Fabio Capello Resignation: Why Stuart Pearce Should Lead England to Euro 2012

As England comes to terms with the loss of its manager after Fabio Capello's shocking resignation today, thoughts will immediately turn to who will take his place.

That man should be Stuart Pearce.

The favourite for many remains Harry Redknapp, who should be the man to take the national team into the World Cup Qualifiers—but rushing him into the job too soon could be a long-term mistake for the FA.

Harry will be the perfect man to take the team on. He's passionate, he doesn't suffer fools gladly and importantly for the fans—he's English.

But if anyone takes the job on full-time four months before the start of a major championship, they would be setting themselves up for a fall. The pressure on his shoulders would be immense.

Meanwhile, Pearce, taking on the role as caretaker, would be afforded a gentler time by the press. He would be the man leading the country through the turbulence and would likely be applauded for it.

Pearce has developed a good rapport with the press and will be a stabilizing influence on the squad in what will be a tournament filled with media scrutiny.

Should England have a tough time at the competition under Pearce, it would be forgivable. Should the same happen under Redknapp, it could jeopardize his long-term future as manager, giving fuel to any critics who wanted to undermine him.

The biggest news surrounding Redknapp recently has been his trial for tax evasion. By the start of his reign as England manager after the Euros, the dust from the case will have settled and should be out of most peoples minds.

Hire Redknapp now and the Fleet Street wolves will be circling, tasting the blood that will let them ruin England's preparations for yet another major championship.

Redknapp's past will always give energy to the press, but putting him in the nation's top job after the eye of the storm has only just passed would be unwise.

It looks likely that Pearce will take the team into their next friendly later this month against Holland, leaving Redknapp with just two friendlies against Norway and Belgium to be with the squad before the go to Eastern Europe.

Harry has had no experience of being a national manager, and the Euros will not be the best place to start.

Meanwhile, Stuart Pearce has quietly been doing a very good job with England Under-21s. He has got the experience of taking a squad to two major championships and has had success at them.

He has guided players who are now in the senior squad—such as Joe Hart, Ashley Young and James Milner. Having managed them before and after being around the senior squad for such a long time, it is likely that he would receive the full backing of the dressing room.

After being by Capello's side for so long, Pearce also knows more than most what the Italian's plans were tactically and on the training ground. This means that the squad will not have a load of new ideas pushed on them.

Not only has he had experience of being a manager at an international tournament, but he has also experienced it as a player.

Knowing England, there will have to be a penalty shootout somewhere at these tournaments. Pearce (more than most) knows the heartbreak and joy of shootouts. Having him guiding them could be a good thing if it has to come down to that.

The biggest problem in hiring Redknapp at this moment would be the fact that he is in the midst of a title race in charge of Tottenham. There is no way that Daniel Levy's going to let his man go without a huge fight, quite rightly so.

Some may suggest the option of Harry juggling both jobs, but that is a compromise that benefits no one. No one can realistically take on the job of preparing England for the European Championships while trying to take his club team to a Champions League birth next season.

One of the sides would suffer, and there is no reason to put either England or Spurs fans in that position.

He could take over after his duties with Spurs are done with in May, but this will give him less than a month before England's first game against France on June 11.

That being said, if the FA decides it has to put a permanent manager at the helm, then without doubt Redknapp should be their man.

If sense prevails (which it rarely does at the FA), this won't be until July.

What do you think?

Should Pearce or Redknapp take England to Euro 2012?

Or is there a third option that could do a better job?

Comment below.