by Jerrad Peters

In the end, there was only going to be one outcome once pride became involved. And so it was that Fabio Capello—manager of England, champion of Italy, Spain and Europe, the proudest of them all—walked purposefully into FA headquarters, Wednesday, and fell on his sword.

If his authority was being brought into question, he reasoned, there simply wasn’t a way forward. If his decision-making, or lack thereof, failed to please his superiors, he thought, a parting of ways was the only solution where everyone could save face. Thus ended his tumultuous reign of the Three Lions.

Speculation as to Capello’s successor began the moment the FA released their statement revealing his resignation. Would Harry Redknapp, cleared of tax evasion charges earlier the same day, quit his post as Tottenham Hotspur manager and assume the England hot-seat? Would he remain with Spurs until the end of the season before switching jobs? Would Stuart Pearce be promoted from the Under-21s?

Such questions will keep the English public enthralled until a final choice is made—which won’t be anytime soon—and so, too, will the various obituaries composed about his time in charge.

There will be reminiscing about the highlights, such as the 4-1 win in Croatia and 2-1 victory in Germany (Germany’s first defeat in Berlin in 35 years) that came so early in his tenure; there will be recollections of the disappointments, many of them associated with England’s short, embarrassing appearance at the 2010 World Cup.

The final judgement will have little to do with performance, however. In 42 matches as manager of England Capello recorded an impressive 28 wins, making him—by percentage—the national team’s most successful boss. His teams won more than 66 per cent of the time—significantly more than the sides of either Sven-Goran Eriksson or Sir Alf Ramsey.

No, Capello’s English legacy will have more to do than his management off the field of play than on it. (Eriksson got himself into the odd bit of trouble away from the pitch as well, although none of his misdeeds had anything to do with football.) And it’s here that John Terry comes into the story, for it’s impossible to separate the four years of Capello’s England from the national team’s most controversial captain.

It’s ironic, really, that an institution Capello showed neither interest in nor respect for would eventually prove his undoing. Upon succeeding Steve McClaren in December 2007, the Italian left his predecessor’s captaincy structure intact, retaining Terry as captain and Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand as alternates. When he left Wembley unemployed on Wednesday the same trio were still in the roles, nevermind Gerrard’s persistent groin problems or the fact Ferdinand had barely played for England since before the last World Cup.

But the ultimate absurdity was Capello’s stubbornness regarding Terry, that he made his last stand over a player who deserved neither the armband nor—and this is an arguable point—a regular place in the lineup. That the Chelsea skipper was restored to the England captaincy after initially being stripped of the armband in advance of the World Cup was laughable, but not nearly as ridiculous as Capello’s inertia on the subject following Terry’s racism charge in October.

Had Capello acted decisively as soon as charges were laid—and sacking Terry was the only sensible option available—he would never have found himself in the embarrassing predicament that led to his remarks, Sunday, on Italian television. It was in that interview that Capello revealed the extent of his frustration, stating that in his mind Terry remained the captain of England. He was clearly displeased that the FA had gone above his head in sacking Terry, which they did after the 31-year-old’s court case was moved to July, and the public nature of his remarks is what precipitated Wednesday’s Wembley showdown where he capitulated.

In so doing Capello, for lack of a better cliché, cooked his own goose, and it will now fall to his successor to both restore some lustre to the institution of the captaincy and freshen the overall approach to England management, which started to go stale after the South Africa debacle.

Whether it’s Redknapp or Pearce or someone else making those changes, and whether it happens immediately or in the summertime remains to be seen. But it’s hard to imagine that England will be worse off without Capello, just as it’s hard to sympathize with a man who orchestrated his own demise.

Follow Jerrad Peters on Twitter @peterssoccer