter 11:00PM BST 28 Mar 2011

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He also claimed that a grasp of only “100 words” was sufficient to communicate with England’s players.

Talking after training at Wembley on Monday, England’s manager should have been keeping the focus on such dangerous visitors as Ghana, quarter-finalists in the World Cup and revelling in the chance to play at the home of football on Tuesday night.

Instead, as with his maladroit handling of the England armband handover, Capello kept on lighting unnecessary fires, much to the private consternation of Football Association officials who resemble Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb with their hoses in a twist (Pugh, Pugh, Barney, McGrew had been sent back to their clubs).

For such an experienced, successful coach, Capello is acting very strangely. Opining in a television studio over the weekend, Gary Neville made the pertinent point that Capello is making ludicrous problems for himself. The England job is hard enough in terms of public and press reaction to results without the additional pressure of off-field errors by the manager.

A cynic might suggest that Capello simply did not care about the ramifications of his comments or actions. Instead, what occurred in Wembley’s third dressing room shortly after noon on Monday, the scene for his meeting with the written media, was utterly surreal.

The problem with Capello is that even when making a relevant point, such as the exhortation to Carroll to ease up on the refuelling, it comes across as a negative. Carroll does need to be more professional. The connection between a thirst for alcohol and a propensity for injury is proven. Carroll needs to listen. No question.

Yet for a coach to reveal publicly that he had held a private meeting with a player to discuss his alcoholic intake was unwise by Capello. Players do not enjoy such details being released willingly to the back pages.

“I spoke with him privately,” said Capello. “He needs to improve, to drink less. I think not only Andy likes to drink beer. Look, he’s really young. His behaviour now is really, really important. He needs to be careful at every moment. When you play with the England national team, at every moment you are the focus of the fans, the newspapers, the photographers, the people that live around him.”

This is a big night for the Liverpool striker, being given the central role in England’s new 4-3-3 system that Darren Bent filled to good effect during the 2-0 win over Wales. Another reminder of Bent’s poaching capacity should be absorbed by Carroll and company.

Carroll appears Capello’s chosen one in this spearhead position, and he needs to justify that faith against John and Jonathan Mensah.

“Carroll is a player who’s really good in the air, but not only this,” said Carroll. “The movement when he receives the ball is good. He’s strong. He’s a good forward. I hope he will fight and run and will do something during the game that I remember he can do.”

Although Capello felt the striker was too short of match sharpness to face Wales, the Italian said Carroll now “needs to play”, adding: “Liverpool will be happy for him to play.”

The FA stressed that “no deals” had been done with any clubs about how long players stay on, although it would be little surprise if Carroll was replaced by Peter Crouch in the second half.

Capello also admitted to concerns about aspects of Wilshere’s life off the pitch. “I know, I read,” said Capello, who added that he would not be talking to the Arsenal teenager. “I think the teacher of Wilshere is really good. Arsène Wenger will be a good teacher for him. It’s better for him to speak with him.”

Wilshere will start against Ghana if Scott Parker fails to shake off a calf problem. The West Ham midfielder has undergone a scan and his club, understandably, do not want him to risk aggravating the injury.

Aaron Lennon, who was due to start, returned to Tottenham with a minor hamstring complaint after feeling discomfort in Monday’s training session.

Having been in England three years, Capello was also asked the legitimate question over whether his English was good enough. The fact that the question required translating rather answered it.

Capello then shrugged. “I don’t know. I think when I speak with the players they understand everything. It’s important when you speak with the players. If I need to speak about the economy or other things, I can’t speak. But when you speak about tactics, you don’t use a lot of words. I don’t have to speak about a lot of different things. Maximum 100 words.

“I try to improve every day. I listen to radio, watch the television. I study as well. I think.”

Asked which programmes he watched, Capello retorted: “No, I put the subtitles. Is OK? Enough? Different programmes. Football, yes, always football. But other sports, some films, some different things. I understand when you come from the north, one from London, I study very well. Others are so-so.”

Capello was on the golf course on Sunday when Steven Gerrard remarked on Sky that the England coach contacted him to explain the decision to give the armband to John Terry.

“Yes, I phoned him, I spoke with him,” Capello confirmed. So why not call Ferdinand? “Because Rio was captain. Steve was the vice-captain. With Rio, I would prefer to speak personally. Face to face. I hope I will meet him in the next weeks.”

Communication is not Capello’s forte. The latest pronouncements from the greatest linguist to work in English football, Mourinho, also needed addressing by Capello.

Mourinho’s comment in the respected French sports daily, L’Equipe, that he was “hours away” from becoming England manager after Steve McClaren departed drew a prompt reaction from the FA. “Fabio was our first choice for England manager,” said an FA spokesman. “We have made that clear from the outset.”

Mourinho has simply confirmed that the FA was talking to him and Capello at the same time. Capello sounded unperturbed. “Every time a club or a different national team decides to choose a manager, they decide to speak with a lot of managers,” said Capello. “It’s normal.”

He did express surprise that any manager, whether him or Mourinho, would talk in public about another’s job. “I don’t speak about the relationship with the other clubs, for respect for other managers,” said Capello, although his respect for Mourinho is well known.

When reminded of Mourinho’s popularity among the English public, Capello turned tetchy. “I’ve finished to speak about this. I don’t like to speak about this. I’m finished on this. I finish. I finish.”

All very unnecessary. What really matters is what happens on the pitch. Two centre-halves, Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka, are given a chance to prove they can deal with the likes of Asamoah Gyan. “I know Jagielka very well,” said Capello. “He is in good form. Cahill is improving a lot. He will be a really interesting player. If other players like Rio, Terry, Dawson are not fit these two players are really good.”

The personnel may be changing but Capello insisted that England would stick with his 4-3-3 formation. “Three midfielders, yes,” Capello confirmed to audible sighs of relief.

The 4-4-2 system that left England so open on the Veldt has been consigned to history.
Telegraph.feedsportal.com