John Terry Reappointed as England Captain

[Macmoish]

Another great move by our great England manager

Observer/Paul Wilson

Fabio Capello hands back England captaincy to John Terry

England manager says defender has served punishment
• Italian fails to speak to the inujred Rio Ferdinand

John Terry has been reinstated as England captain on a permanent basis with immediate effect. "He was my first choice when I decided I needed a permanent captain," Fabio Capello said. "I did not like the way the armband was moved around in the game in Copenhagen, and I saw that it was upsetting for him too. I think one year's punishment is enough."

The England manager needed to make a decision on the captaincy because both Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard are unavailable for Saturday's European Championship qualifier against Wales and, faced by the possibility that the former may not play again this season and the latter's understated leadership qualities, he has opted to restore a player he describes as the group's natural leader. "He is the biggest personality in the dressing room," Capello said. "He made mistakes but it is normal for people to make mistakes. I think he has learned from them and the other players all respect him."

Ferdinand is now back as the vice-captain, assuming he regains fitness, with Gerrard third in line. Capello has spoken to the Liverpool player and claims he is happy with the situation and is concentrating solely on recovering his fitness, although the England head coach's attempts to meet Ferdinand to break the news to him personally were unsuccessful. The pair were both in Manchester on Tuesday to watch United's Champions League tie against Marseille when, according to Capello's version of events, he was snubbed by the player.

"I tried to meet Rio at the United-Marseille game," Capello said. "At first he was ready to meet me but then he preferred not to. I was ready, I wanted to speak with him and explain my decision, but we did not have the chance to talk. I don't know why – it is a question for him, not me. I hope I will meet him in the future to speak with him personally and privately. I don't want to do it by phone, because I think by phone is not so good. I hope he will be fit to play for the national team again because he is one of the most important players." Representatives of Ferdinand will be at Stamford Bridge for Sunday's game between Chelsea and Manchester City, which the Italian is due to watch.

A belated convert to the English captaincy cult, Capello decided to put the matter to bed after watching the Denmark game and forming the conclusion that England needed strong leadership during games. "In all my experience in Italy and Spain, the captaincy doesn't matter so much," he said. "The manager simply turns to the player who has played the most games, or has won most caps. When I knew that Steve and Rio were not fit to play I decided for John because we need a leader on the pitch.

"Even when John played without the armband he was a leader on the pitch and in the dressing room. He was really good, every time. Always he is the same. I know I said he would never be captain again, but you can change your decision. This is normal in life. Sometimes the leader can make mistakes too."

Capello names his squad for the game in Cardiff on Sunday evening and one of his first tasks once the players meet up will be to explain his change of heart over the captaincy. "I will speak about my decision, explain what has happened," he said. "The players need to know why I have gone back to John after one year, but after that it is time to prepare for the game. The players need to be focused on the game, not my decisions.

"I understand about the pressure leading up to a game like this. I remember what the England-Scotland games at Wembley used to be like; when I first took the job as England manager they were proposing to play a friendly against Scotland as my first game. These games are like derbies, and a derby is not like a normal game. Not always the best team wins. As a manager you need to prepare for such a game really well because some players can put too much into it, getting carried away and trying to play at over 100%. It is incredible, but it can be dangerous. You need to arrive focused, with a good balance between body and mind."

England intend to name a slightly larger squad than usual for the Wales game and the home friendly against Ghana three days later, partly to accommodate Andy Carroll and Adam Johnson, two players returning from lengthy injury spells who may be used sparingly. Capello is keeping his eye on Chris Smalling, at present with the Under-21s but on standby for the Ghana game, and is willing to confirm that Jack Wilshere is not only going to be a regular selection from now on but an eventual England captain.

"He plays without fear, with confidence and I never saw someone so young be a leader on the pitch," Capello said. "I'm sure he will be a captain but it will be the choice of another England manager. He still needs more experience, but he is a top-level player now. After [Arsenal's victory] against Barcelona, he has arrived."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/20/fabio-capello-england-john-terry

[maudesfishnchips]

capello should be gone, not that i care about the england team at the moment,

got rid of terry because of his naughtiness, now re instate him.

that'll teach you john.

[londonranger]

They could name Donald duck. wouldnt make no difference.

[saphilip]

The malaise that is the England National Team goes deeper than Capello, Terry or Rio. England may still be in the top 10 of FIFA's list but that is an illusion, I doubt they should be in the top 20.

Until the FA, the media, the players and the fans start acknowledging the weaknesses and problems within the English football set-up an, more importantly,do something about it, any changes that are currently made is superficial and akin to rearranging the deck chairs of the Titanic.

For what it is worth Terry should never have been re-instated as captain (not after his antics prioor and durung the 2010 WC) but Ferdinand, in my opinion, was just as uselss and should never have been appointed captain either.

And for those who still ask for Capello's resignation please answer this simple question? Who should replace him and, considering the current state of affairs in England, what gives you the idea that he will do any better than what you currently have?

