Paolo Di Canio finds solace at Swindon

There has never been a player in the Premier League quite like Paolo Di Canio. Volatile, spectacular, unpredictable – the list of adjectives could easily go on. Whether it was pushing referee Paul Alcock to the floor, catching the ball in the ultimate act of sportsmanship when Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard was down injured or scoring one of the best goals in Premier League history with a scissor kick against Wimbledon, Di Canio was a maverick of the English game; as mad as a box of frogs, some said. Mario Balotelli still has a lot to learn.

THAT Goal

No wonder, then, that many an eyebrow rose quizzically when Swindon Town chairman Jeremy Wray decided that Di Canio was the right man for the job at the County Ground following the Robins’ relegation from League One last season. They had finished bottom having lost half of their league fixtures; it was clear that a rebuilding job was required and it would not be easy. Di Canio could not have picked a more difficult first managerial role if he had tried but this is indicative of the type of character the 43 year-old is: he was never one to eschew a challenge during his career and had no intention of starting merely because he had hung up his boots.

Life at Swindon, though, didn’t get off to the best of starts for the fiery Italian: he lost five of his first seven games in charge including a 2-1 reversal at home to bitter rivals Oxford United. Soon afterwards, a confrontation with Leon Clarke, caught on camera by Sky Sports, handed Di Canio his first real test as a manager – it was one that he passed with flying colours, sending the striker out on loan to Chesterfield a mere three weeks after joining the Wiltshire club.

Despite the poor start Di Canio galvanised the squad, which seemed to gel at the start of October, losing only twice since – in the FA Cup last weekend at Leicester City and away to Torquay United on Boxing Day which ended their 15-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. The ‘Barcelona of League Two’ went from mid-table obscurity to promotion contenders and are only 90 minutes away from Wembley having progressed to the regional final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy against Barnet.

To take a club to Wembley at any stage of a managerial career is a fantastic feat, to do it in your first season is phenomenal. Yet, there would be a great sense of sadness for Di Canio if Swindon do get past Barnet because his father, Ignazio, would not be there to see his son lead the Robins out at Wembley. The poignant images of Di Canio in tears on the sideline at the end of Swindon’s 2-1 FA Cup victory over Wigan at the County Ground last month show how close he was to his father and it would be a great regret for the Italian that his father would not be able to see one of the proudest moments of his son’s career to date.

The death of Ignazio Di Canio brought Paolo closer to the club. At the end of a 1-0 win away at Plymouth Argyle, the first game after the funeral, the players took their manager over to the fans, who bombarded their new hero with cards and letters after hearing of Ignazio’s passing. He remains thankful to them and will always do so, “They gave me energy and heart to keep going. I will never forget [that].”

Already sporting a West Ham tattoo as a reminder of his time at the Boleyn Ground, the man in the County Ground hot-seat has said he may get a Swindon tattoo should they win the league, “Maybe [at the end of the season] I will extend the tattoos on my body and get a Swindon one if we win the league.”

Di Canio’s ego meant that he always held an individualistic attitude – it was him against the world. Now, though, it is Di Canio and his beloved Swindon against the world, coming back with two fingers up firmly towards those who had offered nothing but vituperative criticism towards both the man and the club: “They criticised straight away and I was laughing straight away because how can they judge Paolo Di Canio so soon?”

Judgement is certain in May, when Swindon Town’s season comes to a close. Di Canio will be hoping that he has to book himself in for another tattoo.

Are the wheels coming off the Crawley bandwagon?

If you were to ask football fans what they think of Crawley Town you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who has a positive word to say. Posing such a question on a social networking website makes one thing clear: it's cool to hate Crawley.

To the fans, players and staff, though, this isn't a problem. The mantra at the Broadfield Stadium is that you're either with Crawley or you're against them.

Winfield - Crawley saviour

Since the takeover of the Reds by the now deceased Bruce Winfield in 2010, the only way has been up. They steamrolled everyone in their path to winning the Blue Square Premier title with 105 points last season, 15 ahead of their nearest challengers, to put behind them a dark past riddled with financial difficulties and points deductions.

As recently as March 2006, the players and staff were made to take a 50% pay cut because of falling attendances and income.  The entire squad was put up for sale and the club went into administration after being deducted three points at the end of the season for going over the annual playing budget. Crawley Town almost folded with £1.8m debts.

Five months later, it was announced that the club would fold due to the debts. The club was less than an hour from liquidation but a late agreement allowed them to carry on playing but with a 10 point deduction for entering administration.

With the debt cleared in May 2007, they were deduced six points and a transfer embargo was put in place because of financial irregularities. Almost a year later, Prospect Estate Holdings Limited took control of Crawley after buying it from the SA Group. The club could look to begin the 2008-09 season with no financial problems.

But the club soon found themselves back in the High Court to face a winding-up order in February 2010 because of money owed to HMRC. The case was dismissed after the club managed to prove that the debts had been paid.

