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Is Harry The Only One To Blame?
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Tottenham threw away a 13-point lead over Arsenal and have ended up in the Europa League once again. Did they stick when they should have twisted in January?
F365's Pre-Season Predictions, Revisited
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We like to poke fun at Mark Lawrenson for his predictions, so it's only fair that we take a look at the ones F365 tried for the season. Summary: it didn't go well for many of us...
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We'll start with The Sun (who are mostly excited about columnist Ian Wright apparently predicting a Jermain Defoe hat-trick), who were impressed but struck a note of caution as Shaun Custis wrote: 'Of course this doesn't repair the damage from the World Cup debacle. After all, England were brilliant in qualifying for 2010 and still flopped spectacularly. But it is a step forward on the road to redemption and fans, media, players and management can breathe a sigh of relief. It could still go wrong again in Switzerland on Tuesday because England are always capable of messing up. But there was a confidence about this display which suggests it will be carried on to Basel.'
The Daily Mirror's Oliver Holt had called for Fabio Capello to be sacked whatever happens in these two qualifiers and he saw nothing to change his mind, writing: 'Let's not start plying Fabio Capello with nectar and ambrosia again just yet. Let's not turn him back into a god just because we beat Bulgaria at Wembley last night. And let's keep last night's England display in perspective: it was a decent performance against a very, very ordinary side. In those circumstances, the 4-0 victory that England achieved in front of a subdued crowd was the minimum requirement.
'The margin of victory flattered Capello's side. The difference was in the finishing of the two teams and England's, courtesy of the vision of Wayne Rooney and the ruthlessness of Jermain Defoe, was in a different league. Still, transplant this game to a stadium in South Africa against slightly better opposition than Bulgaria - like Algeria, for instance - and England's performance was not much better than some of the depressing fare they served up in the World Cup.'
You can always rely on the Daily Mail's Martin Samuel to be a tad more sensible and he writes: 'Having failed to play like England at the World Cup, at least Fabio Capello's team looked like England again at Wembley last night: and in more ways than one. The win was England's most emphatic in 2010, the performance was the high point of Fabio Capello's year, and it was achieved in colours that have come to represent this country's football identity - white shirts, blue shorts, white socks. Gone was that ghastly all-white PE kit, and gone too the insipid displays of the men within it.
'The summer may have been a washout, but here was promise, verve and the hope that while Capello may have made mistakes in South Africa, the assertion that he has lost his ability to motivate the group has been greatly overstated. Gormless managers do not beat Bulgaria by four goals, even at home.'
Paul Joyce of the Daily Express was also quietly enthusiastic: 'England's first step on the road to Euro 2012 belatedly came with a swagger, but it was the chance to toast a victory that was all important as Fabio Capello's side looks to reingratiate itself with a disaffected nation. Substitute Adam Johnson scored just before Defoe completed his first treble for his country - and that Wayne Rooney's fingerprints were over all four goals was another positive for Capello as he seeks evidence that his talisman has left his World Cup woes behind him.'
But The Guardian's Richard Williams is not for turning as he acknowledged the class of England's opening goal but then wrote: 'But then came the misplaced passes, the muddled attempts at creative interplay, a Glen Johnson backpass that forced Joe Hart into his best save of the first half, and the sight of Rooney, alone on the left touchline, attempting a sort of Cruyff turn but only managing to fumble the ball into touch, with the nearest opponent 10 yards away. That, too, is mystifying, and such moments of befuddlement convey the message that clarity will not be restored to the England squad simply through the launch of a perfectly decent new strip. And by the way, what was wrong with the old one?'
Rather more impressed with the 4-0 win was the Independent's James Lawton, who wrote: 'For a little while the strangest, warmest fantasy unfolded. England might not be the most devastating team in the world but they were one with life and coherence and perhaps even a future. It was almost as though the World Cup had never happened, was still another trial and adventure just the other side of the horizon - or, maybe, we should even make that a rainbow. Far from being a figure of ridicule, Fabio Capello was again a considerable football man.
'You might even have been excused believing he had a list of achievements as long as the Grand Canal and that when he talked about the continuing value of a quaint old system known as 4-4-2 it didn't necessarily mean he should be sent off home to Switzerland with a warm blanket and a watchful St Bernard.'
A more cautious tone was adopted by the Daily Telegraph's Kevin Garside, who is scornful of his tabloid counterparts: 'Temporarily at least Frankenstein's monster is back in his box, ushered in by a goalkeeper that saves and a striker that scores. How different this game is when a team adheres to first principles.
'The result comes too late to save Fabio Capello from the cartoon caricature. And he can be sure that old Igor will be firing up the electrics if England nosedive in Switzerland.
'Capello, as much as his team, was on trial last night. Commentators are looking for him to fail. The inertia of South Africa lingers in the memory still. Capello is no longer the Svengali figure dealing in fantasy but a coach whose authority is questioned, his methods doubted, his character mocked.'
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