John Terry facing fight from Ferdinand for England captaincy
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The race to become England football captain appeared to be wide open last night as it emerged that Fabio Capello had offered no guarantees to John Terry, the incumbent, during their impromptu meeting at Goodison Park on Wednesday night. If Sir Alex Ferguson had his way, Terry would also face competition from Rio Ferdinand.
Capello is determined to keep his cards close to his chest before the announcement of his first squad next weekend for the match against Switzerland on February 6 and may defer the decision until later in the year, when he has got to know his players better. David Beckham is an obvious candidate to stand in at Wembley next month if, as expected, the England manager hands the former captain his 100th cap.
Terry remains favourite to get the job in the long term as he has proved an outstanding leader at club level with Chelsea, but he could take little encouragement from his first meeting with Capello during ChelseaÂ’s Carling Cup semi-final win against Everton. It is understood that the pair had a brief conversation in the directorsÂ’ box at half-time during the second leg, when the Italian inquired about the condition of TerryÂ’s broken foot and asked about his likely return date, without giving any indication as to whether he would retain him as captain.
Capello has spent his first few weeks in the job acquainting himself with the Barclays Premier League, but, unlike Steve McClaren, his predecessor, has not made an early effort to build close relationships with his players. Terry knows better than to take CapelloÂ’s insistence on maintaining formalities personally, but is not certain that he will retain the armband. He was convinced that he would miss out to Steven Gerrard when appointed 18 months ago and fears he may pay for EnglandÂ’s failure to qualify for the European Championship finals, particularly as he is unlikely to be fit for the match against Switzerland.
As the vice-captain under McClaren, Gerrard is another strong candidate, but Ferguson believes that Ferdinand should be considered. The Manchester United defender is known to covet a role he has filled for his club and has risked antagonising Terry by expressing a firm desire to take on the responsibility. “Rio wouldn’t have captained my side if he wasn’t capable of captaining England,” Ferguson said. “I think experience is important in that role. Rio has more than 60 caps now, so he’s got that experience.
“There are different types of captains. Rio is different in nature than a Schmeichel, Bruce, Robson or Keane. He’ll lead more by example than encouragement, whereas the others were assertive. John Terry has got the position, so I don’t think Rio will look upon it as the be-all and end-all, but if it happens, I think he will be happy.”
Given his capacity for controversy, Ferdinand would be a controversial choice. He was suspended for eight months by the Football Association for missing a drugs test in 2003 and, 18 months later, branded a poor role model after being banned from driving for a fourth time. More recently he was responsible for organising the United teamÂ’s Christmas party that ended with one player, Jonny Evans, being arrested over an alleged rape.
As well as backing Ferdinand, Ferguson also hopes that Beckham will fulfil his dream of making a century of England appearances. “I think he will get his 100th cap,” the United manager said. “In fact, I don’t think there is any doubt about that. To deny him would not be right and I think Capello has made up his mind about that.” -
Even as a united fan.I see rio as more of a joker than a real leader...for england..his off field athics..haha...Like what stated in the report.His punks on national tv on fellow england team mates..Moreover for his big part in organising the manutd xmas party which proved too damaging to the players' reputation.
Terry should retain his role for his leadership.But his various disputes with referees will do him no good -
Actually i am in favour of a change... Cos clearly Terry didn't do the job well during his time. And if he is so called known for his encouragement abilities, I didn't see that during their Euro 08 campaign... Even at Chelsea, he has been out for sometime now and they seem to be doing very well without him... And given the liberality he brings... Give someone else a chance, Try someone else... Who knows, you may get a better result than what Terry has offered so far.
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Both not suitable...let Cashley be!!!
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SKIP HIRE ... Steven Gerrard is in the frame for the England captaincy
STEVEN GERRARD has admitted he would jump at the chance of becoming Fabio CapelloÂ’s England captain. New boss CapelloÂ’s first major decision is to choose his skipper before next monthÂ’s friendly with Switzerland. Liverpool leader Gerrard is in the frame along with Chelsea defender John Terry, who wore the armband during Steve McClarenÂ’s regime.