Winfield announced later in the year that he had become a majority shareholder of the club and had managed to bring in new investment for the club that saw promotion acquired within a season following a massive influx of players financed by the new-found riches.

Evans - Not a popular figure

However, it is not just the wealth at Crawley that sees them hated by a majority of neutrals. Their manager, Steve Evans, gives others plenty of reason to be spiteful.

Evans is best known for his infamous spells at Boston United which resulted in receiving a one‑year suspended sentence in 2006 for fraudulently disguising players' wages and bonuses as expenses. The rancour remains.

Whilst Crawley evidently have ambition, there is also an arrogance which has allowed for a great hostility to slowly build against the Sussex side. Given their predicament less than a decade ago, you could be forgiven for thinking that feet would be planted firmly into the ground. This, however, is not the case.

Through to the fifth round of the FA Cup again after a 1-0 win at Championship side Hull City and sat in League Two's promotion places, Crawley have a budget to make some Championship clubs envious whilst the rest of Leagues One and Two, with a few exceptions, look on through green eyes. They continue to dream big but recent success appears to have come at a cost.

Despite getting over £1m from a glamour tie at Old Trafford in last year's FA Cup and making a six-figure profit for the year, the club continues to push financial boundaries. A crippling wage bill that cannot be covered by gate receipts alone means that bids for the better players at the club will have to be taken seriously.

Tubbs - Irreplaceable?

The departure of 18 goal hitman Matt Tubbs, Crawley’s top-scorer who signed for £70,000, has already left for Bournemouth in an £800,000 deal after firing the Reds past Championship opposition in the last two rounds of the FA Cup – Bristol City and Hull City were put to the sword by the highly-coveted 27 year-old.

If Tubbs transfer leaves a significant space in the Crawley squad, the potential of losing two other star players must terrify Evans.

Fellow striker Tyrone Barnett, 26, almost joined Blackpool last week for £900,000 but was unable to agree personal terms whilst the stock of centre half Kyle McFadzean, 24, continues to grow by the week along with his list of admirers. Crawley have, so far, resisted offers but more bids are expected.

The promotion dream could well be in ruins. Although they currently cling onto the final promotion slot in League Two by a point; the barrier between Crawley and 8th place is 9 points. With 22 league games left, there is a chance that selling their best assets could see the Red Devils miss out. The neutrals watch on with baited breath, hoping for the wheels to fall off the Crawley bandwagon.

Six On The Brain: England's Right-Back Options

For over ten years, Gary Neville indisputably owned the number 2 shirt for England. Nobody came near him in terms of ability for both club and country so, when he was injured, there was a great difficulty in replacing him. Whilst the substitutes were adequate enough, it was tough to describe them as quality players. Did anyone think England were going to win the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea with Danny Mills at right-back?

Often enough with the England side, there is always one position with which there is a struggle. Most famously, perhaps, is the search for a left winger; though with the likes of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, amongst others, staking their claim to be first choice on the left side of midfield, those days could be numbered.

Nowadays, the main conundrum for Fabio Capello is who to have at right-back for the national side. This is not down to a lack of options. Rather, it is too many options which give the Italian such a headache. As opposed to having to decide between two or three players, it is not hyperbolic to suggest that Capello has no less than six players of genuine quality to choose from for the right back slot.

Based on form - the way in which Capello said he would pick his squads rather than choosing players because of their name and reputation - Manchester City’s Micah Richards has to be the stand-out candidate.

The improvement in the 23-year-old’s game has been immeasurable since the takeover at Eastlands. Perhaps it was the threat of losing his place in the team that has seen Richards thrive under Mark Hughes and now Roberto Mancini. Richards has had to improve himself to mirror the improvement that has been taking place around him at the club.

Crucially for England, Richards’ partner down the right-hand side is James Milner – a fellow international. Together, the pair have been in devastating form with the 6-1 derby thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford proving that the pair have the potential to work as a partnership for club as well as country.

Whilst being solid defensively, Richards is usually one of the first names on the City team-sheet despite not being one of the big-money signings made in the Sheikh Mansour era, the former England Under-21 international is just as good going forward. He has five assists to his name in the Premier League so far and he bagged his first goal of the season in City’s 3-1 win over Newcastle last weekend

Built like a tank with pace to boot, Richards’ exclusion from the recent England squads for the friendlies against Spain and Sweden were as baffling and inexplicable as any decision Capello has made during his tenure as England manager. Taking to Twitter to give his reaction, Richards said that to say he was “disappointed is an understatement” and stated that he needs to “roll the sleeves up and work harder”.

Perhaps it is the way in which he failed to deal with Franck Ribéry of Bayern Munich in the Champions League tie at the Allianz Arena that sealed his fate under Capello but he was given no support from the midfield on that night and it is arguably his only poor performance of the season to date. Even so, it does not explain his exclusion from the England squad and gives more fuel to the fire for the argument that Capello will never pick Richards for the England squad, regardless of what he does for his club.

