Fabio Capello To Be Paid By The Joke: England Fans Get Laughometer (Oliver Holt Roasts Steve Howard)
QPR manger Neil Warnock might be the next England manger. He’s talking with the Sun’s Steven Howard:
AFTER the shame-faced retreat from South Africa, England fans were united on one thing. Fabio Capello’s team was a joke.
Except there was nothing vaguely amusing about it. Certainly, the England players looked as if they hadn’t had a decent laugh in the entire six weeks they had been together.
In fact, make that the two years they had endured under their Italian sergeant major.
Or as Oliver Holt put it way back on October:
There is something altogether more relaxed and informal about the England manager these days. Gone is the stern, suspicious autocrat who ruled so severely and joylessly in South Africa.
Might it be that Howard has a point to make and facts should be intrude?
Had someone had the temerity to attempt a joke, their faces would have shattered. But now it’s time to replace that deathly rictus grin.
Of which Holt says:
Laughs are de rigeur now with England.
Back to Howard:
With Spain due at Wembley on Saturday, it’s time to put the smile back on England’s face.
Get Manwell!
You can have your FIFA licence and a tracksuit top obliterated by coaching badges but if you can’t make the Troops laugh you’re never going to build a real bond.
See Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger – two great comedians of our time.
It was a point Neil Warnock made at QPR’s training ground near Heathrow this week. In particular, he sees Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp as the perfect antidote to Capello’s gruff parade-ground barking — part of an aloof them-and-us regime that has only increased the fear every player feels when he pulls on an England shirt.
Surely you mean “de rigeur” laugh in?
Says Warnock:
“The England job is one of man-management, getting your message across — and having a bit of fun. The importance of not only being able to speak the language but also to understand it is vital. I would talk with Flavio Briatore when he was at QPR and, a lot of the time, he just didn’t get it. Not that he didn’t want to but he just didn’t understand our humour. I would crack a joke and it would go over his head.”
Because all foreigners are the same. Although, Briatore did provide us with one cracking laugh.
“It was the same when Sven Goran Eriksson was England boss and it certainly seems to be the case with Capello. We should never minimise the role banter and leg-pulling plays in the dressing-room and on the training-field. Humour is so important in this game — even more so at international level. When you are on the boil, it’s the off-the-cuff remark that gets a laugh or gets a player wanting to do a little bit more for you.”
See Alex Ferguson’s Bumper Book Of Funnies – 1001 Hair Dryer Jokes.
“That is one of Harry’s great strengths. He understands players, he knows what makes them tick, knows how to get the best out of them and knows how to make them laugh….In fact, the England job would be perfect for him. He could pace himself and take time off when required. Except, of course, he won’t!”
He adds:
“I never agreed with Capello’s appointment and certainly not the money he is paid. That is little more than scandalous.”
He should be paid by the joke.
Meanwhile, anyone care to explain how Harry’s humour goes down with the foreigners in the Spurs side? Does it go right over their heads?
Posted: 9th, November 2011 | In: Key Posts, Sports Comments (4) | TrackBack | Permalink