Gerrard, 27, said: “If the manager comes and asks you do you want to be captain, then you say ‘Yes of course’. “But I don’t want to put my name forward because we have our leader in John Terry and we have to show respect.
“Every England player wants to captain his country. It’s every player’s dream from a young age. “But John is our captain at the moment and that hasn’t changed as yet. So we have to wait and see what the new manager decides.” Capello is set to name his first squad next Friday. And Gerrard admitted there is an air of excitement. Gerrard, speaking at a sponsoredbyyou.com school visit in Liverpool organised by England team sponsors Nationwide Building Society, said: “I’m just looking forward to the new regime.
“I want to get back to winning in an England shirt because it has been a difficult time of late and we have certainly underachieved. There is an excitement there. “The impression I get is Fabio is a winner. It’s important we get together, get used to it and get a feel for what he wants.” -
Originally posted by zocoss:
much as i dislike liverpool, i think Gerrad is a better leader than Terry will be for England.. at least Gerrad would know of an approriate place to pee when he needs to...and at least he doesn't complaint so much like terry and his co. does...
SKIP HIRE ... Steven Gerrard is in the frame for the England captaincy
[b]STEVEN GERRARD has admitted he would jump at the chance of becoming Fabio Capello’s England captain. New boss Capello’s first major decision is to choose his skipper before next month’s friendly with Switzerland. Liverpool leader Gerrard is in the frame along with Chelsea defender John Terry, who wore the armband during Steve McClaren’s regime.
Gerrard, 27, said: “If the manager comes and asks you do you want to be captain, then you say ‘Yes of course’. “But I don’t want to put my name forward because we have our leader in John Terry and we have to show respect.
“Every England player wants to captain his country. It’s every player’s dream from a young age. “But John is our captain at the moment and that hasn’t changed as yet. So we have to wait and see what the new manager decides.” Capello is set to name his first squad next Friday. And Gerrard admitted there is an air of excitement. Gerrard, speaking at a sponsoredbyyou.com school visit in Liverpool organised by England team sponsors Nationwide Building Society, said: “I’m just looking forward to the new regime.
“I want to get back to winning in an England shirt because it has been a difficult time of late and we have certainly underachieved. There is an excitement there. “The impression I get is Fabio is a winner. It’s important we get together, get used to it and get a feel for what he wants.”
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Both sucks. GIve it to Gerrard
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gerrard performance is not good enough for england..
terry is a leader on the pitch but a loser on the streets..
rio is not even man utd captain..
a good captain would be Beckham.. -
Beckham is the best choice for Captain.
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I thought a new face would be good... Terry, well... Before he became captain he was quite good but since becoming captain... I just feel he seemed to have let it got to his head a bit... Fight with referee, maybe even lied and accuse Poll of saying things he may not have said... grabbing a referee's card from his hand trying to prevent him from showing it to his team mate... Lost his cool and control against Arsenal and was rather fortunate not to get the red card again... And all these are just on the field... Off it, no better... Just days before England's qualifier match he was caught shacking his bon bons with some lap dancer... Got so drunk and tried to pee into a paper cup then onto the floor... all in public...
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terry's discipline is a doubt. ferdinand concentration will cause the defense problems and will players will doubt their captain. gerrard, although he leads by example by scoring last min crucial goals or running entire pitch, he's not vocal and inspiration enough. beckham is never going to play at 10's world cup so pls dont give it to him.
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rio captain?? LOL i will go bang my head against the wall maybe every england match will change to Friday night.. why? COMEDY NIGHT!!!
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everyone forgot about Michael Owen
if he keep fit i believe he will be England/Newcastle next shearer [already doing better then him =)] -
vote for ROONEY,
always dependable