FA can't delay Euro 2012 appointment any longer

Some numbers for you: 1.4m fans expected to attend Euro 2012; 53 days until the tournament starts; 31 games to be played; and 16 nations competing. All but one of those teams has their coach in place, who will be busily scouring the last remaining games of the domestic season to put the finishing touches to their final 23 man squad. The exception is of course England.

England's Euro 2012 manager?

Whilst Fabio Capello’s departure from the England manager’s hot-seat was not exactly surprising, its timing was far from ideal. With less than six months until Euro 2012 was set to begin, the FA needed to act quickly to give the new manager enough time to make preparations for the tournament. They didn’t, and here we are now, more than two months further down the line and still England do not have a manager.

Am I the only person that’s slightly worried by this? Surely it’s a cause for concern that the person who is supposed to be spending every waking hour considering his nation’s Euro 2012 squad doesn’t even know he has the job yet? Most of the other coaches wouldn’t dream of tinkering with their team’s playing style or system this close to the tournament. It’s likely that England’s coach will have to develop both a style and system completely from scratch, and will have just two friendlies to perfect them - away to Norway and home to Belgium.

The FA seem less worried I am. In response to calls to step up the pace of the appointment process, Alex Horne, General Secretary at the FA said: ‘We know exactly what we're doing between now and our first game against France [at Euro 2012], and we just need to slot a manager in.’ Thanks Alex, that’s reassuring. We’ll just ‘slot someone in’ the day before the squad sets off for Poland I suppose; hand them a few print-outs of the squad; give them a big jacket and tell them to make sure they don’t take the team beyond the Quarter Final under any circumstances.

But although this might seem like yet another FA shambles ahead of a major international tournament, I have a feeling they know exactly what they are doing this time. For I think they have already decided who will lead England out in their first game against France, and they have every reason to be confident that man knows how to handle the environment of an England squad and the pressure of tournament football. That man is Stuart Pearce.

Pearce of course took over the England reins on a temporary basis against Holland last month. For large parts of the game, Holland outclassed an inexperienced England team, but given that Dutch team contained the likes of Sneijder, Van Persie and Robben, that is by no means a cause for embarrassment. What people should remember is that the team also showed great spirit to battle back from 2-0 down to draw level, before Arjen Robben won the game for the Dutch with a great last minute strike.

But whilst many saw that game against the Dutch as an audition for Pearce, he should not be judged by that performance alone. He, more than any of the other candidates, knows the current crop of England players and how they gel together as a unit. He knows how they react to being kept together for weeks at a time (for any of you that have forgotten South Africa 2010, the answer is ‘badly’). He knows how to deal with the media, the suits at the FA and after an illustrious career as captain for both club and country, huge and often unrealistic expectations.

Is Pearce the perfect choice as England manager? Probably not. His record at Manchester City was average at best, and he has at times struggled to get the best out of England’s youngsters as the Under 21 boss. But at this stage of the season, with the tournament just round the corner, the FA need a safe pair of hands they can trust. They need someone that knows what they expect and won’t be caught staring at the headlights in shock as the fever of tournament football takes hold.

Do you honestly think Harry Redknapp is that man? Or Alan Pardew? Both have done fantastic jobs this season and could well be in the running for the England manager’s job full-time post-Euro 2012, but asking them to pick a team to play France in a European Championship in what would be only their third game as England manager would be asking too much.

Pearce may not be perfect, but when is the England manager ever? His experience in and around the England set up puts him at a distinct advantage over all of the other candidates, and I fully expect him to be announced as the interim coach of England for Euro 2012 before the Premier League season is out. He will then have at least three matches - two of which will be without Wayne Rooney - to prove he is the man to take on the role full-time.

The impossible job? We shall see.