Fabio Capello ... Embracing the language barrier. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
After Super Tuesday in the US, it's time for England's Super Wednesday. The candidate has already been decided, but it's still the day when questions will finally be answered. Forget the New Deal; how quickly will Fabio's new dawn fade? Gary Lineker hosts the trial by pundit from 7.30pm onwards on BBC1 as England kick off their new regime under Capello. The big question on the day is whether he can shake the national squad out of their current limbo with his pragmatic approach. There's plenty more for the panel to discuss: is the team's problem arrogance or a lack of confidence? Is one a symptom of the other? Will Bentley and Wright-Phillips prevent Beckham ever receiving his hundredth cap? Will Jenas ever be more than a permanent bench-warmer? Will Rio be banned from jumping on top of the goal scorer?
One thing's for certain: Capello himself won't be joining in. Despite promising to learn English in just over a month, his press conference yesterday was delivered almost entirely in Italian (the one telling exception being the word "Boss"). Does this reveal fallibility in the new manager before a ball has been kicked in anger?
Perhaps. But it's more than likely that Capello can speak a lot more English than he lets on. If he's as clever as he looks, he's deliberately holding back, deliberately over-emphasising every syllable in that Italian way of his, while taking in every word muttered within earshot. He's already revealed several times that he doesn't need his interpreter to understand journalists, constantly interrupting him during his first press conference to say "That's a good question." And he insists he converses with his players in English.
Despite his headstrong, new broom approach to the England set-up, maybe he's heeded more advice from former managers than he's admitted to. More precisely, it looks like he's been listening very carefully to Glenn Hoddle. Despite his severe foot-in-mouth tendencies, Hoddle is a smarter and more articulate man than he is given credit for. It's hardly his fault that he uses Middlesex grammar - if a Geordie had insisted, "I never said them things", would anyone have batted an eyelid? And Hoddle was wise enough to advise Capello to ease off on the English lessons. That way there's an immediate barrier between himself and the press; one that avoids misquotes and slanging matches and demands a certain level of respect on both sides. With an interpreter stood next to him in the tunnel, Capello can dismiss any distasteful questions from the studio with an aloof shrug or feigned misunderstanding. He can get on with doing what he does best, and leave conjecture to the people paid to do it. You won't catch him saying he "would love it" if England beat Liechtenstein, or declaring "Youse are all fuckin' idiots". He'll just think it. You've got to admire his style.
