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March 4, 2009

Posted on 03/04/2009

Captain Sensible in uncharted waters

Robert Kitson believes that Martin Johnson may be out of his depth as England manager, in his blog for The Guardian.

"It is almost 11 months since Martin Johnson was unveiled at Twickenham as England's soon-to-be manager. Remember what he said that April lunchtime? By chance I found the cutting protruding from a sea of paper beneath my desk yesterday. "I'm aware there's a perception that if I'm involved it will all be OK and we'll be successful. But that's not the reality and it never was. I've got my eyes open. I'm not thinking I can turn up and it will work straightaway. It's about getting the right environment and getting the right people around the team in all the various roles. And, obviously, getting the right players and helping them to reach their potential."
"Digging a little further into a teetering stack of discarded intros I also happened across a crumpled charity leaflet. Last year Johnson, along with several other sports stars, supplied a picture with a personalised message on it to be auctioned in aid of Trinity Hospice. The former World Cup-winning captain's note was short and pithy. "If they are going to call you this superhuman and you believe it then you should also believe it when they call you a tosser" – NB: If you type "Martin Johnson" and "tosser" into a search engine you'll currently find 10 of the limited-edition prints on eBay.) Never let it be said Johnno was not braced for the peaks and troughs of his current role, nor that he does not possess a human side.

"The weekend defeat in Ireland, though, represented a personal watershed. Johnson the manager has now lost as many Tests – five – in four months as he did in five years as England's on-field captain. He did the job 39 times between 1998 and 2003 and won on 34 occasions. No wonder he is starting to look slightly peevish. For all his Captain Sensible talk last April, these are now uncharted waters."

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