Title contenders: Redknapp has moulded the best Spurs side for over a generation

Neglect and a paucity of employment opportunities have long limited the FA's options. Eyebrows are raised at the inclusion of Sam Allardyce or Roy Hodgson in any shortlist, but we have appointed candidates with considerably less impressive records.

Hoddle's only major managerial honour on stepping up to international football was a runners-up medal for Chelsea's
hapless role in one of the most one-sided FA Cup finals in history. Keegan followed him, on a wave of public adoration, and a title-race collapse that made Devon Loch look like Frankel.

Obviously, there are legal obstacles that must be overcome, but if clear of them it is rare for the FA to have an appointee with the credentials of Redknapp. He has won a domestic trophy, he has managed with relative success in the Champions League, take away the extreme transfer spending of Manchester City and he might even have constructed a Tottenham Hotspur team capable of winning the title.

In just about any era, Redknapp would present a c.v. ripe for consideration. Not against that of Brian Clough or Bob Paisley, maybe, but the FA always contrived to find someone else for the job in their time anyway. Up against Keegan, the people's choice, or Hoddle, the cultured thinker, Redknapp more than holds his own.

The bottom line is that unless English football encourages a native this time, the situation will never alter. Why should a major club put their faith in an English manager, when even the FA will not?

The potential is there. Alan Pardew is exceeding expectations at Newcastle United, Hodgson has coaxed West Bromwich Albion back from the brink. Yet everything with England has to be such a grand production that giving the position to a regular guy doing a good job is not enough. We need a guru, a mastermind, a coach of coaches.

Some bloke known to his friends as 'H', who has turned out arguably the most exciting Tottenham side since the days of Bill Nicholson - having started at the bottom of the league, remember - is not stellar enough.

Maybe Redknapp does not fit the FA's idea of the master manager. The latest big idea is that Capello's successor will coach teams at every level. Why? It will be hard enough trying to get England to the 2014 World Cup finals without wondering whether the Under 16 left back is up to snuff. Nobody at the Spanish FA saddles Vicente del Bosque with this nonsense.

There really is no need to detain Capello longer than necessary. The FA might not be spoiled for choice but they never have been. If Redknapp is available, they have the man for the job.

Euro win for greed

Spain versus Italy, England versus France, Holland versus Germany. The great strength of the European Championship is that it hits the ground running, with fabulous match-ups of the finest teams from the start. That is why many international managers rank it as harder to win than the World Cup.

Make the most of this, though. From 2016, there will be a flaccid 24 teams in the finals, inviting mediocrity and tedium. Greed won, as always.

Pampered Platini has lost touch with reality

UEFA president Michel Platini gave an interview to CNN on the eve of the European Championship draw. Asked about transport and infrastructure issues, he gave his trademark smug, glib reply, unchallenged as usual.

'There were some political problems in Ukraine and we thought perhaps to change,' said Platini. 'In the end, they gave us guarantees, the new president and his team made a big effort to build the stadiums, to build the roads, to build the airport.
Now the success is very nice. I'm sure that the fans will be happy to see some games in the beautiful atmosphere in Ukraine and Poland.'

Success? He calls this logistical nightmare of flight chaos and extortion success? Maybe it is if you are part of the organisation that block-books the best hotels with money no object. If you are a fan, however, on a reasonable budget in straitened times, forget it.

Donetsk, where England will play two group games and perhaps two matches in the later rounds, is a city with just 6,000 hotel rooms and they are taken. UEFA snaffled the best ones, and the teams must be housed as well as that famous football family, until the only accommodation on offer beyond campsites is a minimum 100km out of town. The alternative is a tent in a faraway field, with lights and running water extra.

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