Capello must wait two weeks to learn England fate
Updated on 28 June 2010
Fabio Capello is facing an anxious two-week wait for a decision over his future, as a member of the FA Council tells Channel 4 News three key changes are now needed in the English game.
Twenty-four hours after England's painful 4-1 defeat to Germany in the second round of the World Cup, Fabio Capello has been told he must now wait a fortnight to find out if he is keeping his job.
The Italian (see Capello's Who Knows Who connections map) is holding talks with Club England chairman Sir David Richards, who will decide if he stays in his £6m-a-year post.
Should Richards conclude there is a loss of faith in Capello, it is expected he will be forced to go. However this could involve a costly "buy-out" for the Football Association.
Who Knows Who: Capello connections
Capello has repeated his wish to remain England manager. At an emergency press conference he said: "I spoke this morning with Sir Dave Richards and he told me that he needs two weeks to decide."
Asked if he felt he still justified his large annual salary he said: "When they decided to pick me to be manager I spoke with the people and they decided to give me this money. But I think it is not about the money, it is the value of the man."
Capello also put the team's failure down to tiredness. He said: "I think the English players were really tired at this competition. All the coaches told me that the physical situation of the players was not like the players that we know."
"Rooney (see Wayne Rooney's Who Knows Who profile) played well some games, but you can't speak about just one player. The players were not like what I know... they are normally quick and fast..."
It is only a matter of weeks since Capello signed a revised contract which takes him through to the end of Euro 2012.
On 2 June the FA published a statement on its website which read: "An amendment to his [Capello's] employment contract was signed and exchanged today, with break clause options for both the FA and Fabio being removed."
Miliband: 'England were stuffed'
Labour leadership contender David Miliband says he would have preferred a penalty shoot-out against Germany.
The former foreign secretary made his feelings known via audio blogging site audioBoo.
He said: "Well I don't know about you but I've always hated going out of World Cups on penalties, but after yesterday penalties felt a bit better compared to getting stuffed. There's a lot of work to be done on the football field, but the real world carries on..."
Listen here
Lord Ouseley, who sits on the FA Council, has told Channel 4 News three key areas need urgent attention.
He said: "I think principally what has gone wrong is that some of our best players have gone to South Africa and not performed and we need to know why. They failed abysmally - all of them, collectively, as well as individually. They must take primary responsibility as well as the coach."
He also said "structural" issues need to be addressed in the UK.
He explained: "There are many things wrong with the game in England that have to be addressed. We've been selling off playing fields under the last two governments and that has meant we have lost a lot of the capacity for developing youngsters.
"Secondly, there are only about 38 per cent of the players who are playing in this country who are available to the national coach to select and that is an issue.
"Thirdly, there is an issue about the board of the Football Association - it's composition, no women, no ethnic minorities... not enough independence. That in itself wouldn't change the circumstances of producing a better team, but it's part of the problem that I think exists structurally, which the FA has to address."
Lord Ouseley added: "We don't put enough investment into coaches, we don't put enough investment into ex-footballers playing a much more prominent role in running the game."
On Capello's big-money contract he called the decision to renew it just before the World Cup "bizarre". He said: "That is something someone has to answer for."
(Capello contemplates his future after failing to guide England beyond the last 16 - Reuters)
Meanwhile, the debate rages over goal-line technology after Frank Lampard's disallowed strike against Germany.
It would have brought the teams level at two-all just minutes before half-time in Sunday's second round clash. The ball crossed the line so clearly that German chancellor Angela Merkel, who was watching the game at the G20 summit with David Cameron, reportedly apologised to the PM.
Injured England captain Rio Ferdinand believes the "goal that never was" could have changed the tempo of the match, and the result.
He told The Sun newspaper: "If Lamps' goal had stood it would have been 2-2 and then the game would've turned on its head. We'd have been at full throttle. I'm sure we'd have gone on to win it."
Fifa continues to reject calls for video technology to be brought into use. At a press conference earlier Fifa spokesman Nicolas Maingot was forced to field increasingly angry questions from journalists, mostly from the British media.
He said: "We won't speak about technology, the use or the non-use of technology today. There have been a lot of debates about this question since many years."
(The goal that never was - Frank Lampard's strike crosses the line but was disallowed)
England World Cup exit: your views
The manner of England's failure has sparked fevered debate on social networking sites. Here are some of the comments sent to @channel4news via Twitter and Facebook.
Matt Prescott I feel that the England squad needs to be allowed to play together far more and that the Premiership clubs will have to give ground if the national team is ever to succeed on the international stage.
Andrew Atkinson Anyone else think this lot should donate their "earnings" of the last couple of weeks to charity?
CookieJamster @channel4news All football fans should boycott future FIFA tournies at every turn until it wakes up to tech.
Sammy Lowrie Though I do delight in seeing England losing, I find what happen to the team and manager after competition failures appalling!
Patrick Lockyer You cannot blame the coach. He had a good team leading up to the finals. It just was not to be and the Green thing spoiled it and bad linesmen made it easy for the Germans to overcome the second half need to attack and take risks.
noseytwitta @channel4news they need to clear out some of the foreign players get some young talent in with the hunger to win!
Angelica Perry I really appreciated Harry Redknapp's response to Gary Lineker when asked if it was time for an English manager. I think maybe he expected yes! But Harry as wise as ever affirmed Fabio's managerial credentials.
Russell Hayley Next time, only select players from the Football League Championship, that way they might be hungry enough to want to win it.
England Press Conference, 28 June 2010
