Terry and June (and Rio)

I've had this post on the backburner for a few days now and that tardiness has been proven foolish as John Terry has now been stripped of the captaincy with the armband passed to Rio Ferdinand. I think it is an excellent decision from Capello, and not just because Rio will make a brilliant captain in his own right, but also due to the following:

As the whole country knows by now I'm sure, John Terry slept with a country (and former club) teammate's ex-girlfriend. It's not known whether this was while Wayne Bridge was together with the woman but either way a pressing question remains.

Should John Terry stay on as England captain?

For me, the answer is a resounding no.

Outsiders have no right to interfere in a person's private life but at some point one's private life spills over and affects one's professional life and this is one such occasion.

There is an argument that if John Terry had the qualities to be captain before then he still has them now. For me, even though John Terry does not a good captain make at the best of times, this misses the point in that he has surely lost the respect and the confidence of his teammates and fans. Thou shalt not judge says the good book but how does that tend to work out for us at the best of times?

England has a great chance to win it's first World Cup trophy since whenever the last one was, the exact year escapes me. Every factor from diet to South African environment adjustment, from formations to penalty kicks will be scrutinised in minute detail. It would be reckless of Capello and/or the English FA to leave a sizzling stick of dynamite in place when it could easily be stamped out now.

So who should take the captaincy at the June World Cup instead of Terry? Who cares, so long as it's established that the wrong man is in place a replacement, any replacement, needs to be installed.

For the record, I would have had David James in as captain if it was my decision but Rio Ferdinand is also an excellent choice and shows that Fabio Capello has the instincts and decisiveness to take England all the way, which I sincerely hope he does.

NOTE: I had been planning on deconstructing Eric Joyce's dubious reasons for why John Terry should stay on as captain from the Falkirk MP's recent post but, alas, I did not have the time.