Capello leaves England no better than he found it

Soccer Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The appointment of Fabio Capello as manager of England's national team in December 2007 was supposed to be a step in the right direction following the disappointing 18-months that Steve McClaren spent at the helm.

Yet on Wednesday, when Capello handed his resignation to the Football Association following a disagreement over John Terry being stripped of his captaincy, the Italian left the team in virtually the same state that he found it.

Under McClaren, England failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championships and was clearly in need of the type of manager who could restore confidence in the national team, which had been missing for years.

Enter Capello, a no nonsense Italian who had a history of success with some of the world's biggest clubs and who was expected to bring a fresh approach to the job.

In stints with AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus, Capello captured nine league titles and one Champions League crown, and the hope was that some of his winning pedigree would rub off on an England side in desperate need of some good results.

Yet Capello never really managed to take what many viewed as a talented but underachieving side much further than his predecessor.

The team that he inherited was filled with big-name players who had a history of success in the Premier League, like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney among others.

Yet it was a mystery as to why the Three Lions had come up short time and again when the stakes were highest.

Capello's first big test came at the 2010 World Cup, and it was a performance that England fans are still doing their best to erase from memory.

England was handed a soft draw with the United States, Slovenia and Algeria in its group, yet somehow managed to only finish second behind the Americans.

It was an uninspired effort in the group stage to be kind, and England was soon on a plane back home after a 4-1 thumping at the hands of Germany in the second round.

Issues with goalkeeping, the inconsistency of star players like Rooney and an overall surprisingly poor level of play were to blame for yet another poor showing on the big stage.

Had Capello been relieved of his duties at that point, the decision probably wouldn't have been met with heavy resistance, but he was given another chance to get things right as he signed a new contract which ran through Euro 2012.

England's qualifying campaign for Euro 2012 saw the team finish six points clear at the top of its group, but despite a favorable draw in the competition that includes France, Sweden and the Ukraine in Group D, it's hard to see England being a major threat.

And maybe that's why Capello took such a surprisingly strong stance on the issue of Terry being stripped of the captain's armband by the FA.

At 65, it might just be easier to fade into the background and let someone else take the heat for another tournament that saw England come away empty- handed.

Whomever takes the reigns from Capello will be facing essentially the same challenges he did when he inherited the team from McClaren.

A roster filled with aging stars who have never quite been able to come together as a cohesive unit and play up to their potential.

The new boss must find a way to transition from players like Lampard, Gerrard, Terry and Rio Ferdinand to the next generation of English talent, something Capello wasn't able to accomplish during his tenure.

In the end, Capello's time in charge of England will not be remembered in the most favorable light.

His challenge of the FA ending in much the same way as his bid to bring titles to England.

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

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The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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