? 'All options are open', says FA chairman David Bernstein
? Harry Redknapp will not be the only candidate

The Football Association is contemplating replacing Fabio Capello by bringing in a new England manager purely for Euro 2012 and then appointing a permanent replacement at the end of the tournament.

Harry Redknapp will figure most prominently in the FA's thoughts when the four executives empowered with finding Capello's successor, led by the chairman, David Bernstein, meet on Friday to draw up a shortlist. However, Bernstein has made it clear that the Tottenham Hotspur manager will not be the only candidate and, to illustrate the point, he identified Stuart Pearce as a "first-class available option".

The England Under-21 manager has been asked to take charge of the senior team's friendly against Holland on 29 February, though the appointment has led to awkward questions for the FA given that Pearce once had to apologise to Paul Ince after allegedly racially abusing him during a match for Nottingham Forest at Manchester United in 1994. "We're not going to go back over old ground," Adrian Bevington, the managing director of Club England, said.

Pearce's elder brother was once a BNP campaigner but the FA quickly made it clear that it did not consider either issue to be relevant despite Capello's departure coming about because of a separate race issue involving John Terry. "Stuart has made it clear that he is not involved in his brother's political beliefs," Bevington said. "I don't think we can get to the realms of being judgmental on someone because of what their sibling's views are. It's a matter for Stuart Pearce's brother rather than Stuart."

Bernstein would not discuss Redknapp's credentials but revealed that he and his colleagues would consider widening their search for two managers instead of one. "All options are open. I am only talking common sense. We are not prepared to restrict ourselves at this stage. He [Capello's successor] might be English, he might be British, he might not be. He might be for the Euros only, he might be long term. We need to look at all the options."

That raises the possibility that England could have four managers in the space of five months and that Redknapp could potentially be asked to take charge of this summer's European Championship on a short-term contract. José Mourinho could also be seen as a short-term option but the likelihood remains that Redknapp will be invited to take over on a permanent basis a squad that has been badly fractured by the Terry affair.

Tottenham are braced for an approach over the coming weeks and their nonexecutive director Sir Keith Mills said it was wrong to consider "it was a foregone conclusion" that Redknapp would leave White Hart Lane. "If he is [approached] then clearly Harry has a big decision to make. I know he loves the club and he's managing a top-three team in the biggest league in the world."

As for Redknapp, he described himself as "shocked" by Capello's departure but would not be drawn into talking about whether he would replace him. "I've not even thought about it. I've got a job to do. I've got a big game on Saturday for Tottenham. Tottenham is my focus ? They [the FA] will make whatever decision they want to make. Hopefully it'll be the right decision for the country but my focus is all on Tottenham."

Bernstein defended the decision to remove the England captaincy from Terry because of his July trial for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. He said he "sympathised" with Capello for feeling undermined but criticised the Italian for publicly defying the FA during his interview on Italian television on Sunday. "His backing of John Terry wasn't helpful and it did give the impression of a conflict of views between the manager and the board."

Bernstein went on to speak of his hope that Capello's successor could lift the squad. "Anyone who had seen the matches at Wembley over the last year . . would all probably agree that the quality of play and the level of confidence shown at Wembley is not quite where we'd like to be."

The new manager faces the complicated task of trying to heal the rifts that have been caused within the England squad because of the Terry trial. Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's director of development, was asked whether the only way to do this would be to leave Terry out of the squad. "That's really up to whoever is in charge and the players," he replied. Bernstein added: "If there is a problem, it's for the manager to assess it and sort it out. That is clearly down to the manager."

? New manager might not be English, says Bernstein
? FA says it will take its time to chose right man

By the time David Bernstein took his seat a little scrap of paper had already been torn out of somebody's notebook and placed on the desk in front of him. The words were brief and to the point: "Shortlist: 1) Harry 2) Harry 3) Harry 4) Rosie." Bernstein sat down, poured himself a glass of water and somehow managed to get through the next 38 minutes without mentioning Harry Redknapp, or any canines, once.

