So John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy and the name being most strongly put forward to replace him is that of our skipper, Steven Gerrard. Stevie is a great player, a great captain and a real inspiration on the pitch. He is a top professional who fully supports his managers and does everything that is asked of him and more and I'm sure if Fabio Capello comes calling he will be proud to take his country's armband once again. However, after the FA's handling of the John Terry and Luis Suarez incidents, added to the fact that Gerrard always seems to be captain by default when somebody else isn't available, I would love to see Stevie turn down the role. This is not to say I think he would say no, he would probably happily accept the position, I just think it would be nice if he (and I can't believe I'm saying this) followed Rio Ferdinand's example and ruled himself out of the running.
Let's begin with the FA's choice to take the captaincy away from Terry. In my opinion it is an absolutely disgraceful decision, no other way of putting it. It is important to remember that the alleged incident involving John Terry and Anton Ferdinand happened in October, it is now February and the FA still HAVE NOT CHARGED John Terry with anything. It seems the FA have completely abandoned the ancient British principle of 'innocent until proven guilty'. In three and a half months they have not found enough evidence to bring a charge against the Chelsea man but during that time managed to charge, convict and suspend Luis Suarez in a case described by all involved as one of the most complicated they have ever participated in. Which ever way you look at it this simply does not add up. The reasons for the FA delaying Terry's charge seem obvious to those of us cynical enough to believe they don't want to convict their own captain or admit to Sepp Blatter that an Englishman is capable of racism on a football pitch. The criminal case brought against Terry by the CPS could be seen as a way for the FA to avoid having to make a decision one way or the other themselves and bring charges against Terry only if his high priced lawyers fail to help him avoid a conviction.
The criminal trial being put back until July has clearly surprised the FA but I have a simple solution for them - Luis Suarez was not tried in a criminal court and was not subject to the 'guilty beyond all reasonable doubt' remit, why not put John Terry through the same FA process now in front of the same independent panel and reach your own conclusions based on the evidence available? Have the guts to come to a decision yourselves and stand by it, and if he is found not to have said anything out of order then he can still skipper his country at the Euros and Anton Ferdinand can be punished for his false accusations. If Terry is found guilty then take whatever action is felt appropriate with regards to his England selection. Taking the captaincy away from Terry so he can concentrate on his court case with no distractions is a very noble thing to do, putting the needs of the individual before the needs of the team. In fact it is so noble it almost seems implausible. Stripping Terry of his position for purely footballing reasons is not a decision the FA could have reached without conversation with Terry himself, and given he was informed of the decision rather than involved in the process of making it makes me feel that footballing reasons did not come into the thinking of the powers that be.
As a Liverpool fan I feel proud whenever I see one of ours captaining his country and if Gerrard is chosen to lead England I will support him and wish him every success. As an organisation the FA seems to be going down in my estimation almost weekly and seeing my club captain as a figurehead for them is not an image I am particularly keen on. It also seems there is so much internal politics going on within the England set up at the moment (Capello having no say over the removal of his captain) aswell as potential conflicts between squad members (anyone still fancy a Terry-Ferdinand central defensive partnership?) and I think Stevie would be best served staying well clear of it all and concentrating on playing at the high levels he regularly performs at.
No comments:
Post a Comment