'Fabio Capello' is an anagram of 'I, Capable Fool'. Perhaps after all he shouldn't accept the job.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

I think this is all setting up where if Capello gets the job, Alan Sharer will be his top assistant in the years leading up to South Africa 2010, then take over for Capello after the World Cup.

Simi Valley, Simi Valley, CA,

Well, I reckon any of the names discussed will do better than McLaren regardless of their management style, nationality and cv. Whilst Lippi, Capello, Mourinho, Redknapp and O'Neill are managers in the true sense of the word, Klinsmann and Shearer are more of the player-motivating style. The only coach I know of, who combined the two is indeed the "Kaiser" himself, Beckenbauer.
I feel, that the Klinsmann/Shearer type of manager would suit England best, especially since both were formidable forwards. And, for once, Germany played proper football in 2006, rather than the cattenaccio style of their former years.
Only goals can raise the roof in football and only goals will ultimately win the trophies.
We need to, at the very least, get back to the 5:1 spirit of 2001, when Gerrard and Owen were hungry young men...
I do hope that Capello proves intelligent enough to adapt to the English style. I'd rather we won 4:3 than 1:0. Thanks for listening.

Patrick, Saffron Walden, UK

I live 33% off the time in Italy and all I can say is, immagine if Italy and England were in the world cup final of 2010 and by a miracle England won, Capello could never set foot in his home country again ! I have no doubt he or Lippi are supremely qualfiied for the job, but no self respecting Italian would tolerate a foreign coach, why should we, when Rednapp has proved his worth ? It's not a question of being a little Englander, I just agree with Southgate, we already have the champions league with English teams with foriegn coaches. It's a sad reflection on the lack of confidence that we are reduced to this as a nation and that's no disrepect to Italy.

Andrew Wakeling, London, UK

I firmily believe that Fabio Capello is the best choice for England. I am Italian and I know how this man works. He is very demanding, first with himself. He knows how to motivate players and I am sure he is going to deliver happy moments to English fans.
My wish: to see a Italy-England final in 2010. (2-0 for Italy of course, after a splendid match...sorry...as I said, I am Italian...).

Paolo Dorsa, Farnham, Surrey UK

Winning with England? Mission impossible!
Capello won everything everywhere, but the problem is that England is a team full of overrated players who can't even beat Macedonia and made Croatia look like Brazil!
Capello's winning reputation is doomed to come to an end!

Franco, Milan, Italy

I must leave it to people far more qualified than me to choose the next England Manager/coach, however there are a few 1st principals I would like to offer for consideration, as folllows,
1. Players will be selected for each match on form and fitness there will be NO selection on reputation only.
2. It will be the responsibility of Clubs to ensure selected players are transported to the Training venue, players will NOT arrive in their own £100,000 plus cars.
3. Agents, Football/Press will NOT be allowed within 500 miles of the Training venue.
4. Whilst Mobile phones will not be banned entirely, players will be expected to agree not to use them except for family calls.
5. Players selected to pull on the England "strip" will be expected to raise their play ABOVE that which they achieve for their Clubs, failure so to do will place future selection in severe jeopardy.
6. Players selected as in 5. above will be expected to find a way of playing, with the other 10 players, plus subs.

Roger J Marsden, Rubery,

Capello is also good looking!! kidding guys... carry on your discussion...

laura, london,

I'm very happy if Fabio Capello (Sir Fabio) would be the next manager of England.
You must give him a few time and....... the England teem will be ok.
Go Fabio , go.

Carmine, Reggio Emilia, Italy

Dr Barton,

For all your qualifications you still can't speak English. First of all it's football, not soccer, your grammar is painful, and I doubt many people are injured by flues anymore. We stopped sending boys up chimneys years ago.

What I would like to know, is why can't the FA find a manager with the discretion and directness of the big clubs? Will Manchester United consult Arsene Wenger when the time comes to replace Sir Alex? I doubt it somehow!

Do you think they ever watch football over at the FA?

Mr Chris (I've got some A levels), Edinburgh, UK

Is it too late to plead for an English manager? So Capello is 'intrigued' by the possibility of managing England? I wonder if £6 mill a year means anything to him, or indeed any foreign coach. The FA can't seriously believe that any, ANY, foreign coach shares the passion for England of an Englishman. Before making the error of appointing any foreigner, why not offer remuneration according to success? And watch the stampede!! Don't make the mistake of thinking that Harry will wait forever. He is a proud man and not likely to forgive the FA for a snub in favour of some flavour of the month chancer from abroad.
Finally, is it too much to ask that if (when) this all ends in tears we may have Barwick's resignation, and that of those who allowed him to perpetrate this nonsense!?

david, london,

Whats that got do with anything?
Only seven teams have won the world cup. Appointing foreign managers is still very rare for the the majority of the top nations, only among smaller footballing countries is it a common occurence.

