Fabio fury over Capello Index

England boss Fabio Capello has demanded that the controversial Capello Index be removed from the internet as he has not seen or approved of the rankings.

The scheme bearing the Italian's name to rank England's players during their World Cup campaign for a fantasy league game caused uproar prior to the tournament.

There were concerns from the Football Association that the manager making his opinions known on his 23-man squad immediately after matches could have an adverse affect on team morale.

It was agreed by the Italian tactician and the FA that the Index would be shelved, only for the scores to be published on Friday evening several days after the conclusion of the tournament in South Africa.

Immediate steps

However, Capello has now insisted that he had no knowledge that the rankings bearing his name were to be made public and has demanded their immediate removal.

A statement from the FA read:"The index ratings had not been seen or approved by Mr Capello, were published without his knowledge and that his representatives have taken immediate steps to have the material taken down."

England's miserable campaign came to a shuddering halt in the second round when they were humbled 4-1 by Germany to suffer their worst-ever World Cup defeat.

Goalkeeper Robert Green was the lowest ranked player in the Index, scoring 51.67 out of 100 following his blunder in the opening game against USA which saw him dropped for the remainder of the tournament.

Statistical system

Out-of-form striker Wayne Rooney scored 58.87 for his efforts over the four games, with Emile Heskey managing 60.15 and Jermain Defoe - who scored the winner against Slovenia - managing 62.47.

Shaun Wright-Phillips was regarded as England's best midfielder with a tally of 61.09 while captain Steven Gerrard scored 60.98 and Frank Lampard 58.58.

The leading player in the Capello Index was Uruguay forward Diego Forlan, who scored 65.77.

The website uses a statistical system devised by Capello to analyse each player's performance and award a final score out of 100, rather than requiring the Italian to make a judgment call on each match.

Source