nicely demonstrates the contradictory media stance, I think

"The French trio's performances, along with those of the outstanding Yoann Gourcuff and Benzema, continually illustrated the technical gulf in class between the sides."

but then

"This frailty again raises doubts about Capello's ability ... and whether the Italian is still the right man to lead England.

France replaced Raymond Domenech after their World Cup failure, and under Blanc have shown visible signs of improvement ... England, by contrast, stuck with Capello after the World Cup, and ... Wednesday's poor display shows he is a long way behind Blanc in his plans for the future."

Either the problem is that there's a technical gulf in class between our players and theirs, or it's that we've got a crap manager and they've got a good one.

I know where my money is.

And I don't think anyone can expect Capello to magic technically-able players out of thin air (unless he's allowed to issue British passports to foreign players). Exactly the same problem that has faced every English manager since Revie.

Posted By: Tricky Hawes, Nov 18, 13:02:56