Today (Wednesday) the FA and Fabio Capello are expected to meet over the John Terry situation, and it appears that neither side is willing to concede anything to the other.
Capello will be asked by Football Association chairman David Bernstein to explain why he committed a serious breach of FA protocol in his explosive Italian television interview on Sunday.
Capello made a direct challenge to the authority of his FA employers when he told Italian TV station Rai that he still wanted Terry to be his captain.
Bernstein is said to be furious at Capello’s comments and he wants him to apologize before agreeing to issue a joint statement that would enable both the FA and the England manager to move forward with a degree of unity.
Several media outlets however are reporting that Capello will not take back his comments, a decision that could leave England without a manager by the end of the day.
The FA are also digging in their heels, as the FA has no intention of going back on the decision to take the armband off Terry, 31. The FA consider it inappropriate for the Chelsea skipper to lead the national team at this summer’s European Championship when his trial does not start until July 9.
If neither side caves Wednesday, I cannot see how the FA and Capello can work together for the last six months of his contract. The question then becomes, if Capello leaves (is fired) who replaces him?
England have a friendly against Holland later this month that U21 manager Stuart Pearce could manage with some help from the FA’s director of development Sir Trevor Brooking. That arrangement would give the FA a couple of moths to line up a coach for Euro 2012.
Those back-up plans could all go up in smoke though if Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is found guilty of tax evasion this week as he is the obvious choice to replace Capello.