One of Richards’ main competitors for the right-back slot is Glen Johnson of Liverpool, already capped 35 times by England.

In recent years, Johnson has established himself as England’s top right back though doubts remain about his ability as a defender; many think he is more adept at going forward than he is defensively. It is for this reason that he has occasionally been employed on the right of midfield for his club though it has not been as successful as Gareth Bale’s positional change on the opposite flank for Tottenham.

Johnson’s critics cite an eagerness to get forward as one of his shortcomings as he leaves a lot of space which is easily exploitable for the better international sides, particularly the likes of Spain, Holland, Brazil and Germany. It is a naivety that is to be expected of a rookie, not a player who has been on the international scene for eight years.

Evidence does not come in short supply. At the World Cup in South Africa, Johnson was found wanting at right-back and took a portion of blame for three of Germany's goals in the 4-1 defeat. First, he left Lukas Podolski in acres of space whilst occupying the position of a centre half; he was then too committed to England attacks in vain attempts to rescue the match and the space he left was used superbly by the Germans, who counter-attacked clinically and mercilessly.

In defence of Johnson, it was not just he who was poor that day. The whole defence was abysmal; though the shortcomings of Ashley Cole, John Terry and Matthew Upson were not as exposed to exploited as those of Johnson.

Whilst Johnson was out injured, Kelly took over as right-back at Liverpool and did not disappoint manager Kenny Dalglish. Indeed, when Johnson returned from injury he was forced to play at left back due to the superb form of Kelly. With the signing of the imperious José Enrique bolstering Liverpool’s options at left-back over the summer, Johnson has reverted to his familiar role of right-back, usurping Kelly in the process though the youngster says that he is lucky to have the 27 year-old as a mentor for both club and country.

The ex-Chelsea man not only faces a battle to be the number one right-back for his country, but his club too, thanks to the blossoming of Martin Kelly - another player who can harbour genuine hopes of being England right-back.

The 21 year-old has been in fine form for England’s under-21 side, with three goals in his five appearances to date. With Stuart Pearce playing such an important role within the full squad, one has to wonder how long it is before Psycho’s influence begins to rub off on Fabio Capello in favour of Kelly.

One thing that may count against Kelly, however, is the fact that he is not a natural right-back. Throughout his days in Liverpool’s academy, he was played at centre back and it is only since his breakthrough into the first team at Anfield that he has become regarded as a quality full-back.

Putting a seemingly square peg into a round hole has not stopped Fabio Capello from taking Manchester United’s Phil Jones and Chris Smalling into consideration for the right-back slot. Whilst Smalling, Jones and Kelly can be said to be versatile - not a bad quality to have when at a tournament - they are not natural full-backs.

Of the three, it is Kelly who is most likely to permanently become a right-back. Jones is primarily a centre half but has been deployed both at right back and in midfield by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United whilst Smalling has appeared at centre half, his natural position, and right-back.

Although Jones is a promising talent, Capello has compared him to the legendary Franco Baresi; he is prone to untimely demonstrations of his naivety. By playing on instinct rather than with his brain, Jones often allows himself to be drawn into positions of great vulnerability. In Manchester United’s 3-3 draw with FC Basle in the Champions League, he was caught well out of position as he ventured forward and was unable to track back in time to stop the Basle counter-attack which led to their equaliser.

Smalling, on the other hand, has demonstrated a great maturity which saw Capello have enough faith in the former Fulham player to allow him to make his debut for England at right-back for the crucial Euro 2012 qualifier away in Bulgaria.

A change of club for Jones and Smalling has boosted the international credentials of both in the eyes of Capello, who has acknowledged their quick development by giving both players their international debuts since they moved to Old Trafford from Blackburn and Fulham respectively.

If either Smalling or Jones wish to become a permanent fixture on the right-hand side of the England defence, they have an obstacle in their way in the shape of Kyle Walker.

The Spurs right-back made his England debut in the recent friendlies with Spain and Sweden, winning the man of the match award in the latter, following excellent form for his club so far this season which included the winning goal in the North London derby back in October.

Walker, undoubtedly, has reaped the benefit of loan spells – particularly his time at Aston Villa for the second half of last season in which he gained invaluable experience of the Premier League. His return to Spurs has seen him become the first-choice right-back at White Hart Lane in his first full season of Premier League football and he looks set to become one of their key players for years to come.

His pace, which he has in excess, is arguably his main asset and offers him great strength going forward as shown in Tottenham’s recent victory at Fulham where Walker got to a ball he had no right to and put a cross in which Gareth Bale forced into the back of the net off of the unfortunate Chris Baird. However, like Johnson and Jones, Walker’s attacking instincts may leave him exposed and, therefore, not a ‘safe’ option at right-back for Capello.

There was a time when an injury to an England right-back would have meant crisis. Now, though, any injuries to any right-back would not significantly weaken the quality available. England have gone from having one automatic choice at right-back to six possibilities – an embarrassment of riches which must be deal with.

Fabio, it’s your choice.