Actually winning football tournaments is not a strong point - but if trophies were handed out for blowing your foot off ahead of them, crumbs, England would be world champions.
Drinking escapades in Hong Kong (1996), a manager confirming he was leaving as soon as the tournament was over (1990), big-name player trashing a hotel room (1998), coach telling the 'Fake Sheikh' he would quit (2006), manager putting his name to a public assessment of his players, having failed to talk a 35-year-old out of retirement (2010). And now this.
No manager. No captain. No hope?
Well. Not quite.
If nothing else, FA chairman David Bernstein deserves credit for sticking to his guns. In that, he has shown a clarity of vision and a consistency lacking in many of his predecessors.
It did not need the seismic events of the past few days to understand Capello is capable of similar traits. Just a pity that, in this instance, he is out of touch with public opinion.
There was a strong argument for saying John Terry should not have been allowed to skipper England in their friendly against Sweden in November, so serious were the allegations levelled against him.
Now he has been charged, he definitely should not wear the armband.
As Capello argued, Terry is an innocent man. Far better he is allowed to clear his name before he wears the Three Lions on his shirt again. As impressive as his leadership qualities are, at present, they could easily be interpreted as divisive, and that does no one any good.
With no common ground in the middle and the certainty that arguments will fester, the correct conclusion has been reached. If there is a mercy, it is that this time the damage has been done in February, rather than the eve of departure, as was the case two years ago, when the ill-fated Capello Index was launched and the phone call to Paul Scholes made.
At least now there is time to stabilise the situation and steer it towards a brighter conclusion.
If England end up walking out for their opening Group D game against France in Donetsk on June 11 with Harry Redknapp or Arsene Wenger in the dugout, the outcome will be a plus, if not, yesterday will not be regarded as a good one judged purely in terms of the success of the national team.
Let's get it straight.
First of all, the chances of luring Arsene Wenger away from Arsenal are virtually non-existent despite the Frenchman's present troubles.
In addition, the FA are committed to appointing an Englishman to replace the £6million-a-year coach now leaving Wembley for the last time.
So that leaves Redknapp, cleared of tax evasion charges hours before Capello's exit, the obvious stumbling block to an appointment removed.
Redknapp has spoken often enough in the past about how difficult it would be to turn down England. But Tottenham are unlikely to want their manager to depart three months from the end of a stellar season that could yet end up with the Premier League title.
So, if, and that is how it must be for now, Redknapp is to be confirmed as Capello's successor, the chances are his first game as manager will not be the February 29 friendly with Holland at Wembley.
The same assessment must also be made about Roy Hodgson, current manager of West Brom and the man most often spoken about as the second choice behind Redknapp, Alan Pardew, current manager of Newcastle and Jose Mourinho, current manager of Real Madrid.
Indeed, of the 19 names on a list of contenders issued by leading bookmakers William Hill within an hour of last night's announcement, only eight are not presently employed as a club manager, and they include Alan Shearer, David Beckham, who have next to no experience, and Carlo Ancelotti and Guus Hiddink, who are unlikely to come into consideration.
Stuart Pearce would be the most obvious person to step into the breach given he has worked with the senior squad alongside Capello on plenty of occasions, including at the last World Cup.
However, that would require someone else taking charge of the Under-21 side which, as luck would have it, will be playing Belgium in Middlesbrough just a couple of hours before Holland are encountered in the seniors game at Wembley.
It therefore points to Gareth Southgate taking over in an interim capacity, possibly with Sir Trevor Brooking in an advisory role.
It's the same route the Rugby Football Union went down with Stuart Lancaster as they tried to piece themselves back together after the shattering experience at the World Cup.
For the footballers, the healing process can begin before the real action begins.
And providing Redknapp is around in June to confirm recovery has been total, all the hurt, upset and recriminations will have been worth it.
By Simon Stone
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