Fabio Capello arrived as a winner but we all look like losers now he's gone

Today that 'W' could easily stand for weary. Some foul-mouthed cynics might attribute another, less family friendly 'W' but such antipathy towards the Italian is a disrespectful appraisal of his reign.

Capello got plenty wrong. A failure to grasp the language and underestimating the English furore around the captaincy were among his principal shortcomings.

The 2010 World Cup was a disaster. Yet for those of us who did not demand his instant removal there is disappointment Capello was not able to take the chance to prove what he had learned.

The end was a betrayal of two successful qualifying campaigns and the progress in team development made since South Africa. But for a man who has built his image and reputation on total authority, the decision to remove John Terry as captain without any managerial input compromised his style beyond redemption.

The FA were right to demote Terry and Capello should remember it was written into his contract that they could do so.

There was no way they could reverse their decision and Capello's public insubordination was unacceptable.

That said, it was not an irretrievable situation and talks yesterday could have ended amicably had both parties wanted them to.

They didn't. Too much had gone before. Capello does not return to Italy a bad manager but just not the guaranteed success we thought £6million a year could buy.

With Capello licking his wounds and England both managerless and captainless four months before Euro 2012, no one is a 'winner' today.