It was some feat given the way everything came back to the man who woke on Wednesday wondering if he was going to prison and drove home that night wondering if he was about to be made the next England manager instead. Bernstein straight-batted everything, spotted every googly coming his way and generally kept a steady hand. What the Football Association chairman could not do was dilute the sense that England have adopted the theory of chaos as their motto for Euro 2012. "Quite clearly, it's hardly ideal," he said, with a thin smile.

The former French Connection man is not the kind to slam down his fist and tell the nation not to worry because he is on the case. There will, almost certainly, be a telephone call to Redknapp and the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, at some point. But the four FA executives addressing journalists' questions on the back of Fabio Capello's resignation made it clear Redknapp will not be the only candidate. Or at least that's what they wanted us to believe.

First, Bernstein explained, they had to draw up a "job brief". Then they needed a shortlist and, as he pointed out, focusing only on one "makes a very difficult situation when negotiating and so on". Fair enough, though maybe not the smartest business move to admit that some of the names may just be there as a bargaining tool. But this is a negotiation process and when the FA do get round to ringing Redknapp it will be the man at the other end of the line bargaining from a position of strength. Capello was the £6m man whose team stank out the World Cup. "No one is going to defend the South Africa performance," Bernstein said. Redknapp has been designated as the people's choice to sort out this mess. Ignoring, for a moment, that sketch at Southwark crown court when he talked of himself as "the least greedy person you will ever meet", he should expect a salary offer in keeping with his predecessor. "Let me be absolutely clear, we are not going to do anything on the cheap," Bernstein said. "We will pay the proper market rate."

Here, though, he talked as though oblivious to the Redknapp bandwagon. It was wrong, he said, to assume the next manager would be English. There was no rush, it was cheerily explained, because there was only one match between now and the end of May so "not a huge amount for a manager to do". From 12 feet away it was difficult to see whether Bernstein had his fingers crossed beneath the table. No other team going into Euro 2012 is currently missing both a manager and a captain. Nowhere else will we find one of the key players preparing for a race-hate court case. Or a group of players who are threatening, courtesy of the John Terry trial, to rival the Dutch squad at Euro 96 in terms of cliques and divisions.

Just to recap: some of the players cold-shouldered Terry at their last get-together. His relationship with Rio Ferdinand is stretched, to say the least. Ferdinand's friendship with Ashley Cole is not what it was. Terry has his friends, Ferdinand has his. These are rich, successful people who are used to getting their way. Not a huge amount for a new manager to do? That quote, funnily enough, was left off the FA's official transcript.

The truth is the new manager needs all the time there is to find a way through this maze of politics but Bernstein, by his own admission, had not even entertained the idea that Capello's successor could be appointed, even as a job-share, in time for the Holland game on 29 February.

Instead we have Stuart Pearce, the lion-heart with the flag of St George in his back garden. Pearce won 78 caps in his playing career, wore the captain's armband with distinction and always gave the impression he had God Save The Queen as his ringtone (the Sex Pistols version). But this is not straightforward. The whole chain of events leading to Capello's dismissal begins with an alleged race crime that meant the FA were too embarrassed to keep Terry as captain. Now they have a temporary manager who once had to apologise to Paul Ince, then of Manchester United, after an incident in 1994 that allegedly had racial overtones.

What Pearce said was never established and, in FA terms, it is a spent conviction. "We're not going to go back over old ground," Adrian Bevington, the managing director of Club England, d and he had a point. If there were to be loud objections, they should have been voiced when Pearce was asked to take charge of the England Under-21 and the Olympics teams.

Neither it is really fair for it to be held against him that his brother, Dennis, was a BNP candidate in the 2009 elections. "Stuart has made it clear that he is not involved in his brother's political beliefs," Bevington continued. "I don't think we can get to the realms of being judgmental on someone because of what their siblings' views are. It's a matter for Stuart Pearce's brother rather than Stuart, we would suggest."

Again, fair enough. These issues, however, will be brought up and the FA will find it difficult to shake off in the current climate. An Italian journalist had flown in for this press conference. "This is a story you cannot invent," he said on the way out.

? Roman Abramovich takes hands-on approach
? John Terry will be missing again this weekend

"Short, accurate and precise." André Villas-Boas chose these words not to describe the style of a hitman, but his meetings over the past six days with Roman Abramovich, though is was tempting to draw the link between the two.

