Walcott slams ´cold and clinical´ Capello

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has slammed England manager Fabio Capello’s treatment of his players in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup.

In extracts from his new book quoted in The Sun, Walcott reveals how Capello inspired fear in his players following his appointment in December 2007, and said the Italian’s authoritarian style created tension in the dressing room and destroyed his confidence.

England were bundled out of the tournament after a 4-1 drubbing from Germany in the round of 16, with Walcott of the belief that the atmosphere of fear and tension contributed to England’s poor showing in South Africa.

“There was something very stiff and starchy about Mr Capello’s regime before the 2010 World Cup,” Walcott wrote.

“I found it difficult to be myself. Players split up along club lines.”

“There was an Aston Villa group and a Manchester United group and the staff weren’t very relaxed. It all felt a bit tense. Everyone was a bit too serious.”

“It became obvious straight away that Mr Capello was very strict. It was like being in the presence of a headmaster.”

“If you are eating and you look over to where he is and he is looking at you, you look down and eat straight away. You’re s*** scared of him, basically.”

“He picked players on form and that was it. No sentiment. No friendships. Cold and clinical.”

Walcott was not picked in the final 23-man squad for the tournament, but cites an episode from the preliminary training camp in Austria to illustrate his point.

He wrote: “We headed out to a training camp in the Austrian Alps before we left for South Africa. Something happened out there that shook my confidence. It was the second day, and I made a run inside from my position out wide on the right.”

“Suddenly Mr Capello started screaming at me at the top of his voice. Training stopped and everyone stared at their feet and looked embarrassed.”

“’Theo,’ he was yelling, ‘I will kill you if you come inside like that again!’ Despite Mr Capello’s outburst, I never quite knew what was required of me. I was confused.”

Despite his criticisms, Walcott believes things have improved between Capello and his players since the tournament.

“Things have gone well since then,” he wrote. “I came straight back into the first team after the World Cup and have been selected for Euro 2012 qualifiers when I’ve been fit.”

“The atmosphere with England is much more relaxed now. There are more smiles around the camp these days.”

“Mr Capello has changed, lots of things have changed. He is more approachable.”