Pearce a shocker, Capello a disgrace

IF there was one bit of good news to come out of England U21s' 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Germany in last night's final, it was that Stuart Pearce has surely shot his chances of being the next England boss. The man failed at Man City and is not technically gifted enough to be manager of the national side. He is Kevin Keegan lite - a fist on the chest, all-passion, all brawn operator. His failure last night was to be able to change tactics when things went wrong and to mess with his best player. Yes, his treatment of Theo Walcott, who went out on a limb with his club boss Arsene Wenger, to make the trip to Sweden was terrible. Dropping him, questioning whether he would even play him in the final in a Press conference and then not having the brains to work out a formula to get the ball to him in the match.

Pearce needs to learn a little finesse and civility if he is to progress - both in terms of his team and himself.

As for the man who is leading England seniors to South Africa and World Cup 2010, well, Fabio Capello's management has been excellent - certainly something old 'Psycho' could learn from. But his absence from the U21 final last night was an absolute disgrace. He blamed it on missing a flight from the Confederations Cup final - but what was he doing there, anyway? He should have been in Sweden encouraging Pearce and showing he is committed to the English cause from the semis onwards. His absence merely confirms the suspicion that he will be on his way after next summer - otherwise he would surely want to check out the form and the ability to cope with competitive tournament football of the young men who could infiltrate his squad in a year or two?

And if he goes - please don't promote Pearce and take us back to the nightmare years of Steve McClaren. Roy Hodgson or Harry Redknapp are the best (English) men for the job - with Glenn Hoddle (yes, I know he failed in 98, but he is older and wiser now and one of the best tactical brains out there) a younger alternative.