Euro 2012 Results: Capello's mistake over Rooney's red

The word was that after the debacle of the South Africa World Cup, Fabio Capello was supposed to have done some re-thinking about man management. Faced with his first big challenge, however, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Capello has briefed all today's papers that he's ready to dump Wayne Rooney on the substitute's bench all the way from here to Poland next summer. The Italian was, quite rightly, furious at the stupid bit of petulance in Montenegro on Friday night that put England's place in the finals at needless risk. But to publicly humiliate his best player for the next eight months, reminding him each time the squad gets together of his stupidity, is anything but the best way forward.

We seem to love a scapegoat when it comes to the England football team, and Rooney is no stranger to the role. He got the blame for the exit from the World Cup in Germany, after all, when he got his last red card for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho when the then Chelsea defender was on the ground. Back in 1998 it was David Beckham, and two years earlier Gareth Southgate was pilloried for missing the crucial penalty in the Euro 96 semi-final. More recently we've had David Seaman for letting Ronaldinho's free kick drift beyond him in Japan, and Steve McClaren for the disastrous campaign that ended with England failing to qualify for the last Euros.

But it's one thing for the fans and phone-ins to pick on a player, and quite another for the England manager to do it at a time when he needs his players pulling together. Whatever the rights and wrongs of Rooney's red card on Friday night, he remains the one key player if Capello is to end his reign with any sort of success next summer. England need him fit, strong and in a happy place, not boiling with resentment and the sort of frustration that led to the latest bit of petulance.

Compare Capello's treatment with the way Sir Alex Ferguson will now look after his star. Rooney will be welcomed back to Old Trafford, made to feel he belongs, and sent out at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime fit and firing. United are 2.447/5 to win there, and when the "to score" market is opened later in the week then you'd fancy Rooney's chances of reaching ten Premier League goals for the season.

Of course Capello needs to experiment with his options up front before the tournament comes along next summer, but he should have done that anyway. Once he knows whether Rooney is out for one game or three at the start of the tournament is the time to decide the best plan, not straight away. And in any case there are far bigger issues to resolve in a side that still seems to lack balance and variety in midfield. World champions Spain are 3.953/1 favourites to also retain their European crown, and at the moment we're a long way from having a side that can match them in any department.

Germany at 4.94/1 and Holland at 6.86/1 are next in the market, and all three have 100 per cent records in qualifying. Vicente del Bosque's fluent side are 1.192/11 to wrap up Group I with another win in Alicante tomorrow night, and having watched Scotland labour to a 1-0 win in Liechtenstein on Saturday evening that looks a pretty safe way to make some money. Craig Mackail-Smith might have marked his full debut with the crucial score, but unless Kenny Miller is fit, the rest of Craig Levein's side have just 11 international goals between them.

In the modern era when the pull of club football is so strong for Premier League players, man management is the key to succeeding with any of the home nations. It's a principle behind what Gary Speed has done so far with Wales. He's making a group, who were finding any excuse not to turn up under John Toshack, want to report for duty with their country, and enjoy performing. They were superb in a 2-0 win over Switzerland in Swansea on Friday night. Speed has made sure his big players like Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey are buying into his ambitions, and his starting side had nine Premier League players in it. That means there is definitely value in laying Bulgaria at 2.1411/10 when Wales go to Sofia tomorrow night.

Meanwhile The Republic of Ireland need just a draw at home to Armenia to book their place in the play-off stages, and are 2.526/4 to go on and qualify for the finals. Manager Giovanni Trapattoni is waiting until the last minute to see if the country's top scorer Robbie Keane is fit enough to play.

Trapattoni knows how important it is to show his top striker that the whole camp wants him to succeed. Maybe he should give his fellow Italian Capello a call and explain why.