I know for a fact I am going to regret this but, very much against my better judgment, I am starting to believe in England again.
Yes, I am aware that no more than six months ago, in this very column, I made a pledge to give up on the national team I have supported my entire life.
And yes, I do vividly recall saying I could no longer live with perpetually unrealised dreams.
Yet there is something about Capello's New England that has brought all those old positive emotions flooding back.
Stupid? Probably. A glutton for punishment? Undoubtedly.
But try as I might, I just can't shake off this feeling that they may finally, after so many decades of failure, be getting it right.
Wednesday's win in Belarus made it four out of four in qualifying for South Africa. But not only have the competitive results been promising under the Italian boss, so have the performances.
There have, of course, been shaky moments in each of those games. But, overall, England have looked far more like a sum of their parts than at any time I can remember since Italia '90.
It seems Capello's no-nonsense, uncompromising, this-is-the-way-it's-going-to-happen approach to England's overpaid and underachieving stars is finally knocking them into shape.
The players appear to have started to understand that they have no divine right to play for England - something that was clearly evidenced by Steven Gerrard admitting this week that he fears for his place in the side.
How did he respond to that worry? By putting in arguably the best performance for his country in the past four years. The Steven Gerrard who terrorises and dominates so beautifully for Liverpool showed he can do exactly that for England - despite starting the game on the left.
Under Eriksson or McClaren, if any player had been played out of position they would probably have thrown their teddy out of the pram and slipped into sulk mode.
But they seem increasingly aware that that sort of behaviour will not be tolerated by the new man in charge and, as a consequence, raise their game accordingly.
Another example of Capello's ruthlessness is Michael Owen. Every manager from Hoddle to McClaren had his name pre-printed on the team sheet. Capello doesn't even have him in the squad.
Personally, I don't agree with that decision - with his record and ability I would at least have Owen on the bench - but you can guarantee that if and when the Newcastle forward does get recalled, he will give 110 per cent to make sure he isn't dropped again.
Essentially, what we are seeing now is something we haven't seen for a long, long time, and that is proper, effective man-management. The players are not only playing for their country; they are playing for each other. They are, finally, playing as a team.
For too long, these so-called superstars were just going through the motions. Pulling on an England shirt had become little more than a way of raising their own profile while the WAGS (wives and girlfriends) went shopping.
Today, pulling on the three lions is once again the ultimate honour for an Englishman and how ironic that we have an Italian to thank for that.
Of course, it is still early days. There is plenty of football left to be played before we can truly start to dream of success in 2010.
But the group is England's to lose. The players are playing like they should. The manager looks like he cares.
And I am, God help me, starting to believe.
From Juande to the next
It's make or break time for Juande Ramos.
The Spurs manager takes his team to second-from-bottom Stoke City this afternoon for a game that could well end up being his swansong.
And, to be fair, it's hardly surprising. Since taking over from the unfairly sacked Martin Jol, the Spanish manager has hardly set White Hart Lane alight.
He won the Carling Cup, true, but a lot of the hard work in that particular competition had already been carried out by his predecessor. A predecessor who is currently top of the Bundesliga with Hamburg, I might add.
Since that victory over Chelsea, Spurs have only won three Premiership games and none at all this season - a run which has seen them race to the bottom of the table in a manner that would even have embarassed Derby County.
That, as has been more than adequately pointed out by the media, means this is Spurs' worst start to the season since 1912 - the year the Titanic proved nothing is too good to go down.
Ramos' position is not helped by the fact that his team-building has bordered on farcical. Working hand-in-hand with sporting director Damien Comolli, he sold the club's three best strikers and replaced them with an unproven Russian and a kid on loan from Manchester United - a strike force that would find it tricky to score on a stag night in Amsterdam.
And, just in case stopping the team scoring wasn't enough to ensure Spurs' quick route to the bottom, he has also spent much of this season playing the players he has in the wrong positions. David Bentley at right back? That's like putting Shaun Wright-Philips in goal.
Personally, I'm all for managers being given time to build teams, and hate to see directors hit the management panic button after a poor start to the season. But if the Spaniard gets the boot it will be little more than his record justifies.
And not having to look at his incredibly miserable - some may say vacant - face staring gormlessly from the touchline would be an added bonus to his dismissal.
The only thing holding them back, I imagine, is the huge compensation they would have to pay. An amount that would see Ramos laughing all the way to the bank. Assuming it hasn't closed.
But compensation of any size would be miniscule in comparison to what relegation to the Championship would cost Spurs, which is why I expect them to act quickly if they don't win at Stoke.
And, if they do, that choking sound you hear over in Germany will be Martin Jol trying to stifle his laughter...
On the brink of greatness
By the time you read this - especially if you are one of those people who doesn't believe in Sunday mornings - we could have a new Formula 1 world champion on our hands.
Lewis Hamilton, the 23-year-old McClaren driver, goes into this morning's race in China knowing that scoring six points more than Felipe Massa would be enough to land him the title.
But the words "chickens" and "hatched" spring to mind.
Last season, Hamilton seemed to have the title in the bag but somehow he managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the last two races - a remarkable feat that began with him sliding off the track in China.
This season he claims he is a more level-headed driver, calmer and more collected than he was in his debut season.
But Hamilton has already shown signs that he could be ready to implode again when he finished out of the points in last Sunday's race in Japan.
The problem is the young driver (with a face that looks like it should be sitting for O-levels rather than racing cars) is once again in a position where he needs to drive for points rather than the win.
And, for someone whose natural instinct is to go all out for victory, holding back is an alien concept.
Of course, even if Hamilton does somehow manage to make a dog's breakfast of today's race, he still has one more crack at securing the title in Brazil next month.
And that may actually make for more exciting viewing with the world championship once again decided in the final few laps of the season.
But I am sure Hamilton and his team will be praying it doesn't come to that. Again.
Stamp out the thugs
Can someone please explain to me how Hungary's Pal Dardai stayed on the pitch on Wednesday?
I've seen a lot of bad tackles in my time but I have rarely seen such a blatant attempt by one player to injure an opponent. And in such a malicious way.
Stamping on someone while they are down on the ground is always nasty. But to aim your studs at the back of someone's head is downright criminal.
Luckily for Michael - who was still pretty dazed when I bumped into him later that night - the damage wasn't too severe and he got away with five stitches and a headache.
But had the contact been just a little bit harder, the consequences could have been far worse.
Uefa, Fifa and anybody else with even a little bit of power in the world of football should watch the replay of the tackle and throw the book at Dardai.
There is no place in the modern game for thugs like him.
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com