Did you know that Fabio Capello is still in charge of England? It’s an astonishing yet true fact that I have just recently learned. I thought he’d been sacked after that embarrassment at the World Cup in South Africa.
But apparently not, he’s still in the hot seat which is a bit of a miracle considering he’s only done a little bit better than Steve McClaren, a bit like the way the iPad 2 is a little bit better than the iPad.
What brought the news of Capello’s apparent occupation of the England job was the bizarre story on the movement of the captain’s armband. What he’s decided to do is strip Rio Ferdinand of the captaincy and reinstate John Terry. I was as shocked as Rio was. At first I looked rather confusingly at my calendar. No it’s not April 1st, this is a REAL story.
Capello’s decision came six days before England’s Euro qualifier against Wales in Cardiff. Apparently he was having issues with Rio Ferdinand being injured, so he thought a change in captaincy was needed. So far you can follow his reasoning, but what I don’t understand is why Steven Gerrard, vice-captain under Ferdinand, has been totally overlooked.
Now, Gerrard was injured too for the Denmark friendly so it was Frank Lampard who took the armband in Copenhagen. Surely Gerrard’s injuries aren’t seen to be as bad as Ferdinand’s and yet he’s been overlooked. It can’t be down to his leadership credentials, he’s captain of Liverpool, but this isn’t good enough for Capello and Gerrard has now dropped to third choice captain behind Ferdinand who stays on as vice-captain.
Another factor Capello has looked into was the embarrassing passing round of the armband during the Denmark game, where upon Lampard being substituted, Ashley Cole (!) was given the armband and then Gareth Barry once Cole was subbed. All the while John Terry was stood there unable to wrap the pointless bit of elastic around his bicep because he wasn’t allowed.
In fairness though, this was a friendly, so who cares? This doesn’t happen in competitive matches, you don’t make six substitutions in them for a start! So why is this seen as a big deal?
Capello revealed the news on Sunday, saying: “After one year of punishment, Terry will again be the permanent captain. I think one year's punishment is enough.”
So was Rio’s reign that of a caretaker? Did he know that after a year, if Terry could keep his nose clean he’d be reinstated as captain? I seriously doubt that. Ferdinand was named full-time captain of England and now he’s been stripped of the honour, not by Steven Gerrard but by John Terry, the man who he replaced before South Africa.
Terry lost the armband because of his off-field behaviour, Ferdinand has lost it seemingly because he’s injured. What happens now if Terry gets injured? Will Ferdinand get it back? How awkward will it be if Terry leaves the pitch and hands over the armband to Ferdinand. He might just give it to Gareth Barry.
Is Terry the right man to have the armband? We’ve all been hearing about his leadership credentials, which is fair enough, he is captain of Chelsea who are now a world class side, but there’s more to wearing the captain’s armband than just leadership. You have to be a role model, not just to young footballers, but young people in general. As silly as it sounds, youngsters will look to John Terry and believe that if he can behave as he does then so can they. It’s a massive responsibility.
For me, giving it back to Terry is a little like leaving Mary Bale in charge of a cattery. It just doesn’t sit right. Ferdinand will feel hard done by, and though we’ve heard that the England players are behind the decision, I don’t think all of them will be. They have to say they’re behind it, who’s stupid enough to say they’re not? Just as Cameron uses his whip in Parliament, so does Capello with his team. Now we could be left with a split in the dressing room, if there wasn’t one already, and that won’t help England at all.
It’s not so much the decision itself, but the way it was horribly implemented that worries me. This story leaked about a week before it was officially revealed. Ferdinand apparently found out through the media, which is a complete joke. Capello has no player relations whatsoever, he makes his assistant call up people like Paul Scholes before the World Cup and now just lets the media inform his players of internal affairs.
Ferdinand is said to be ‘very upset’ about the whole affair. Quite understandable but he has though phoned Terry to wish him all the best. Ferdinand turned down the opportunity to talk to Capello at Old Trafford on Saturday, probably because he wouldn’t be able to swallow the sheer awkwardness of it all. He’s clearly not happy, but fair play to him, he’s not turning his back on England.
The whole thing is so needless. We’re currently trying to stabilize the team and Capello does this, leaving us as stable as a clump of mercury in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This decision could really come back to haunt Capello, if John Terry gets bored of his wife again then there could be a lot of egg found spread on the Italian’s face. He’ll have no one to blame but himself this time though. Not to worry he'll retire once the Euro’s are over and done with. Why should he care?
During the Steve McClaren era, England were terrible, there’s no doubting that. However bringing in Fabio Capello doesn’t seem to have changed very much. Sure, they managed to qualify for the World Cup easily, but so they should have done, only Croatia offered any resistance at all in their group. The World Cup was embarrassing, with only one win against a European minnow, and an absolute beating by a European giant. Not only that but we’ve had the player unrest brought by John Terry when he slept with his team-mates partner, or former partner, and then there was the time he undermined Gerrard and his own manager at the World Cup when he spoke to the media about internal affairs.
Lord knows where England are going. They’ll probably qualify for the Euros, the group is simple enough for them, but once there I can’t see them realistically getting past the quarter finals. The group stage will be hard enough! Capello might be burdened by a poor selection pool, but there was no excuse for the World Cup. He should have been sacked and we should have had a new manager in charge right now. As it stands we have a shamed captain who’s been reinstated, a manager who doesn’t talk to his players, and a now former captain who sits at home eating chocolate oranges all day long.
Sigh. I remember the glory days of Sven Goran Eriksson.
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