The England thread

[Lineker]

Harry Redknapp thinks the Football Association should wait until the end of the season before approaching anyone to be the next England manager.

Redknapp is favourite to replace current incumbent Fabio Capello, who confirmed on Friday that he would be leave the post after Euro 2012.

"It's very difficult for [the FA] to choose another manager if he's already working," the Tottenham manager said.

"It wouldn't be fair to the club. You can't do it during the season."

Fellow Premier League manager Roy Hodgson, who is in charge of West Brom, is likely competition for Redknapp, while foreign candidates could also be in the running to become England's 16th manager.

Spurs have won five successive league games and dropped only two points in their last 10 matches leading bookmakers to shorten the odds on Redknapp becoming England boss.

However, he added: "It's difficult for a manager to agree to take over if he knows he'll be leaving his club at the end of the year.

"When managers say they'll quit at the end of the season, their form normally dips because of that. That wouldn't be an ideal situation.

"You can't do it during the season. To give it to someone who's working at a club is unfair to the club he works for."

Spurs will set a new club record in the Premier League era of six successive victories if they beat Bolton at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

[EddieG]

The FA can confirm England will face Holland at Wembley in their opening match of 2012.

The fixture, that was due to be played in August but was postponed just a day before, will now take place on Wednesday 29 February 2012.

England have face Holland 18 times previously, winning five, losing four and drawing nine - the most recent of which saw a second-half brace from Jermain Defoe secure a 2-2 draw in the Amsterdam Arena in August 2009.

[IAceI]

Plus he'll want to get that annoying little trial thing out the way first, won't Harry?

[Lineker]

It's disgusting how they're prosecuting a man with a dicky heart!! Fiends

[Starvinho]

The FA can confirm England will face Holland at Wembley in their opening match of 2012.

The fixture, that was due to be played in August but was postponed just a day before, will now take place on Wednesday 29 February 2012.

England have face Holland 18 times previously, winning five, losing four and drawing nine - the most recent of which saw a second-half brace from Jermain Defoe secure a 2-2 draw in the Amsterdam Arena in August 2009.

Two warm up games in May are set to be announced too, one home and one away, and rumour has it we're trying to secure a game in Dublin against Ireland. I hope this happens...

[Lineker]

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is not interested in taking on the England manager's job "at the present time", according to club chairman Daniel Levy.

"Harry has 18 months left on his contract. As far as Harry is concerned, he is very happy here and he doesn't particularly want to consider England at the present time," said Levy.

"We will worry about that situation if it arises in the summer."

Current England boss Fabio Capello will leave the role at the end of Euro 2012.

Redknapp has previously said the England job would be "hard to turn down" and described the position as "the pinnacle of your career".

He also claimed in September 2010 that he was taking his career a week at a time.

The 64-year-old took the reins at Tottenham in October 2008 with the team four points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League after a miserable start to the season under Spainard Juande Ramos.

He oversaw a recovery in their form as they climbed to eighth by the end of the campaign and then qualified for the Champions League in his first full season in charge in 2009-10.

Tottenham claimed famous victories over Inter Milan and AC Milan en route to the last eight of the premier European competition and have won plaudits for an attacking style that has taken them to fourth in the Premier League table this season.

Redknapp is due to face trial in January on tax evasion charges relating to his time as manager of previous club Portsmouth.

[Jimmy]

GB Olympic coach Stuart Pearce: 'Any player who boards plane to the European Championship will not be considered for selection to Team GB'

[MJB]

So who on earth will be put between the sticks?

Might dig out my gloves in early July and wait for the call.

[EddieG]

Craig Gordon?

[Adam]

This man needs a game and would be more than qualified to fill one of the 'over 23' spots.

Look, he's ready!

[Starvinho]

Paul Robinson could be a decent shout, I'm sure he could be presuaded to come out of international retirement for something as big as the Olympics.

[9 to 5]

Neville Southall.

[Lineker]

1241 FOOTBALL: The Football Association have appointed Heather Rabbatts and Roger Devlin as two new independent non-executive directors. Rabbatts, aged 56, will become the first female to ever sit on The FA Board and has more than 20 years executive and non-executive experience from both the public and private sector and across a breadth of industries, including local government, media, financial services and football. Devlin, aged 54, is a vastly experienced non-executive director and has operated as a senior executive within the corporate sector for globally recognised, large-scale organisations, with expertise in the banking sector, sport, media rights, property and hotels.

The Football Association has appointed Heather Rabbatts as its first woman board member.

