Capello for England

A lot of English managers have expressed dismay at the imminent unveiling of Fabio Capello as England manager. Of course they do - rather than face up to the woeful record of English managers (how many trophies do they have between them?), they'd rather have a pop at the FA once again choosing the foreign route. We all moaned about Eriksson, but at least he ensured England punched above its weight by reaching the quarter finals of major championships. Capello will do the same - maybe he'll go one further and emulate the great Sir Bobby Robson in getting us to the semi-finals of a major tournament. Anyone thinking Capello will get England to a major final is hopeful at best, delusional at worst.

Not that I care much about all of this - tomorrow marks the first of four vital games for Blues. McLeish has started well, but the true test of his mettle comes with four games against four teams around us in the table, three of them at home. Six points is a minimum requirement if we're to go into the New Year in good heart.