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The Page That Could've Done Without That Information Before Lunch
Some red hot sources over at Soccernet, the spin on a few photos and a load of meat...
The Page That Should Be Here In Long Term
Is the 66-year-old Fabio Capello 'a young coach who can remain in the job long-term'? Oh and Spurs fans should be relieved...
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Boom
Piers Morgan: '@GaryLineker_I currently air in 200 countries/territories - how you getting on? #SmallPondMinnow'.
Gary Lineker: '@piersmorgan I think the 2 world cups I played in probably edged that'.
Respec' is due.
Great Scott
Scott Parker after Tottenham's 0-0 draw with Liverpool: "There aren't many teams who'll come to Anfield and get points."
Except Stoke. And Blackburn. And Swansea. And Man City. And Norwich and Man U and...oh, this is just too easy, Scott.
They Don't, They Don't Talk For Us
'A humiliation, a farce & a shambles...is there ANYBODY who still wants Capello to stay?' asks the Daily Mirror, who really are going to town in a charabanc on this 'Fabio v The FA' business. And yes, they do use the phrase 'Fabio v The FA'. And yes, it does apparently merit more space in their newspaper than the small matter of 'Liverpool v Spurs'. But that's just football and this is a 'humiliation, a farce & a shambles', apparently.
'So is there ANYBODY who still wants Capello to stay?'
Erm, yes. Us please. Mediawatch's hand is raised. We're even doing that thing where we're pushing one hand higher with the other while making a face like we want to pee.
Why? Because Capello has the best win percentage of any England manager in history.
Why? Because Capello has taken us through two qualification campaigns with barely a hitch.
Why? Because Capello's one of the best managers in the world.
If those reasons seem silly, you're probably Martin Lipton of the Daily Mirror.
Now, Mediawatch does not agree with Capello's sentiments about John Terry. We happen to think that the FA had little choice but to take the captaincy away and Capello might have been best advised to keep quiet on the subject in public. But we are old enough and ugly enough to know that people have different views and we recognise that Capello has not condoned racism but rather - in line with several pundits including Gary Neville - suggested that Terry should be allowed to remain captain until the courts have come to a verdict. We disagree. But we suspect there are quite a few subjects on which we disagree with Capello (1980s electro music, the film Groundhog Day etc).
But as the Daily Mirror disagree (on Terry, not on 1980s electro music), then Capello should go. Again.
'There is a solution the FA could take,' writes Lipton. 'Provoke Capello to go through with his threat. Tell him he's not wanted. Ask Trevor Brooking or Stuart Pearce to take charge against Holland at the end of the month and then propel Plan B, the succession, into action at the end of the season.
'Capello's successor must, now, be English. That is a given.'
Woah there. So disagreeing with the actions of one foreign manager means that no other foreign manager should be allowed to manage England? Perhaps Lipton had the same idea after Sven-Goran Eriksson. How did that go again?
He continues: 'Choose the best available Englishman. Talk to his club. Get him released from the final day of the season. Do it now. If we are to fail again, let us fail under a manager we can respect, maybe even like.'
Martin, when you say 'we', please do not talk for the whole of England. Talk for yourself, talk for the Daily Mirror, but do not talk for England, do not talk for us.
So who would this 'best available Englishman' be, we wonder. The Englishman in charge of the highest-ranking Premier League club, perhaps? A man we can 'respect'? The man currently in court after being charged with tax evasion? Oh wait a minute...he's innocent until proven guilty, isn't he?
Boat. Sailed.
'It creates a potential monster in Terry,' writes the equally apoplectic Matt Lawton (WHY HE MUST GO NOW!) in the Daily Mail.
We suspect that's one crime that can't be laid at the door of Capello.
Exclusively Late
Phenomenal 'exclusive' from The Sun today as they claim that 'Dimitar Berbatov will be handed a one-year extension by Manchester United'.
What a scoop. Which top-secret sources have leaked this infomation?
Surely it couldn't have been Sir Alex Ferguson in a press conference on December 30 when he said: "We'll be exercising (the option to renew]. I think it kicks in in March."
Top scooping, Phil Thomas.
Headline Of The Day
'Ba humbug, I'm staying' - The Daily Mirror.
Worst Headline Of The Day
'It's Suar Point For Kop Star' - The Daily Star.
Runner-Up
'Ha-Ha Way The Lad' - The Daily Mirror.
Non-Football Story Of The Day
'Essential work on planned reservoirs in Zimbabwe has stopped because mermaids have been hounding workers away, according to the country's Water Resources Minister. Samuel Sipepa Nkomo told a Zimbabwean parliamentary committee that terrified workers are refusing to return to the sites, near the towns of Gokwe and Mutare. Minister Nkomo said the only way to solve the problem was to brew traditional beer and carry out any rites to appease the spirits' - The Daily Mail.
Thanks to today's Mediawatch spotters Jamie Bedwell and Ben Tinker. If you spot anything that belongs on this page, mail us at theeditor@football365.com, putting 'Mediawatch' in the subject field.
