Capello: "I am not the Messiah and I will not put up with naughty boys"...

Another series of the long running comedy soap opera that is England gets under way tonight under the stewardship of Italian manager Fabio Capello when the Three Lions face Switzerland at Wembley for a friendly.

As ever there's been a lot talk about the new manager prior to his first game in charge. At his first pre-match press-conference yesterday the Italian managed to a utter a few encouraging words of English, but for the most part he spoke in his native language. No surprises there. Still it was a good start even if it only amounted to a 'thank you' and 'yes, I understand that'.

However, it has hasn't taken Fabio long to point out he doesn't have a lot of choice in terms of numbers, and no doubting to the huge embarrassment of his employers he was quick to remind the FA that only 38% of players' playing in the Premier League are English. It's a bit early to go looking for excuses isn't it?

Next, Capello revealed that he is not the Messiah. Hasn't anyone told him that he's working for Newcastle? Our new man at the helm then went to confirm that he cannot work miracles. Another setback for the FA then given his the Italian’s huge salary?

So what of Capello's methods, if he's not the Messiah and he's not a miracle worker, how will he turn this bunch serial-losers into winners? For starters, he's putting the block on post-training rounds of golf and he calls everyone by their surname.

Capello has a reputation for being a hard-man and he's wasted no time in letting everyone know that he's a hard task-master, winning is the only that matters and rules will be obeyed.

You wonder how the Italian will manage the English press, how long will his honeymoon period last? How long before we hear talk of the first murmurings of discontent with the England squad?

Tonight's match with Switzerland should be mildly interesting and if you fancy having a punt on this you can benefit from a free £25 bet courtesy of Betfair