Jamie Butcher


In April 2004, the English media had a field day with an unknown woman Rebecca Loos claiming she’d had an affair with England captain David Beckham. Firstly, this was never proven or admitted but secondly, he was not demoted from the captaincy.

With that said, I’m afraid John Terry should be.

Mr Chelsea, Captain England himself – the role model to young children and players all over the country has not only allegedly done the dirty on his family, he did it on his doorstep. Terry has performed the ultimate betrayal, to cheat on your own wife with your team-mate’s and friend’s partner is about as low as things get.

Arguments about it being his personal life have to be ignored I’m afraid, Terry is no stranger to media attention and is fully aware that the English press could sniff a story from a sewer. He was in the headlines not so long ago for allegedly taking money to show people behind the scenes at Chelsea as well as his mother who was reported as being cautioned for shoplifting and his likewise father for allegedly dealing cocaine. Someone of his magnitude should be aware of his responsibilities and role to the English public. I understand about wanting to keep your private life private, but he is being paid £160,000 a week to be where he is. That kind of money should be enough to keep anyone happy.

There is no question of the man’s commitment on the football pitch or to his club and country, but is this really the example that we should have our most highly placed footballer setting?

On top of all this, he has gone behind the back of not only a club team-mate, but an international colleague. Wayne Bridge, who is being publicly backed by his Manchester City team-mates who emblazoned their training tops with ‘Team Bridge’, is keeping silent on the whole issue. Meanwhile down at the bridge, Chelsea players are apparently preparing to do the same. Do we really want to end up in an X-Factor ‘Team Cheryl vs Team Louis’ situation?

In my opinion, Terry should be stripped of the armband and it handed on to someone else – the person it should be handed on to, I’ll come onto shortly. To try and be fair, Terry is not the only England star who has been involved in a media scandal, as mentioned earlier, Beckham’s alleged affairs, Rio Ferdinand’s missed drugs tests, Sven-Goran Eriksson’s meeting with the fake sheikh and Ashley Cole cheating on his celebrity wife. None of these though, touch on what Terry has done – he has broken the ultimate man’s code by cheating on his wife with his team-mate and friend’s partner.

There has been some speculation on why Terry’s summer move to Manchester City never happened and why he took so long to quash the rumours of his potential transfer – was Wayne Bridge the reason? It raises interesting questions.

Fabio Capello, who has been exemplary as England manager in his tenure so far now faces his biggest challenge so close to the World Cup. With the nation seemingly divided on whether Terry should be demoted he has to make a choice which will please some but not others. Capello is a man who has never cared about or understood the fuss about the captaincy of the team, but now faces a difficult dilemma and is being sensible by waiting to speak to the players involved before making a decision. Realistically, unless Ashley Cole is injured in the build-up to South Africa he will be England’s number one choice at left-back and there is a very slim chance that Bridge will play alongside Terry, but it is something that has to be considered. I believe both men are professional enough to do their jobs and that the media would hype the possibility up and blow it out of proportion, but if you were Bridge, would you want to play alongside and take orders from Terry?

If Capello does choose a new captain, the debate rages on about who should be next in line. It’s fair to say Rio Ferdinand has had a shaky season because of injuries so far, but if he plays regularly for the rest of the season I think he’s a fair bet to take a role that’s not unfamiliar on. There has been a lot of talk about Wayne Rooney coming of age and taking the armband, but I think he should be keeping his focus on his game, which is obviously what Sir Alex Ferguson thought by making Patrice Evra captain for the game against Arsenal when a lot of people would have expected Rooney to skipper the side. I truly believe Rooney will someday captain his country, but the next generation, when the Ferdinands, the Gerrards and Lampards move on and the Walcotts, Rodwells and Ashley Youngs take centre stage. Rooney’s experience will be invaluable.

Back to the matter in hand, England need John Terry – he is one of the best central defenders in the world, one of the most inspirational leaders ever to wear an England shirt, but his behavior shouldn’t be tolerated whether it be off the pitch or on it. Media, pundits and fans have been nothing but complimentary about England’s route to South Africa and there is a nervous confidence that maybe the wait for another World Cup could finally be coming to an end. Whatever the outcome however, this revelation will certainly have rocked the boat and split the dressing room.

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