FABIO CAPELLO AND A LOAD OF JOHN  BULL

14-12-2007

England decide to appoint an Italian as the national team’s new football manager – and local self-publicist Ray Egan (aka John Bull) muscles in on the act by parading in front of the FA’s HQ in London.  Come on, Ray, do us a favour and find something useful to protest about.

Dressed in his Union Jack uniform, Ray/John makes for a good picture and makes sure he gets into every shot on News 24 – but what kind of Britain does he represent? Not the outward-looking, cosmopolitan country of which I’m proud to be a citizen.

When Sven Goran Erikkson was appointed as the first non-English boss of the Three Lions, there were reservations among many footy fans – but now that we’ve seen what (supposedly) the best indigenous manager can do, we’re ready to welcome the best man for the job.

If he comes from Rome rather than Romford, so what?

That’s a reality which Ray just doesn’t want to acknowledge since a) he represents an insular, backward looking sense of nationhood and b) it would deny him a photo opportunity.

In fairness to Ray, he has been associated on many occasions in the past with more positive (but nevertheless lost) causes including the battles to save MG Rover, HP Sauce and indeed his own local Post Office in Harborne.

Yet none of these campaigns required his self-absorbed brand of patriotism – and none has benefited as a result of his involvement.

His protest in a British uniform about the England manager’s job is especially curious since the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish – in whose name he’s also protesting – presumably don’t give a damn, as long as we pick a loser.

Indeed, as devolution gathers pace, his sense of nationality seems curiously old-fashioned.

The truth is that it matters not a jot of Capello prefers to pizza to roast beef, and washes it down with wine rather than a pint of real ale – and that’s only partly because many true born Brits do the same.

What really counts is whether he can bring the success that England fans crave and wins us a World Cup.

If he does, he will become an all time national hero, as revered as Winston Churchill, Henry V and Derek Trotter.  And that’s no Bull.

Does Capello's nationality matter? Leave a comment on The Stirrer forum