She joins as non-executive director with Roger Devlin after a unanimous vote by the nominations committee.

Rabbatts holds the executive deputy chair position at Millwall, while Devlin was a financial advisor to a number of football clubs.

"This represents a significant change to our governance structures," said FA chairman David Bernstein.

"This is an important moment and I am naturally delighted by the decision of the board to endorse the appointments of both Heather and Roger.

Rabbatts, born in Kingston, Jamaica, has more than 20 years of executive and non-executive experience from the public and private sector and across a breadth of industries, including local government, media, financial services and football.

She was once Governor of the BBC, Trustee of the Bank of England, a non-executive at Grosvenor and the Royal Opera House, and was awarded a CBE in the 2000 New Year Honours list.

The FA, the world's first football association, will celebrate its 150th anniversary in October 2013.

Rabbatts said: "I am obviously delighted to be joining the board at the FA and working with colleagues to support the future of football in England."

"Having worked across media, business and football, I hope to bring those experiences to my work at the FA."

Devlin said: "It is an honour to be put forward for such an important role within the national game and I relish the opportunity to be able to positively input into the future of football in England.

"It is clear there is a great strength within the current FA board and I hope to be able to supplement that with my own skills and experience."

The appointment will see the existing board extended from 12 to 14 members, also comprising the FA chairman and general secretary, five representatives from the National Game Board and five from the Professional Game Board.

Bernstein said earlier this year he wanted a former professional footballer on the board.

BBC Sport understands that former Chelsea and Celtic player Paul Elliott made the final three shortlist before being overlooked.

The appointments of Rabbatts and Devlin will be put to the FA Council for ratification in early January.

[IAceI]

It's debatable whether they have or not to be honest.

I'm going to vote: No they haven't.

[Lineker]

England will play Norway and Belgium in their final two friendlies before the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine.

On Saturday, 26 May, England travel to Oslo to take on Norway in the same Ullevaal Stadion in which they famously lost a World Cup qualifier 2-1 in 1981.

On 2 June, Belgium visit Wembley before England head to their base in Krakow to prepare for their opening Euro 2012 game against France on 11 June.

"I'm very happy with these two games," said England boss Fabio Capello.

"Since the draw in December we have been able to work towards these matches and the appropriate opposition.

"In the draw we face one of the hosts, Ukraine, which will be a difficult atmosphere to replicate, but looking at the styles of France and Sweden I feel these games are a good preparation for us."

England have played Belgium 20 times, winning 14 and drawing five; against Norway, England have won half of their 10 encounters.

Kick-off times and ticket information for both games are yet to be confirmed.

"Lord Nelson! Lord Beaverbrook! Sir Winston Churchill! Sir Anthony Eden! Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! Maggie Thatcher - can you hear me, Maggie Thatcher! Your boys took one hell of a beating! Your boys took one hell of a beating!"

[Adam]

Looking forward to seeing that Belgium game. They've got some fantastic players at the moment.

[Lineker]

Belgium to win the World Cup FM diary? Somebody please?

[Starvinho]

Two nice friendlies there, glad we didn't choose a couple of walkover nations, should be a stern test against both.

[Hobo]

Neville Southall.

+1 forever.

[Lineker]

The Football Association is set to remove the England captaincy from John Terry, with an announcement before the weekend, the BBC has learned.

FA chairman David Bernstein has spoken to board members and the majority view is Terry should be stood down. He would still be available for selection.

Terry is due to stand trial in July over racial abuse allegations after an incident with QPR's Anton Ferdinand.

The Chelsea defender has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.

Bernstein is expected to speak to England manager Fabio Capello about the issue on Friday.

The Italian has until now maintained the position that Terry is innocent until proven guilty and that he should be free to select him as his captain until his trial is over.

There is some nervousness among board members as to how Capello will react, with some fearing he will see it as undue interference in team affairs.

But there is now an acceptance among the FA hierarchy that the matter should be taken out of his hands.

The FA has been forced to act after Terry's case was adjourned until 9 July - a week after the Euro 2012 finals end - ensuring that the affair will dominate the build-up to the championships.

For some time now Bernstein has been growing increasingly concerned at the FA's position on Terry.

Some board members have lobbied him to take decisive action to ensure the FA is not accused of being weak on racism.

Black players within the England squad have also been putting pressure on the Professional Footballers Association to take a stronger stance on Terry.

This is believed to have also played a part in forcing the FA to show greater leadership on the issue.