John Terry´s England career over!

truth hurts

I'll once again try to take off my blue tinted glasses and admit that I can sympathise with the FA over the position they found themselves in once the court case was adjourned to July.

In a sense the captaincy issue wasn't about Terry, it was about the other twenty odd players in the squad and whether the case hanging over the Captain would have any kind of detrimental effect on the camp.

It always seems that harmony in the England dressing room is generally in short supply, even at the best of times. We hear stories that the Chelsea players form one clique, the United players another, Liverpool's another etc. Add in a racial division between players and captain and you are left with a fairly toxic mix.

And I think whilst this story was perhaps slow to get going, due mainly to the Suarez incident taking the headlines, it does seem to have intensified lately. With cryptic twitter messages from Rio and column inches devoted to the thoughts of Ian Wright and others, the idea of Terry remaining as the figurehead for the team was becoming more and more difficult to justify.

And what would he and the team have faced if he remained as captain? A media frenzy every time he appeared in front of a microphone. Photographers, TV cameras, pundits and body language experts analysing every interaction between Terry and the black players in the team. Every inevitable poor display being blamed on the skipper and a whole series of 'I told you so' comments coming from so called experts in TV studios and newsrooms.

And so all in all I think the FA probably called this right, even if I think they way they achieved it is questionable. If only they can find a way of banning Gerrard, Lampard, Barry, Ferdinand and all the other tired old international has beens, then the England team might actually stand a chance of rising above mediocrity.

Well said Chelseanuts. Whilst I'm not the FA's biggest fan I think they had little choice. It could have been handled better though. Surely there was some chat with Terry before they took the captaincy offerring him the chance to stand down?

Surely there was some chat with Terry before they took the captaincy offering him the chance to stand down?
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Well I would like to think so, but, knowing the FA, probably not. I also think it was poor for them not to include the manager in the decision process, even if their minds were already made up and they planned to simply out vote him.

As someone said the other day, could you imagine the Man Utd board doing that to Ferguson?

The FA did not call this right for the following reasons:

a) If Terry should be suspended the FA should have done it at the moment the CPS charged Terry and they should have suspended him from the team,not just as captain. They did neither of these things.

b) When the court case was set for July and the FA saw fit to review the Terry captaincy they should have involved Capello in the decision making process. The decision would have still been the same, but at least Capello would have had his chance to air his own views, which as team manager was his absolute right. It would have then been easier for him to accept the deicision.

c) Having made the decision to remove the armband from Terry they should have informed him in a face to face meeting,not via a phone call. The issue is complicated and having told a guy he was innocent till proven guilty, then having had a change of heart,the least the FA could have done was explain this to Terry in person.

Yes the FA were in a horrible position and yes they made a difficult decision under public scrutiny, but the way they made, implemented and communicated their decision was appalling and totally unprofessional.

This hasn't happened recently Omelette but I totally agree with every one of the points raised. We can agree to disagree on whether the captaincy should have been taken or not but as it has been taken the FA should have done all three of the things you have stated.

Well on this rare moment of agreement I am off to bed as I am knackered.

Good night!

I didn't mean it. Just said it to get rid of you.

Mourinho's Omelette

The FA did not call this right for the following reasons:
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a. I don't disagree with your comments as automatic suspension is common in most workplaces following allegations of this type. What I suppose we don't know is whether this was their first reaction but they were convinced to hold fire by the manager on the basis that it would be sorted before Euro 2012.

b. Totally agree and I alluded to this point in my reply to Carrickature.

c. Similar to your point a. again we do not know what happened behind the scenes. Did a representative of the FA meet with him to offer him the chance to voluntarily step down? Much as the FA have form when it comes to making duff decisions, you would think that some sort of effort would have been made to get Terry to step down of his own accord, as that would have been the best solution for both parties. If they did try to reason with JT and he point blank refused to relinquish the post, then he would have known the next step and a phone call to confirm it would have sufficed.

The trouble with asking Terry to step down is that it then looks as though the FA are trying to get the decision they want without having the guts to come out with it up front. As it is, they've decided what they want, they've taken the decision themselves, they've done it publicly, and they've taken responsibility for it. I think that's fair enough.

To me it's the right decision, although perhaps at the wrong time. It parallels the Huhne case. Once Huhne had been charged he resigned his post. Terry should have resigned, and if not then been sacked, once he had been charged. It's not a question of innocent until proved guilty. It's a question of holding a position of public responsibility, and stepping aside, for the public good, from the position until a verdict has been given.