Chelsea's Russian owner is putting his hands back on the club, with his $5bn high court litigation battle with his former business associate Boris Berezovsky no longer in session, to seemingly reinforce one of the football week's major themes: employers flexing their muscles over their managers.

Villas-Boas also had an admission, which sounded rather ominous. "It is not a very honourable position for the dimension of this club," he said, on the subject of the team's Premier League position of fourth and the target for the remainder of the season being merely to hang on to it. Did Abramovich share the feeling of dishonour? "Yes. I think so," Villas-Boas said.

Villas-Boas takes his team to Everton on Saturday for a fixture in which he intends to bounce back from the demoralising blow of surrendering a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 at home to Manchester United last Sunday. He is aware that the previous time Abramovich travelled to Goodison Park for a Premier League fixture, on the final day of last season, he sacked Carlo Ancelotti shortly after full-time, taking his strike rate to five managers in eight years.

Ancelotti, who is in charge at Paris St-Germain, said on Wednesday that his life at Chelsea had become "intolerable" when Abramovich took a keener interest in the running of the club. Since Saturday, Abramovich has been at the training ground in Cobham almost every day, to talk to Villas-Boas about his sessions and tactics. He also addressed Villas-Boas and the players in the dressing-room after the United game.

Villas-Boas was given plenty of bullet-dodging practice at his weekly press briefing. When Abramovich shoots, he does not miss. "Regarding the presence of the owner, you can speculate whatever you want but for us, it is fantastic to have him here," Villas-Boas said. "It is not distracting, not at all. With physical presence, you get your ideas across better, which is good. The meetings have been good ? short, accurate and precise.

"The objectives we have for this season are pretty much outlined. We have two competitions where we look better [the Champions League and FA Cup] and another competition where we have to dilute the damage and try to finish fourth, at least, which is not a very honourable position for the dimension of this club. Bearing in mind the rest, we focus on the same and a lot of focus on next year's progress as well."

Next year will represent the second of the three-year plan under Villas-Boas and the young Portuguese has no doubts that he will remain at the helm. His relationship with Abramovich has changed from his first spell at the club, when he worked as José Mourinho's opposition scout. "It was almost a salute relationship back then, nothing else," he said. "But now it's more active, very positive. He is a good person to share knowledge with, ask questions and try to give answers regarding what I do. I think it's legitimate. I would compare it to a normal club president/manager relationship."

Villas-Boas also spoke of Abramovich realising the need for patience ? "There is great empathy and motivation for next year's project," he said ? and, as if to illustrate the phase that Chelsea are in, he compared his substitutes' bench to United's from Sunday. He made one change, bringing on young Oriol Romeu while Sir Alex Ferguson introduced the proven Premier League quality of Javier Hernández, Paul Scholes and Park Ji-sung.

"I think we can win the title without massive investment ? we have to find the right targets," Villas-Boas said. "For example, getting Oriol [from Barcelona] at ?5m [£4.2m] was fantastic and you could not say that he is not up to Premier League standard. So it is possible. But normally, you prefer to bring top talent, which takes less time to adapt and can play straight away."

John Terry was out of sight, having been granted a short break to rest his injured knee ? the captain will miss the Everton match, together with Ramires; Mikel John Obi, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole return to contention. But Terry, who should return to face Birmingham City in the FA Cup on Saturday week, was not out of mind.

Villas-Boas was asked how he would feel if Abramovich told him who could and could not wear the captain's armband. "Firstly, that's not the case ? we are speculating about a possible's owner's decision," Villas-Boas said. "I think that it is up to the managers to decide. The manager decides on appointing the captains or decides on the group appointing the captains. There are clubs that like to choose their own captains. With me, I was always able to appoint my captains."

James Richardson looks at the European reaction to Fabio Capello's departure plus Serie A scandal

Well, what a show we have for you today. In fact, some of it was so above average that we filmed it.

James Richardson's got Barry Glendenning, Amy Lawrence and John Ashdown on hand to discuss the England national team's escalating crisis. Fabio Capello resigned after the John Terry fallout, so will Harry Redknapp ? cleared of all charges of tax evasion ? come in and save the day? One thing's for sure: Euro 2012 is in the bag.

