Taylor hits out at Capello

Former England coach Graham Taylor has hit out at current boss Fabio Capello, insisting that the Italian has to improve his communication and his style of man management if he is to be a success in the role.

Taylor said: “I maintain that international football is about one team representing one country, and that team involves the players, the manager, his coaching staff and the supporters, against another country and their people, especially the big countries, where the teams are so bound up with their national heritage and identity.

“Fabio has got a fantastic record at club level and who’s to say he won’t produce a winning side? If he won the World Cup in 2010, would he be able to build from there? In 1966, we won it and learnt precisely nothing.

“You look at a country like Germany and there’s not many tournaments in which they’re not involved at the semi-final stage.

“What we need more than another trophy is a system, a growth, from the bottom up. We have to look much deeper than just introducing an Italian manager and his staff.

“If it’s true you’re only naming your team as you get on the team coach two hours before a game, what preparation are you doing in advance?

“If the players don’t know the team, what plans are being honed during training? How do the players have a focused opportunity to fine-tune their partnerships on the field of play? If you name a squad of 30 players, what happens to the seven individuals you then drop?

“Curtis Davies gets dropped out on a Saturday night before Aston Villa play away to Fulham on the Sunday. How does he feel on Sunday morning? How did Martin O’Neill, his club manager, feel about having a player dropped from an international squad, without putting a foot wrong, as he goes into a big Premier League game?

“It raises the question: what are you trying to prove? Why not name a squad of 23 with seven players on standby?”