Alex, rdg,

Isn't it a bit embarrassing that we have to look to one of our major rivals for a manager? He's got the credentials, but what a sad reflection on our own game.

Ian, Manchester,

C Richards:

"Has a World Cup ever been won with a coach from a different country than his players?"

Yes, many times. For example Scolari won it with Brazil

Owen, London, UK

Two questions; Are we supposed to believe Capello didn't know about the years and years of match-fixing while he was manager of juventus? (the same goes for Lippi)
Won't his position of complete authority be undermined by his language skills?

steve, Milan, italy

Whether it's capello, Lippi or Mourinho England fans get ready from some drawn out stifle footbal!
Personally, I think either one of the three will be a success and I think we will progress beyond the standard quarter finals we've recently been used to. But just don't expect some sleek Arsenal style one touch counter attacking football.
Instead expect Heskey/Crouch up on his own, Rooney or Gerrard playing wide with lampard and the other of the forementioned in the middle.

Bill Price, Bristol,

Interesting that about 50% of the messages here are from Italy and totally supportive of Capello. His track record at club level is impeccable, but then again, in a much smaller way, so was that of Sam Allardyce - once a forerunner for England manager - under so much pressure at another group of highly expectant fans. McClaren had a brief run of wins by pumping a long ball to Emile Heskey - and so nullifying the midfield abilities of Gerrard and Lampard - so let's hope Capello shows more imagination and variety. The concern would be for the flair players we enjoy like Joe Cole and Wright-Phillips.

Howard Broadwell, Nottingham,

As italian I say Capello at this moment is the best choice in the world for England. Sure I don't know Mourinho qualities but in Italy we are all sure Capello is really great. Why he is'nt Italy coach? Because before him was Marcello Lippi, another great coach, and after M. Lippi, we all would have rather Capello but Fercalcio (our FA) selected Donadoni, no one can know why....
F. Capello is a winner and with him England has a great future.
Good luck

Sagal, Taranto, Italy

What are you a doctor of Dr Barton?

"soccer is destroying England"?

"What a foreign mess you horrible people"??? To whom is this directed?

Good to see someone highlighting the dangers of "council estate children" abusing flues though...there's no smoke without fire.

J. Wilkes, Gloucester, England,

James Rigby writes that "it is very hard to integrate Italian culture into Northern European culture". Maybe it's true, general speaking. But as you well know, love makes miracles happen.
I for one love the English culture, and despite of my comic/poor English, I must say England is part of my soul.
I wish an English coach for England too, but if a temporary compromise is needed, Capello is a good choice for me, and I can't help seeing England winning something important with him.

Antonio M., Verona,

Capello has only succeded by having top players signed for him. So since he wont be able to sign anyone, it will be a real test for English players more than capello; if English players are good, England will succeed (bore everyone whilst at it) if English players are not as good as they are made our to be, Capello will fail, apart from making England an excellent sleeping pill. Forget the midfield with Capello, 5 defenders, 5 forwards and 2m tall goalie.
zzzzzz....

martin, Los Barrios (Cadiz), spain

you need to win , he knows how to do it.

Ciro, Milan, italy

Merely the best choice. Capello won´t need a long time to make the players understand his viewpoint on the discipline and how to conquest a victory. Although England won´t be spectacular,I´m sure the English will have a lot of gratifications.

I wish you all the best

giovanni, milan, italy

Some say Capellos' grasp of the English language is minimal, a problem for some but not for me .
Firstly the less time he spend's talking to the press , the less of a hatchet job they will do to him . Secondly how long does it take , to learn to say," work harder or you will never pull on an England shirt again".
I wish him all the best ,he will of course need it with the English press hot on his heel's , hopefully he'll keep a distance from the players and not bring them into his press briefings etc, McClaren and Sven alway's seemed too pally with the player's.
Finally let's hope Sr Capello can show some of the English premiership how to dress with a sense of style instead of the bling , bling approach to dress sense that permeates the changing room's.

Nick Dixon, Sutton Coldfield, England

Not only is it time for a new coach in charge of this underachieving side but the Mgmt.Board of English soccer should collectively fall on their swords so that a new era of soccer football can be approached.

