THE confusion over Fabio Capello’s England future intensified last night when a second senior Football Association official publicly rallied behind the Italian, only to later backtrack on his show of support.
The FA official backtracked on his public show of support for Fabio Capello
David Sheepshanks, who was briefly joint acting chairman of the FA following the resignation of Lord Triesman in May, looked to have broken ranks and joined fellow board member Phil Gartside in backing Capello despite England’s dismal World Cup showing.
However, Sheepshanks later told colleagues that his comments should not be construed as blanket support for Capello as more mixed messages saw the debate over the manager’s job descend deeper into farce.
Capello’s position is being reviewed following the manner of England’s 4-1 exit to Germany in the last 16 and a decision is due within a fortnight.
The indications remain that Capello, 64, will be asked to continue in his position and oversee the qualifying campaign for the European Championships in 2012, but he continues to be left dangling while there remains no official confirmation of that from his bosses.
Sheepshanks’ comments in a radio interview initially appeared to bolster Capello’s hopes of getting “revenge” for his team’s failure in South Africa.
“Knee-jerk reactions never work best,” said Sheepshanks. “Let’s get this right: Fabio is tremendously able. He doesn’t
become a bad manager overnight and I think everybody should be very
measured in their considerations.”
But
Sheepshanks, the former chairman of Ipswich Town, later told friends
that his comments should not be interpreted as an unflinching
endorsement and in the same radio interview had been critical of
England’s performance.
“Everybody is at a loss
[to explain it],” he said. “It was pretty woeful. I’m not going to make
any excuses, there will be a proper debrief with the FA over the coming
days and weeks. Everybody wants someone to blame but there are some very
able and wise people around the FA board table and I have absolute
confidence they will come up with the right decision.”
“If they sack him they will be left with egg on their
face,” said PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor.
“It
seems ridiculous to do this contract negotiation just before the World
Cup and then to now be talking about sacking him.
“The Capello question is not the nettle we should be
grasping. Fabio has been brought in to deal with the top of the pyramid,
it’s the base up to the top that needs attention. We need a committee
of inquiry. There is a crisis and it has to involve all the
stakeholders.”
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