Elsewhere in Football Weekly Extraaa, we look forward to the weekend's games near and far: another friendly encounter between Manchester United and Liverpool; QPR's trip to Blackburn; and ? courtesy of Jonathan Wilson ? Zambia's emotional qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Max Rushden's in the presenter's chair next week as Jimbo heads off to the slopes. Fernando Duarte is due in on Monday too, so get your questions in for him now.

? Duo accused of vandalising cars in Newcastle's China Town
? Sunderland pair have missed recent games with injury

Sunderland's Nicklas Bendtner and Lee Cattermole have been charged with criminal damage after cars were allegedly vandalised close to the home of Newcastle United, their club's arch rivals.

The striker Bendtner and the midfielder Cattermole, who is club captain, will face magistrates on 27 February following an alleged incident in Newcastle city centre in December.

Northumbria police said the team-mates, who both live in Ponteland, Northumberland, will face five charges of criminal damage relating to cars parked in Stowell Street in Newcastle's China Town. The street is packed with restaurants and is a popular haunt with fans on their way to Newcastle's stadium. The damage was alleged to have been caused at around 10pm on 6 December, two days after Sunderland lost 2-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Bendtner, a 24-year-old Denmark international, is spending a year on Wearside on loan from Arsenal. Both he and Cattermole, 23, have missed recent games due to injury.

Fans can enter a draw to rename the stadium after themselves or a family member ? or choose a more mischievous name

Bigger football clubs expect to bank millions of pounds when they give up the naming rights for their stadium. But for just £50, businesses, fans and even rival supporters are being given the chance to rename Bath City's stadium.

The club suggests the winner could name the stadium after a friend, family member, a beloved past player, a charity or perhaps a newborn baby.

A worry is that the winner might also favour a more mischievous name.

The club is also encouraging traditionalists who do not hold with such frippery to enter the draw so that should they win they can keep the current name, Twerton Park.

The Bath City chairman, Manda Rigby, said the idea was that those interested would pay £50 to enter a draw. The winner would be pulled out of hat and rename the stadium as he or she saw fit.

Rigby said: "We pride ourselves on being innovative at Bath City, and the stadium name draw is just the most recent example. We hope that businesses locally and nationally will recognise the tremendous value of acquiring the naming rights to our ground for just £50 but we also want our fans and the general public to get involved as well." Rigby is entering the draw herself but for the moment keeping her choice of name secret.

The club's captain, Jim Rollo, who has made more than 450 appearances for Bath, said some of the players were also entering the draw. "I think it's a brilliant idea," he said.

Twerton Park is in the south-west of the city and has been home to the club since 1932. It has raised terraces and a view of central Bath. The club, whose most famous fan is Ken Loach, is not enjoying the best of seasons and is pretty firmly stuck at the foot of the Blue Square Bet Premier league.

Those who enter the draw will also receive four tickets for Bath's match against Forest Green Rovers on Easter Monday. The draw will take place at half-time and any traditionalists should not worry too much ? the new name will last for one season, 2012/13, only.

? Former France international frustrated with inconsistency
? It's as if 'people don't want us to win the league'

Manchester City ambassador Patrick Vieira has questioned the consistency of recent decisions that have led to conspiracy theories emerging among the club's supporters.

Over the past few weeks the City manager, Roberto Mancini, has been infuriated by a succession of recent refereeing performances. The dismissal of Mario Balotelli at Liverpool in November left the Italian grumbling. However, Mancini was exasperated by the dismissal of Vincent Kompany against Manchester United last month when, days later, Glen Johnson escaped punishment for a similar challenge on the City winger Adam Johnson.

The subsequent intervention of the Football Association in suspending Balotelli for four games for his tackle on Tottenham's Scott Parker left Mancini furious. In addition, there was a controversial penalty awarded against Micah Richards during City's Carling Cup semi-final defeat by Liverpool.

It has all left the Blues feeling rather annoyed and triggered Vieira's suggestions.

"I don't want to say that everyone is against City but when you look at the last few decisions, you are asking yourself if something is wrong here, if people don't want us to win the league," said the former France international.

"It felt like that anything City do will be amplified and we get punished, compared to the other teams and the other players.

