The role of an England national football team manager was first
established in May 1947 with the appointment of Walter Winterbottom.
Before this, the England team was selected by the "International
Selection Committee", a process by which the Football Association would
select coaches and trainers from the league to prepare the side for
single games, but where all decisions ultimately remained under the
control of the committee. A 1–0 defeat by Switzerland prompted FA
secretary Stanley Rous to raise Winterbottom from "National Director of
coaching" to "Manager". Fifteen men have occupied the post since its
inception; three of those were in short-term caretaker manager roles.
Alf Ramsey is the only manager to have won a major tournament, winning
the 1966 FIFA World Cup with his "Wingless Wonders". No other manager
has progressed beyond the semi-finals of a major competition. The
incumbent is the Italian Fabio Capello, who replaced Steve McClaren in
2008. The England manager's job is subject to intense press scrutiny,
often including revelations about the incumbent's private life. Due to
the high level of expectation of both the public and media the role has
been described as "the impossible job" or compared in importance in
national culture to that of the British Prime Minister.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_national_football_team_manager>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1348:
The first-ever appointments of the Order of the Garter, an order of
chivalry, founded by King Edward III of England, that is today
presently bestowed on recipients in the United Kingdom and other
Commonwealth realms, were announced.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Garter>
1661:
Charles II was crowned King of England, Ireland, and Scotland at
Westminster Abbey.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England>
1827:
Irish mathematician and physicist William Rowan Hamilton presented his
Theory of Systems of Rays.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rowan_Hamilton>
1979:
Activist Blair Peach suffered fatal head injures after being knocked
unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstration in Southall,
London, against a British National Front election meeting in the town
hall.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_Peach>
1985:
The Coca-Cola Company introduced "New Coke" to replace its flagship
soft drink Coca-Cola, eventually generating so much negative response
that the company put the original formula back on the market less than
three months later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
simony (n):
The act of buying and selling ecclesiastical offices and pardons
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/simony>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I would not so dishonour God as to lend my voice to perpetuate all the
mad and foolish things which men have dared to say of Him. I believe
that we may find in the Bible the highest and purest religion .....
most of all in the history of Him in whose name we all are called. His
religion — not the Christian religion, but the religion of Christ — the
poor man's gospel; the message of forgiveness, of reconciliation, of
love; and, oh, how gladly would I spend my life, in season and out of
season, in preaching this! But I must have no hell terrors, none of
these fear doctrines; they were not in the early creeds, God knows
whether they were ever in the early gospels, or ever passed His lips.
He went down to hell, but it was to break the chains, not to bind them.
--James Anthony Froude
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Anthony_Froude>
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