Eddie Keane, Brisbane, Qld.,Australia

I am so glad Mourinho is out of the running - he is not so special - look at what Avram Grant has achieved with the quality at Chelsea, anyone would and should look special.

I love Italy and I love the Italians, I married one for god's sake. However, their culture is completely different and whilst not good or bad, it is very hard to integrate Italian culture into Northern European culture.

Who has been the most successful Italian coach in the Premiership? Vialli perhaps - didn't set the world on fire!

Sorry - this is not going to work.

It is proven that to be a successful team you need consistancy in Management ie Arsenal and Man U. What we need is someone who is not tied in with golden handshakes. They will come in and have an immediate impact then performance won't last, the media will eat them, the golden handshake will be bright and shiny and we are back to square one.

james rigby, london, uk

Harry Rednap would be motivated by the 3 lions on his blazer and if the FA do their job and protect him from the media and give him a chance, we can start to build something.

Of course the FA should have resigned after picking McClaren in the first place - that was basic bad management and recruitment.

james rigby, london, uk

Don Fabio is the right choice. He's the best.

Claudio Alberti, Roma,

Ah clipped foreign phrases, unintelligeble dialect, poorly constructed sentences.....just like the old Keegan days.

Anyhoo, who gives a damn these days? He has 1 year tops.

shock, Cambridge,

I really wanted Capello to coach Italy one year ago, when Lippi left as a world champion. Capello is probably one of the best coach in preparing and handling a single match, which is normally what a national team needs, cause they play just from time to time, not as a club. He's used to hire only the best player in the market, without favouritism, and to let them play in the proper position. He's also used to deal with great champions. In my opinion Capello can even do better as a coach in a national team than in a club. He knows how to transmit a fighting spirit to the team. I think it is a very good choice.

Bob, Rome, Italy

Wherever he goes he wins... his teams don't play the best football but he's a winner. Now u have a big chance to win next World Cup

Raf, Calabria, Italy

is it me or is all this manager appointing being a rushed decision??? barwick and co - at least have a look around for a bit? dont jump at the first bloody manager who wants the job!!

Gary , Brighton, Uk

I maybe a little niave but I like to see attacking football, the continental style seems all about getting one goal and sitting on it. Thats o.k. but what will it do for the English leagues if our top players get schooled the same way. The English game is revered all over the World because it is fast, frantic and can be a spectacle of passion. Players walking around earning fantastic money has never done the game any good at all. Waiting patiently for one opening a game is not a spectacle. Still the rest of the World will love it, if we play it their way they won't fear England ever again. p.s. The players will get very cold walking about in the English leagues.

Peter Jordan, Reading, UK.

The best coach living...

gino, foggia, italia

Has a World Cup ever been won with a coach from a different country than his players?

C Richards, Bristol,

Mourinho is still incredibly young in management terms. Think how long Redknapp has been around. An international job should come at the end of a career, when someone is experienced in every aspect of the game. Capello fits that bill perfectly. He's also clearly his own man. He doesn't take flak from anyone and is not afraid to get on the wrong side of big personalities (Totti while at Roma and Beckham while at Real Madrid), or indeed interfering boards. That's probably what has cost him a shot at the Italian job in that over-political footballing country, but not being afraid to bring our FA down a peg or toe should be encouraged. It's been said he rules through fear, which could be just what our lot need.

chris, Worthing, England

The one question I can't stop asking myself about Capello is why, if he's so good, has he never managed his own country? It made sense with Sven because Sweden are a small country in footballing terms. Compared to managing Sweden, the England job is bigger, higher profile and better paid. But Capello's Italian for goodness sakes.

Bill, Sheffield,

The Labour Party over decades has destroyed UK, GB and BE.
Now, Soccer is destroying England and all the followers who are ripped off and see their money going into foreign pockets and without the winning performance.
A lot of better ability is in England and the English but lack of Parks' place for kids and notices forbidding play on council estates and injuries from drugs and flue are disaster and we should know better.
What a foreign mean mess you horrible people!
It must be the big backside that grows with kicking that has taken over their craze and polarisations.

Dr MI Barton MA. MBA.PhD, Oxon., uk

Mourinho’s withdrawal is good for England. May be It is true that with his capabilities, he would be able to bring success to England team. However, Mr. Mourinho would only make England to be the most detested team in the world no matter succeed or fail (like he did to Chelsea). It is not because of his management style, but because of his mouth and gestures.
I think there's a bunch of good managers out there to fill the position. Whoever he is, thank god, he is not Mourinho.

satrio, Jakarta, Indonesia