Harry Redknapp most likely candidate to succeed Fabio Capello

Capello's exit was the culmination of an extraordinary day in English football history, coinciding with Redknapp being acquitted in court of tax evasion charges and thereby removing the main obstacle to his succeeding the Italian.

"ARRYVEDERCI" was how at least two morning newspapers greeted the exit of Capello and impending arrival of Redknapp - though the FA will face tough negotiations with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy if they want to get the Spurs manager.

Capello is expected to fly back to Italy after his sudden resignation threw England's Euro 2012 preparations into turmoil.

He quit after a showdown with the Football Association chairman David Bernstein over their decision to go over his head and strip John Terry of the England captaincy.

Capello was due to leave his £6million-a-year job after the European Championships but now his successor will have only four months or less to prepare for the finals of a major tournament.

The dispute had been brewing since Friday when the FA board decided Terry, who is standing trial in July when he will deny a charge of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand, could not be England captain until after the case.

Capello, who was not consulted, blew a fuse and told Italian TV station Rai on Sunday that he "absolutely" disagreed with the decision.

That led to yesterday's meeting and though the FA were not anticipating Capello quitting, both sides were determined to stick to their guns and after an hour of talks that led to the Italian resigning - and the FA accepting.

An FA statement read: "The discussions focused on the FA board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview.

"In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect."

Bernstein said the resignation was the right course of action.

The FA chairman said: "I would like to stress that during today's meeting and throughout his time as England manager, Fabio has conducted himself in an extremely professional manner.

"We have accepted Fabio's resignation, agreeing this is the right decision. We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future."

Bernstein had consulted with the 14-strong FA board ahead of the Terry decision but had not done so before the meeting today - an indication that he was not intending to sack Capello for his remarks.

The resignation however gave the FA a way out of a situation that was likely to become increasingly controversial in the build-up to the Euros.

The new manager will now have to address the issue of whether Terry should be part of the England squad given the racism allegations and the fact that his presence could be divisive - especially if Anton Ferdinand's brother Rio is part of the squad.

The resignation brought an end to Capello's four years in charge of England - expensive years for the FA and ones which will be remembered as disappointing for the national team when it really mattered, especially at the 2010 World Cup finals.

The FA will need to move quickly to appoint a replacement but Stuart Pearce, the England Under-21 head coach and coach of the Great Britain Olympic team, is expected to be put in charge for the Holland friendly at Wembley on Wednesday
February 29.

After that, the new manager will have just two friendlies to work with ahead of the European Championships, against Norway on May 26 and Belgium on June 2. The first competitive match will be against France, in Donetsk, on June 11.