"We are trying our best to win the league and we accept our punishment. But when you look what is happening to the other clubs, it makes us really frustrated."

Vieira said inconsistencies among the referees were part of the problem rather than a bias against City.

"Confusion is really dangerous, especially for the referee and the refereeing body," he said. "They have to be very careful about how they deal with some of the situations. A referee has to make a decision he thinks is right. But a good referee is someone who referees with his personality and with common sense, to make the decision that he thinks is right at the moment, not because he is afraid of the consequences ? that is not good."

? Vieira suggests City are singled out for punishment
? Referees in danger of ruining uniqueness of English game

Patrick Vieira has spoken out against what he perceives as unfair and disproportionate treatment of Manchester City players by referees.

City had to do without their influential captain, Vincent Kompany, for four matches after the FA imposed a ban on account of the defender's tackle on Manchester United's Nani. Roberto Mancini has been denied the services of Mario Balotelli for a similar length of time after the striker was judged to have stamped on Scott Parker.

Now Vieira has pointed to what he regards as equally serious incidents involving Chelsea's Frank Lampard and the Stoke City forward Peter Crouch, which have not incurred suspensions. Lampard was booked for a tackle on Adam Hammill during Chelsea's 2-1 win over Wolves while Crouch incurred no sanction at all despite being accused of poking West Bromwich Albion's Jonas Olsson in the eye.

Vieira said: "Frank Lampard's tackle looked dangerous compared to Vincent's. Crouch, when he put his finger in the eye of another player, looked bad as well.

"It felt like that anything that City will do will be amplified and we get punished, compared to the other teams and the other players. I don't want to think about it because I don't want to say that everyone is against City or anything like that. But when you look at the last few decisions, you are asking yourself if something is wrong here, if people don't want us to win the league.

"When you see the last few decisions everything is against us, compared to the other ones. We try our best to win the league, we accept our punishment. But when you look what is happening to the other ones, that makes us as a football club really frustrated.

"It seems like if you have one referee you get one decision but if you have a different referee the decision may also be different. It's difficult to understand some decisions compared to the decisions we had. I think this is what brings the confusion. The confusion is dangerous for our game."

Vieira's sentiment is known to be echoed by those in senior positions at City. In a wider sense, the former Arsenal player believes referees' stance towards tackling in the Premier League is short-changing supporters.

"My feeling, obviously, was that when Vinnie went for the tackle he went for the ball," Vieira added. "He went to win the ball. For me, it wasn't a foul. I was quite surprised that the referee gave a foul. I was more surprised that he came out with a red card.

"Ten years ago the game was much more physical than it is now. Tackles that that were happening when I was playing at Arsenal ? if that was a red card there would have been a sending-off in every game I played for Arsenal. It was one of the harshest decisions I've ever seen in the last few months.

"The beauty of the English game ? especially in the Premier League ? is the speed of the game, the passion from the players and the tackling. England is the only country in the world where fans in the stadium applaud the striker who has scored but also the defender who wins the ball with a tackle. You will not get that anywhere else in the world. Now it looks like you cannot tackle any more. The refereeing body has to be really careful not to kill the passion of the game.

"If these changes to the rules mean that there is more of a European pace or style to the Premier League, then I think English fans could get bored and would not come to see the game. This is something really special that the referee should not take away.

"I do understand that there are some tackles that are very dangerous, but they have to make a difference between players who go in to win the ball and players who go in to hurt a fellow professional. That is a difference. They have to be careful to not cross the line."

The pendulum which has now swung against foreign managers of national teams once swung equally strongly in favour of them

It will clearly not be long before Harry Redknapp or some other Englishman is appointed as the next manager of the England football team. But the pendulum which has now swung against foreign managers of national teams once swung equally strongly in favour of them ? with good reason, if results are a guide. The last two native-born England managers, Kevin Keegan and Steve McClaren, had win percentages of 39% and 50% respectively. Neither of them lasted two years. Both left under clouds. By contrast their successors, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, lasted nearly six and just over four years and had win percentages of 60% and 67%. There are many reasons why a home-grown candidate may be a good fit this time, but success on the field, not national pride, is still the ultimate test. The pendulum that has swung against foreign managers will swing back in favour of them soon enough if the right foreign candidate comes along.