England flops return home

 

 

Holidays ... Fabio Capello leaves his London home

ENGLAND'S humiliated footballers flew back to Britain at dawn today then dodged angry football fans by leaving Heathrow airport by a back gate.

Under-pressure boss Fabio Capello headed home in shame — but only long enough to repack his bags and head off on holiday.

The failed coach, guranteed £12million more from the FA despite his flop under his two year contract, arrived home at 9am but by 11am re-emerged with a set of suitcases and left with his wife.
Capello and his wife Laura checked in at London City Airport, then flew to Switzerland.
Meanwhile Frank Lampard spent the day with his TV presenter girlfriend Christine Bleakley.

Frequent flyer ... David Beckham flew on to Nice airport in France to meet wife Victoria and children

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Steven Gerrard took his wife, Alex, out for lunch. Earlier the team acted like cowards by refusing to go through a public terminal and instead were whisked through a VIP suite normally used by ROYALS.
Looking downcast and dejected the team trudged off a Virgin Atlantic jet at 6.20am before getting into chauffeur driven cars, barely saying a word of goodbye to each other.
The Football Association had shamelessly launched a massive security operation to shield them from the public's gaze when they touched down at Heathrow.
But they needn't have bothered as the only fans waiting to see the team were furious ones who had spent thousands following the team to South Africa — and who were at the airport to demand refunds.
Tim O'Leary, 33, from Maida Vale, North London, who shelled out £8,000 to watch England in the World Cup, stormed: "I would have booed them if they'd had the guts to face us.
"It's typical that they've taken the cowards way out and gone through a back gate. There has not been a word of apology from any of them to us fans about how badly they let us down."

Flops ... England players during 4-1 defeat to Germans

Fellow fan David Thompson, 25, from Croydon, Surrey, added: "What cowards, it doesn't surprise us, they're probably ashamed of themselves as they should be. If I'd seen any of the team I would have asked for the money back that I wasted going to South Africa to see them."
England crashed out of the tournament after a 4-1 thrashing by the Germans on Sunday.
The England's team low-key homecoming was in total contrast to nearly a month ago when they flew out to South Africa for the start of the tournament.
Then they had proudly posed for photos on the steps of the airplane with two Virgin Atlantic stewardesses, beaming huge smiles and confidently predicting they would be coming home champions.
Today a stony-faced David Beckham led the team, who were all wearing their official England grey suits, off the jet, followed by an equally miserable looking Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steve Gerrard.

Losers ... captain Steven Gerrard followed by Wayne Rooney

Becks then jetted off to Nice in France to be reunited with wife Victoria and their kids. Boss Capello looked like a dead man walking as he trudged forlornly across the tarmac with his head bowed.
Even the WAGS had decided that this occasion was one for avoiding attention, Bleakley, Toni Terry and Carly Cole had swapped their normal glamour togs for dowdy jeans, sweatpants and t-shirts.
A witness who saw the team disembark the plane at the VIP suite, which at Hatton Cross is nearly a mile away from Heathrow Terminals, said: "They looked really miserable especially Capello. They all had their heads down, but his was practically on his knees.
"Lampard looked really peed off, they all did. Joe Cole was the only one who looked a bit happier but that was probably cos he was holding his baby.

Failed ... England boss Fabio Capello

"As they walked to their cars I didn't see any of them shake hands, or say goodbye. They just looked like they couldn't wait to get away from each other." After leaving the jet the players were driven away by a fleet of flash chauffeur-driven motors which whisked them back to their multi-million pound mansions in Surrey and Cheshire.
The Northern based players were taken to an airport in Farnborough, Hants, to catch a private chartered jet - apparently another ploy by the FA to keep the team away from public gaze.
If the players had had the guts to go through the public terminal they would have come face to face with some England fans who had just arrived back from South Africa.
Giles Sudderick, 45, a civil servant from Staines, Middlesex, spent £3,000 on his trip to the World Cup.

Bungling ... calamity keeper Rob Green with Gareth Barry and Emile Heskey

He was furious to hear about the England team's royal treatment, saying: "They should have come back like the French did in economy! "The Football Association should have cancelled their first-class tickets and sent them back that way. They didn't even go through the main terminal at Johannesburg. It's obvious they are trying to avoid us fans.
"I haven't missed a game in years, and this is the worst England team for a while.
"They talk a good game, but they're over-paid prima donnas.
"There won't be an apology, there won't be a sorry to the England fans. They even struggled to come and clap us, which sums them up for me."
Yesterday, Capello claimed he wanted to stay at England's helm despite the team's shameful World Cup performance.

WAGs ... Toni Terry, Carly Cole and Christine Bleakley

But the Italian must wait two weeks to learn his fate. Capello told reporters at a press conference in South Africa: "I spoke this morning with (Club England chairman) Sir Dave Richards and he told me that he needs two weeks to decide."
Asked whether he would like to stay in his role, he said: "Absolutely. I said I can be the manager of England for the next season, but it is for him (Richards) to decide.
"We spoke also about the players that can play for the next qualification and I know what I have to do."
Asked about the performance of his players, Capello said they were tired after their hectic Premier League season.
And he pointed to Frank Lampard's disallowed second goal, suggesting the outcome of Sunday's game might have been different if the referee had got the decision right.

The Uruguayan referee blamed for the "goal that never was" smiled but offered no comment when a plucky Fifa volunteer asked if he knew Lampard's shot crossed the line.
Jorge Larrionda and his assistant Mauricio Espinosa failed to spot that the midfielder's shot crossed the line after crashing off the underside of the crossbar.
Unnoticed by England fans, the match officials passed through the airport in Bloemfontein yesterday where a young Fifa volunteer, who normally welcomes fans to the airport, asked if he knew the goal should have been allowed.
Charlotte Molakeng, 22, from Kroonstad, said: "I just asked if he knew there was a goal.
"But I got no comment, just a smile."