Sorry fairly well does not begin to describe it, exceptional is the word when you look how tough qualifying is these days.
Drawing against Switzerland and Montenegro at Wembley brings it down from being 'exceptional'. As for the WC10 qualifying, yes, they were great then, but the team was full of players who'd been embarrassed by not qualifying for Euro '08 and had something to prove - Any half decent manager would have got similar results.
And he hasn't managed this once, but twice. As for the excuses around winter breaks, these are the same excuses the bumbling FA reel out. It doesn't help the national team. If you're against the winter break then you have no right to complain about England failing in summer tournaments. You can't have your cake and eat it. Logisitical? Simply solved with a bit of non monetary thinking. The league cup is dropped in tournament years to aid the national side. Oh no we can't do that, we'd upset too many sponsors.
Could be done, but I think a lot of the teams competing for the cup would be unhappy with that. There is currently a divide between football clubs and the national team, and that needs to be addressed.
The tournament was tough going no doubt. The margins are small in international football. If your fitness is not up to scratch it will tell. Very few teams (unless you have Spain/Argentina/Germany/Holland type quality) go through tournament groups with ease. We don't and shouldn't kid ourselves we do have their talent. Fortunately Capello had started to blood the next generation who may have technical levels to compete somewhere near these teams.
The problem is that he'd taken too long to blood them, as shown by the fact he brought James, Heskey and Carragher to the World Cup, and wanted to bring Scholes. At that WC he was a guy with no new ideas, so relied players who were well past their prime. There's also a big question raised by taking Ledley King, who, as everybody knows, is not healthy.
There very few bad international teams now. Even Spain lost to the Swiss last time round (their manager noted how poor condition the players from England were in), and the Germans were ran very close by the Ghanians. Incidentally that same Ghanian team only managed to get past the USA from Englands group after extra time. This highlights how close these games are now, and how being off your game (Rooney) or tired (the whole squad) can make it a tough examination.
Perhaps there are fewer 'bad' teams now, but Algeria and Slovenia are still miles away from were England should be (based on the players available). Rooney is often 'off his game', so the question needs to be asked why Capello still relies on him and hesitated to give other strikers a real chance for the team, not just at the WC but throughout his entire tenure. If Rooney was fit, Rooney played, regardless of his form. Again, it's another example of a guy who has no ideas whatsoever.
I'd still have expected better and so would Capello. He performed badly, as did the players who should not be absolved of all blame. A manager can lead the horse to the water, but he can't make it drink. But what is the point in not taking the learning from the tournament and improving? Capello admitted he'd made mistakes and was keen for another shot, with the experience behind him. He was given 6 objectives and achieved them all bar getting to the QF of the 2010 cup.
I'm not saying the players should be absolved of blame at all, but ultimately Capello is the one who chose the squad and the teams. It is his job to motivate them and get the strategy right, and he failed both of those responsibilities.
We've now forced him out by undermining him and are left with an absolute shambles to sort out.
Taking the captaincy away from Terry was the only choice. You can't have a guy going into court for something like racism leading your country into a major tournament. It's not just a football issue, but a political issue as for a lot of people the national team represents the country.
