Resilient Football Musings

So it's been an interesting week for English football as another manager of the national side waves farewell to what appears apart from running a bank, the most high pressured job one could possibly have. 

Consider what it was that Capello had that helped him secure the job in the first place? 

He certainly had a good track record of success overseas and appeared determined to succeed in the role when first appointed, engaging in English lessons at the earliest opportunity. In terms of having good structures in place it appeared that Capello ticked all the boxes with disciplined rituals and routines underpinned by a strong sense of purpose. 

However was his attitude towards the role really at the level it needed to be?

It was interesting to hear that Capello felt he only needed to learn 100 words to fully converse with the players and provide them with enough inspiration to produce the success we all craved. The cracks clearly began to show at the 2010 World Cup where rumours of unrest and unmotivated players translated to poor lacklustre performances and a disappointing early exit. Perhaps Capello thought he had cracked the challenge after achieving early success, however is this really an example of winning a couple of battles rather than the war in terms of engaging the hearts and minds of the players. He may well have had a clear vision of what was needed and what he wanted to see in his players however did he truly ever manage to engage them to a level that we see demonstrated by the likes of Alex Ferguson week after week.

Engagement is the middle key component of Steve Radcliffes F-E-D (Future , Engage, Deliver). In his book 'Leadership Plain and Simple', Steve highlight how often he has seen leaders overlook the importance of great engagement when implementing a new strategic direction. Capello might have had a very clear future vision and purpose in his own mind but did he really ever have the right language to share it with his team. 

Also,consistent regular communication is so important when leading, providing an opportunity for team members to feedback corcerns and positively challenge.This later point is particularly difficult to achieve within the set up of managing a national team, with limited time frames to bring players together. 

So perhaps it's fair to conclude that It was Capellos attitude that ultimately led to his resignation.

It will be interesting to see how any successor tackles these vital components of leadership. At the time of writing many are hoping that Harry Redknapp will be persuaded to take on the role. If successful I somehow doubt whether he will ever be accused of not having the right attitude towards his players.

Watch this space.

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