Just Plain Wrong

John Terry has been reinstated as the permanent captain of England, after he was stripped of the armband last year for having an affair with the former partner of an England team mate.  Capello said:

"After one year of punishment, Terry will again be the permanent captain. I think one year's punishment is enough." 

Bollocks.  There is no way Terry is fit to captain his company.  TTel puts it well:

Capello’s action is naive, bemusing and potentially very damaging. Let’s face it: England are stuck with Capello, team and manager locked in a loveless marriage. Usual Football Association paralysis ensured he survived the World Cup fiasco despite a catalogue of errors before and during the tournament, on and off the pitch. Some poor form and results have not prompted the FA to intervene to rescue the team.

So supine has the FA become with Capello that he could call up half of Wandsworth Prison without it wincing. 

Let’s not be surprised by Capello’s pronouncement that he wants Terry as his full-time captain. Cynics will suggest that the Italian does not care any more, that he is seeing out his lucrative contract, yet this misses the point with the Terry decision. This could harm England’s chances of qualifying for Euro 2012. At the very least, it places another controversy on the England agenda. 

And just imagine how Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are thinking. It’s one thing for Terry to lead the side out against Wales at the Millennium, assuming Ferdinand’s absence through injury, and quite another for it to be a full-time appointment. That will surely aggravate Ferdinand, Gerrard and Lampard. 

Capello claims he “doesn’t want the armband passed around” any more yet he has ensured the continuance of this game of musical chairs with darker, moodier background sounds. When Terry’s injured, and the creaking bones are often heard with him, how will Ferdinand feel about being asked to deputise? Or Gerrard. Or Lampard. None of the three is the type to walk away from England but each must feel let down by Capello...