I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid the news recently due to the worldwide destruction dominating the headlines. Despite this effort, the name ‘John Terry’ and the words ‘England captain’ have made their way onto my radar. If you take the current situation at face value, it should be simple really - manager appoints a captain, team accepts decision. However straightforward this decision should be, the relationship between the armband and its wearer is a unique one.
For the life of me I’ve never understood the press’ preoccupation with the England squad or its captain so I decided to broach the subject with a group of seasoned football fans at the pub before the Chelsea v Kobenhavn match.
According to the lads, the role of England captain gained reverential status because of a certain golden haired skipper by the name of Bobby Moore who guided England to victory in the ‘66 World Cup. Apparently, there was something about the image of Moore wearing the red England kit and holding the cup victoriously that touched a nerve in the England fan and caused them to immortalise the skipper role. The role of the England skipper is held in such high regard that it could be argued that no other national team captain is revered as highly or under as much scrutiny.
No pressure, eh?
Judging by the number of fans at Stamford Bridge singing ‘There’s only one England captain’, it seems like England fans want more football and less politics. If a players suitability for the skipper role is measured with a morality stick… good luck naming one in time for Saturday.
I can’t tell you who should captain the squad, but what I do know is that this is yet another inappropriately timed debate that if not settled quickly, will only serve to distract and hinder the squad – again.
The funny thing is how the press are split on this. Pro-Terry papers report of his 'dalliance' being with th ex-partner of the former team mate but the anti-Terry camp never mention the fact she was an 'ex'.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago there as a small retraction and apology to the untruth about affair the JT affair in a certain Sunday. I'm not certain that this entire new twist isn't all part of a future libel action. Watch out for Max Clifford it could be a biggie!
I think we miss the point about this, the captaincy is not mainly about inspiring a nation. We could love John Terry but the ultimate question is: Can he inspire the team to reach greater heights? That I'm not sure of.
ReplyDeleteA captain can take a team that may not be the most skilled and inspire them to accomplish great things. Take a look at the NBS finals in 1970, where Willis Reed limped onto Madison Square Garden in game 7 of the NBA finals to inspire his team to a famous victory against the Lakers (lining up against Wilt Chamberlain no less). That's the stuff of legend.
Does John Terry have that defining moment in him? Does his team still believe in him and are they happy to follow him to the end of the earth? I don't see it, but I would love to be proved wrong. Beyond the time in purgatory imposed by Capello for the affair fiasco we could argue that players may have been even more put off by his antics at the World Cup where he, though not captain, held a team meeting and strongly petitioned for the inclusion of Joe Cole into a team that was already wrought by rumors of disharmony.
A wise man can step back and do what's good for the team. A narcissist thinks that whatever decision he makes is good for the team.
I think Terry is the latter.