Capello Confirms 2012 Departure

Last week, Fabio Capello confirmed that he will be stepping down as England manager after the 2012 European Football Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.  The 64-year old has decided that he will not renew his current contract, and will instead enjoy retirement.  For some, they will claim that Capello shouldn’t be in the job even now, after England’s dismal showing at the World Cup finals.

Despite victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland in the opening rounds of Euro 2012 qualification, Capello is unlikely to enjoy the rapport he had with the fans before the diabolical tactical decisions, which along with abysmal performances from top players, led to the Three Lions dramatic failure in South Africa.  Nevertheless, his record as a manager worldwide cannot be discounted, even if his reputation has taken a battering from the events on the football field this summer.

The bookies are already taking bets on who will be the next England manager, with the former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill the frontrunner with many sources.  The FA has also confirmed that the next manager of the national team will be an Englishman – so the names of Steve Bruce, Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce are bound to be thrown into the selection process too.  Despite this claim by the Football Association, the likes of current Turkey gaffer Guus Hiddink and Real Madrid supremo Jose Mourinho feature heavily on the odds with Sky Bet.

Only time will tell who will succeed Capello, but with a win ratio of 70.9%, better than any England manager has previously managed, they may have a tough act to follow, no matter of the big tournament failure that Capello suffered this summer.

LATEST ODDS WITH SKYBET TO SUCCEED FABIO CAPELLO AS ENGLAND BOSS IN 2012

2/1         -              Martin O’Neill                     (Unemployed, left Aston Villa in August 2010)

4/1         -              Stuart Pearce                    (Current manager of the England Under-21 side)

4/1         -              Harry Redknapp                 (Current manager of Tottenham Hotspur)

5/1         -              Roy Hodgson                     (Current manager of Liverpool)

10/1       -              Sam Allardyce                    (Current manager of Blackburn Rovers)

12/1       -              Jose Mourinho                    (Current manager of Real Madrid)

16/1       -              Guus Hiddink                     (Current manager of Turkey)

16/1       -              Marcelo Lippi                     (Stepped down as Italy boss after the World Cup)

20/1       -              Luis Felipe Scolari              (Targeted by the FA in 2006, former Chelsea manager)

20/1       -              David Beckham                  (Currently playing for the LA Galaxy in the MLS)

20/1       -              David Moyes                      (Current manager of Everton)

20/1       -              Steve Bruce                       (Current manager of Sunderland)

20/1       -              Frank Rijkaard                   (Current manager of Galatasaray)

Polish Air Disaster - A Nation Grieves

Poland is in a state of national mourning after yesterday’s tragic air disaster in Russia, which wiped out a fair number of their national government.  The Polish president, Lech Kaczynski was killed, along with his wife other key members of the political, financial and military areas of his cabinet.  They were amongst the 90 people killed when their ageing plane, the Tupolev-154 crashed into a forest full of trees whilst approaching Smolensk airport.

In thick and dense fog, some media sources in Russia are speculating that the pilot of the plane was giving severe warning about the adverse weather and was told to divert the plane to Moscow airport.  However, it seems like he may have ignored the advice of air traffic control and attempted to land at Smolensk, as he was so close to reaching the destination.  Human error or mechanical failure aside, this is just a side issue to the terrible tragedy that has engulfed a nation.  Kaczynski’s body has been flown back to his homeland today, as tributes pour in around a memorial site, set up in the country’s capital, Warsaw.  The Polish delegation onboard were flying in from Warsaw to mark the upcoming 70^th anniversary of the infamous Katyn massacre of thousands of Poles during WWII by Russian forces, under the darker days of the Soviet Union.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has visited the scene of the crash, and has paid his own tributes to the late-Polish president.  He has already confirmed that he will lead an investigation into the crash.  It is believed that no-one had any chance of survival, as the plane broke up on impact into several pieces, then burst into flames.  The pictures and videos taken shortly afterwards underline the impact and the amount of wreckage spread over the site of the crash.  The airliner might have also been in considerable trouble from an early stage, as contact with air traffic control allegedly lost contact with the pilot at least fourteen minutes before it crashed. 

Lech Kacyznski was sixty years old and had certainly had his fair share of ups and downs in power.  He certainly was a very controversial figure in world politics, especially when he adopted the Law and Justice Party in 2001, with his twin Jaroslaw Kaczynski.  He was elected President of the country five years ago and was not afraid to use his strong opinions politically, no matter how much controversy and strife he might bring.  As mayor of Warsaw, he twice banned gay parade marches in the city and spoke out of his belief to reintroduce the death penalty.  Nevertheless, he made an impact around the world and he will be profoundly missed, especially by his native followers in Poland.  This is a shocking national disaster to have engulfed the country, and now needs to rely on its spirit and belief to rebuild itself from this shattering tragedy.