While ‘Arry Redknapp is batting his eyelashes as fast as he can to attract the attention of the FA – Jose Mourinho, dubbed “the people’s choice” by most papers, is set to reject the England job and saunter off to Real Madrid or Barcelona, according to the Daily Mail.
The Special One is apparently biding his time waiting for an opening in Spain, either with Real Madrid (manager Bernd Schuster doesn’t look completely safe in his job) or at Barcelona, despite the fact that the Catalan club were mortal enemies with his team during his time at Chelsea. A ‘close friend’ (although not close enough to keep his mouth shut when the press come snooping) said:
“A national team job does not appeal to Jose at the moment, he wants to stay in club football and is waiting to see what happens in Spain.”
So who is left? The Daily Mail claims that Martin O’Neill is ‘agonising’ over whether to stay loyal to Randy Lerner and his fledgling Aston Villa side or to leap into the arms of the FA.
The only truly viable options are Fabio Capello, with a great pedigree, or Jurgen Klinsmann – although having a German manage England is surely a bit of a stretch, even for the desperate FA. Other outside choices mentioned by the Daily Mail are Rafa Benitez (!) and Alan Shearer, who was backed by fellow pundit Alan Hansen, who said:
“There are very, very few English candidates, though Alan Shearer’s is a name that is being increasingly mentioned.
“If the FA could bring in a quality set-up around him, it could make for an interesting appointment.
“Shearer has a lot of the attributes needed to galvanise an England dressing room and beyond.
“The players and the country would be right behind him; he knows the game, he has performed at the highest level and, with regard to the media, he commands instant respect.
“If the FA can find that support staff — and there are no serious matches until next autumn — then Shearer would be an appointment that would be young, fresh and optimistic.
“And right now the English game needs a new beginning.”
So are we to trust Scotsman Hansen’s analysis or is he trying to set England up with a turkey?