Why England must NEVER turn to a foreign boss again

By Andy Dunn

Published 21:00 03/12/11

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I remember December 17, 2007, as though it was yesterday. And to adapt and sanitise an old Frank Carson gag … you know what a terrible day yesterday was.

On the left flank of a top table in a London hotel suite sat Trevor Brooking, with the sort of demeanour a father might have at his daughter’s wedding to the local scoundrel.

It was the coronation of Fabio Capello as the national coach.

Maybe I picked up the wrong vibes but you could sense Brooking’s regret that an English manager could not be found.

Four miserable years on and Brooking, responding to deeply unnerving suggestions Capello might be asked to stay beyond next summer, remarked: “… you never say never.”

This was, of course, Brooking’s equivalent of a nice, gentle pat of encouragement for Capello. Well, Sir Trevor, on this occasion you DO say never.

Never again can the FA waste an annual £6million on a foreign coach merely looking to end his career with a flourish on his CV and a golden nest egg.

Never again can the FA allow a foreign coach to bring in a coterie of staff for jobs that should be filled by its own people.

Never again can the FA allow an escape clause to be removed and to reward abject tournament failure with another two years of staggeringly lucrative employment.

As a supporter, I desperately want Capello and England to do well at Euro 2012.

But after that… never again.

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