[Macmoish]

And someone tempting fate!

BBC Gossip

- Jermain Defoe squandered numerous chances in Tottenham's 0-0 draw at home to West Ham on Saturday. The England striker has netted 99 times for Spurs but perhaps tempted fate by wearing a T-shirt under jersey with words "100 GOALS" printed on in.

- Full story: News of the World (subscription)

[Macmoish]

INDEPENDENT

Sam Wallace: Going back to Terry as captain is a mistake and only serves to diminish Capello's authority
Talking Football:

In the end it took Fabio Capello two visits to Old Trafford without once speaking to Rio Ferdinand, two separate press briefings and one extremely long week of vacillation before finally he delivered the verdict at the weekend that John Terry has been restored as the England captain.


Capello's flip-flop over the captaincy – a can of worms he opened of his own volition – has succeeded only in causing an unholy commotion ahead of Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales. His cack-handed refusal even to tell Ferdinand that he had made the decision has been shockingly naïve.

The manner in which Capello ended Ferdinand's year-long reign as England captain needed to be done – if it needed to be done at all – with the same guillotine-like certainty that brought Terry's captaincy to an end 13 months ago. Instead, this time the blade had all the cutting power of a lightly-buttered slice of toast.

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We should not get too carried away wailing for the feelings of poor old Ferdinand. He will surely muddle on one way or another. Of greater concern is what exactly Capello is playing at. He must surely know that a strong manager has to confront his senior players with bad news, however awkward, and after 80 caps and 13 years as an England footballer, Ferdinand is entitled to that at the very least.

Telling Ferdinand that he was to be replaced by Terry would not have been an easy conversation – especially given the ambiguities of Capello's grasp of English – but what was the worse that could happen? Modern footballers are pragmatic types. They tend to keep their options open and their feelings private. They rarely burn their bridges with England managers.

There was no face-to-face conversation between Capello and Ferdinand over this decision, an accommodation that was made for Terry even when he was stripped of the job amid a good old-fashioned English sex scandal. Terry had to go to Wembley Stadium to get the bad news but at least he got an audience with Capello. Ferdinand has had to piece it together like the rest of us.

This is not about mollycoddled Premier League footballers requiring their hands to be held or their heads to be patted. This is a basic courtesy that any leading manager would extend to a player he intended to relieve of the captaincy.

Ferdinand is not everyone's cup of tea. For some it was the scrapes he got himself into during a giddy youth. For Manchester United fans – who rarely, if ever, sing his name – it is the shenanigans in 2005 over signing his new contract after his suspension for a missed drugs test. Sometimes he gets a tough press. Sometimes he deserves it. But this time he has been treated wretchedly.

The news delivered by Sir Alex Ferguson last week that Ferdinand's calf injury means that he will not, in all likelihood, play again this season has probably convinced Capello that he is off the hook on this one. In fact, it demonstrates that he has ploughed straight into the heart of a controversy that he never needed to touch.

With Ferdinand out of contention for England until very possibly the August friendly next season, Capello could have picked the captain he wanted in Ferdinand's absence without any requirement for the silliness of the last nine days.

As for the injury itself, that is all the more reason to tell Ferdinand straight. Capello's own playing career was gradually brought to a halt by a knee problem that has plagued him even after his retirement – he underwent surgery in it again as recently as last year – so he must know the mindset of the aging old pro. Better to be put out of your misery than left clinging on.

It remains a personal view that going back to Terry as captain – either in temporary or permanent capacity – is a mistake. Regardless of the complicated web of alleged sexual relationships that led to the original decision, and the dangerous precedent it set, reversing it now only diminishes Capello and the authority he once held. Increasingly we don't know what he stands for any more.

At a time when Capello needs a degree of solidarity within his squad he has contrived to make a martyr out of Ferdinand. The England players who meet tonight have enough problems being competitive at major tournaments without having to worry about their manager's judgement. Is he really the iron man of Italian football or has he had enough of this job?

The pity is we expected so much more from Capello. It was him who was supposed to nurse the Ferdinand generation out of their years of chronic underachievement. It was him who told us, when explaining his sacking of Terry, that the modern footballer had too much too young. Or, as he put it on 2 March last year, "young players, young boys, rich boys – this is the problem."

The surefootedness that characterised those days when England qualified for last summer's World Cup with such ease now seems to elude Capello. He is a fine football manager but he appears to have been paralysed by anxiety this week.

Last week a British newspaper photo-shopped Capello's head on to Oliver Hardy's body, with his general manager Franco Baldini as Stan Laurel. Abstemious when it comes to the British press, Capello only learns of these kinds of criticisms when they are reported in the Italian newspapers whose unfortunate correspondents he then berates as if they had been the originators.

Like most football people, Capello does not like the embarrassment of a nasty surprise in his morning's newspaper. He should talk to Ferdinand about that. It would be one thing they would certainly agree upon.

