It's easy to draw the conclusion that Fabio Capello's resignation almost exactly four months to the day before their opening match against France is a disaster.
Whereas every other manager at the competition(bar the hosts) will have had a two-year qualifying campaign as preparation for the main event, Capello's successor will have just a handful of friendlies available to him in which to find out which system to play, which players to pick, who he can rely on, who isn't his cup of tea. That of course isn't ideal but it may be the lesser of two evils because any confidence in Fabio Capello leading England to the final or better, was surely misplaced.
The Italian is a wonderful manager, his CV speaks for itself. But in hindsight he was never the right man for this job. His disciplinarian approach just didn't work with this crop of players, though it's debatable whether that was his fault or theirs. The likes of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard may have put in some pretty spirited performances during his time in charge but you always felt they were playing for themselves, not for him.
There was almost a scent of inevitability about England's Euro 2012 campaign. They'd probably be a little too good for Sweden and the Ukraine but not France, they'd almost certainly not be good enough for Spain or Italy in the quarters. Another defeat at the last eight stage and another case of what may have been.
Well who's going to step up to the plate and take over then? All the players are Tweeting saying they want Harry Redknapp, most pundits are saying the same, he's just been cleared of any tax evasion offences on the same day Capello left (was this coincidence, asked Gary Lineker), he's English, he's well liked by most people in football, he'd love to do the job one day and he's done fantastic work with Tottenham. It must be a done deal and quotes of short odds-on suggest it's the case.
Or is it? There's no doubting that Redknapp ticks all the right boxes and I'm sure that one day he will manage England. But when he does it, he'll want to do it properly. He'll want to take time to pick his background staff, scout players as their potential manager rather than the opposition manager, experiment in competitive matches and learn from both the successes and any failures of that campaign, all as a build-up for the competition itself. Besides, would Harry walk out on Spurs during a season where for the first time in his career he actually has a chance to win the league? Would he feel he could do either job justice if he was doing them both at the same time? There are enough questions with uncertain answers to suggest that a quote of odds-on is quite simply, wrong.
So lay that price or if you're looking to actually find the name of the man who could take over, consider the prospects of Guus Hiddink. He's not in a job, he has a solid reputation and knowledge of English football from his time at Chelsea, his English is perfect and he's got a fine track record in charge of international teams at major competitions. As for all the England players saying the next manager should be English, I'm afraid it's not their decision to make.