Four months out from the European Championships, England are rudderless. The FA’s decision to reprieve John Terry from his duties as England captain, and the subsequent resignation of Fabio Capello, have created a messy situation for the national team.
In big global sporting tournaments, stability is paramount to success.
FA chairman David Bernstein has claimed that the axing of Terry as England skipper, as he awaits trial for allegations of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, would serve to provide stability to an England team who have in recent years lacked togetherness.
The claim is laughable. Bernstein and his colleagues have acted to completely undermine the role of a manager within a football team.
Fabio Capello was well within his rights to resign from his England post, as he promptly did upon meeting the FA chairman. John Terry is Capello’s choice as England skipper, and the duo had underseen steady process within the setup over the 18 months following the diabolical 2010 World Cup campaign.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who well knows that Terry’s great foe Rio Ferdinand, brother of Anton, sits in his Manchester United dressing room, was full of empathy for Capello, stating that “without doubt, the most important person in a football team is the manager”.
This is not an issue of who fans and pundits alike prefer to have as England captain. There is one man in England who chooses his man for the role, and the FA wouldn’t allow him to do it.
John Terry is undoubtedly a polarising figure in England – frequently the subject of media attack – but that is beside the point. Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard (to a slightly lesser extent), are also disliked by massive numbers of football followers.
As for Bernstein’s claim that “This decision has been taken due to the higher profile nature of the England captaincy, on and off the pitch,” what ever happened to the entire notion of innocent until proven guilty? Terry claims he will “fight tooth and nail” to clear his name, so in effect he has been reprimanded over allegations which remain unsubstantiated.
John Terry is the natural England captain. He has skippered Chelsea for nearly a decade under numerous managers, without his authority or role ever being questioned. When Terry plays for England, he plays with an attitude and commitment obviously lacking in some of his peers.
Personal prejudice toward Terry from sections of the media continues to affect the stability of the England team. David Bernstein has acted in a manner which has put the England national team into a level of disarray from which it will take some time to recover.
Capello was not even consulted over the decision prior to its announcement, as Bernstein spoke of his “authority” to make such a decision. The result is that Capello will not have the opportunity to oversee the continued growth of the talented youngsters the Premier League has unearthed.
Jack Wilshere, Kyle Walker, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck, to name a few, will have their England careers stalled under a completely new setup.
Capello and Terry were making progress with England, but now a team without a manager or a captain will take time to rebuild, with the European Championships just a matter of months away.
Stephen Smith
Guest
Guessing you're a Chelsea fan Elliot? Look, you're perfectly entitled to have a view on Terry, and if you feel he's hard done by then fine, that's your view. I have a different take on it. The fact remains that he is being charged with a rather serious offence, and whether he's innocent or guilty (let's hope its the former for his sake), the FA feel they have to take a stand to reflect the seriousness of the charge. After all, they are supposed to be the guardians of the game - and yes, I know how ridiculous that is in most aspects of the game in England. Terry may well have his defenders, but its also worth remembering that Bernstein was held in similar affection by Man City supporters during his time as Chairman there. He was generally regarded as a decent bloke who did the right thing by them in difficult times, rather than the "pompous" label you have given him. Final point. The main issue is NOT about the FA acting without consulting their manager. There are more important things than football, and racism sadly is one of them. They do not need their managers say so to take a stance on a man who could bring shame on their association through his actions (even if they are, as yet, unproven.) They have not said he can't play for England, only that they do not want him to be their captain. To my mind, that's an excellent compromise to cope with a difficult situation.
Elliot Lodge
Roar Pro
Unfortunately this Terry scenario takes away from what the main issue at hand here is. The FA acted without consultation of their manager. The manager calls the shots in their football team , not that pompous guy Bernstein. Redknapp would be ill-advised to take the job, given the magnificent progress is making with spurs. The England job remains a poisoned challace, and will be that way whilst the FA continue to play into the media's hands.
Elliot Lodge
Roar Pro
I just don't buy this thing about him being a 'nasty peice of work', I feel that his position as such a prominant figure in one of the most hated clubs in football in recent times sees him often labelled as things he is not. Everyone who has ever worked with Terry knows he is an amicable guy and leader. This, for me, is a telling account of his character which I came across the other day: http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/chelsea/109807/former-chelsea-youth-players-candid-account-reveals-another-less-gimpish-side-to-john-terry.html Terry is the undisputed captain and leader of perhaps the most multicultural dressing room in the premier league. Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda have all passionately defended their captain in recent weeks, while Carlo Ancelotti and Frank Lampard will give evidence at his trial that he is as far away from a racist as possible. Arsene Wenger and Brendan Rodgers are just two of numerous Premier League managers, the latter having previously worked with him at Chelsea, to defend Terry. Terry always play's his absolute heart out for club and country, yet there are those in the media who seek to continually vilify him. As Chelsea's defence goes, Terry was caught defending himself in the onfield allegations against Ferdinand, and has now faced such level of criticism that one would think he has already been found guilty. Whatever the British media campaigns for, it gets. They wanted Terry out, he was ousted. They wanted Capello out, so the FA saw to it. They want Redknapp in, and so he will. They seem to want Gerrard as captain, so be it. I will defend John Terry to the absolute hilt. Everyone who has associated themselves with him at Chelsea has nothing but absolute praise for the guy. The only people in England who seem to respect him are Chelsea fans, because they know how much the club means to him, and he never faults the fans for effort or leadership.
Bondy
Guest
Good read Elliot . Unfortunately life nowadays in major sports are run by smooth P.R. types and polling surveys . Personally I wouldn't let Terry walk my dog , but he has a case to answer and has not been proven otherwise yet . One of the major things holding the England National team back is that on most occasions there media just turn it into an episode of The Bold @The Beautiful . I feel somewhat sorrow for the genuine English Football supporters .
Stephen Smith
Guest
Personal prejudice towards Terry in the media? Where? Terry has proven himself to be a nasty piece of work on many levels, and without wishing to repeat his long list of misdemeanours, its not the first time his actions (alleged, in this case) have undermined Englands preparations for a major tournament. Bernstein has done exactly the right thing. The issue is too important to be swept under the carpet. Of course Terry is innocent until proven guilty, but racism is a topic too sensitive to be ignored totally. Bernstein's done the most he could, taken away the captaincy while the cloud hovers over him, but left himf ree to play in Euros. Imagine the stigma if he's found guilty afterwards? FA are damned if they do, and damned if they don't. Little wonder Capello doesn't like it, one only has to look at how the Italian authorities turned a blind eye to the racial abuse of Balotelli and others to see why. Bravo Bernstein. There are more important things than football.