Burma's military junta may keep Blatter in his job

When Sepp Blatter visited Burma last week to open a football academy as part of his drive to see off Mohamed Bin Hammam's candidacy for the presidency of Fifa, he would probably have had to explain the concept of free elections to the country's military junta. Although having seen the World Cup host votes in December, the Burmese military junta might not be in the mood to take any lectures.

In meeting with men such as Burma's president-elect, Thein Sein, and the military leader, Than Shwe, Blatter will argue that he is using a football as a diplomatic tool to engage a regime that has an appalling human rights record. But the truth is different: Blatter is there for his own self-preservation.

Bothroyd's injury is a reminder of Fabio's last folly

One weekend injury that was unlikely to have affected Capello's thinking around his squad announcement last night was the hamstring problem picked up by Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd in his club's 3-3 draw with Millwall on Saturday.

It is a pity for Bothroyd and for Cardiff but it does remind us of the folly of his inclusion in the England squad for the friendly against France in November. Bothroyd was never likely to be the answer to whatever problem Capello was trying to solve. Bothroyd has scored twice in the 15 games after his call-up. Capello has not mentioned him since.



www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/sam-wallace-going-back-to-terry-as-captain-is-a-mistake-and-only-serves-to-diminish-capellos-authority-2247813.html

[cpr]

There's far too much emphasis put on the England captain position, at that level tere should be at least five or six potential captains in the team.

Not sure what I make of Teryy as captain as really it's difficult to chose one as he needs to play regularly.

I would have given it to Barry but possibly for the wrong reasons, ie, he's not in the papers for the wrong reasons!

As for Ferdinand, Ferguson doesn't think he should captain his club so why should he captain his country? Have to be a club captain to even be considered, shirley? Thus negating my point about Barry!

It's a malaise but I can understand why Capello has done it, on the pitch Terry is the captain, of that there is no doubt.

Who knows and as Phil says, who replaces Capello, same old problem. Job should have gone to Dario Gradi years ago!!!

[klr]

This lot arent even worth getting angry about anymore.

Absolute shower the whole lot of them.

[Macmoish]

Should listen to the good former England International Defender - Paul Parker

Euro 2012 qual. - Paul Parker: Terry reinstatement just another England farce

Mon, 21 Mar 13 - uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/

I don't understand what has changed over the past year which suddenly makes Terry fine to lead his country again after previously being stripped of the honour.

It has now transpired that Capello made a rod for his own back when he took the armband from Terry by saying he would never again be skipper under his management, because the Italian has now gone back on his word.

When Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard were both missing for the friendly in Denmark last month, Frank Lampard was the logical and correct choice to take the helm.

I don't understand why Lampard hasn't been given it again for the upcoming game in Wales, and Rio kept on as the main man, unless the Chelsea man is not going to play in Cardiff on Saturday.

No questions would have been asked and everyone could have focused all their attention on the match. But now there is a divisive issue hanging over the squad when they all meet up this week.

It is not even as if they need Terry's leadership to boost the team against Wales. Rivalry or not, the truth is that they are the team at the bottom of the group with no points after three games, and will be playing their first competitive match for a new, novice manager.

Terry is a real leader of men on the pitch, he has proven that on many occasions, but that is not the reason why he lost the right to lead England in the first place.

Even after the dust had settled on that furore, he was at it again during the World Cup itself, trying to undermine Steven Gerrard and the manager within the camp and in front of the media too.

Considering that failed attempt at a rebellion instigated by Terry, Capello's decision to reinstate him as his captain makes even less sense and indicates that he has lost his grip on a job he no longer cares for.

He has already told everyone he will be leaving after next year's European Championships, a decision which is bound to have an effect on him doing his job.

Has he really been acting like a man determined to put right the debacle of South Africa? To me, he is merely trying to get through the remainder of his contract instead of planning how to ensure a bright future for English football.

And, given that he is already halfway out of the door, what does he care about the mess reinstating Terry will leave for his replacement?

For me, the England captaincy lost a lot of credibility when it was given to David Beckham. That was purely a commercial decision, a marketing gimmick.

During my international career people like Bryan Robson, Peter Shilton and Terry Butcher were brilliant captains of England, but now it seems like that armband has lost its meaning.

Paul Parker enjoyed a distinguished career for club and country. The versatile defender won 19 England caps and played the 1990 World Cup semi-final against West Germany. After spells at Fulham and QPR, Paul joined Manchester United in 1991, where he helped the club claim their first league title for 26 years, and won the Double twice. During six seasons at Old Trafford, he played with legends such as Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and David Beckham.
Paul Parker / Eurosport

uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/21032011/58/euro-2012-qual-paul-parker-terry-reinstatement-england-farce.html

[harlowranger]

Just one joke after another , Capello to still be Manager joke whats the friggin point.
Terry reinstated as Captain joke , why take it away from him if you are going to give it back to him.
Have to Agree KLR AND Maude !thankyou for those words

[Lonegunmen]

Well said Paul Parker.