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Pundits Call For England Defender John Terry To Resign Captaincy
TV football experts claim Terry should relinquish the national armband...
30-Jan-2010 6:46:00 PM
By Alan Dawson
Details over John Terry's private life, that were initially silenced due to a "super-injunction" but have since been overturned by a High Court, have left the Chelsea and England defender's national captaincy in jeopardy due to the nature of the highly-publicised ordeal.
Pundits on Sky Sports' 'Soccer Saturday' show have called on Terry to relinquish the national armband. Phil Thompson, who received 42 England caps during his playing days, said the Barking-born international should do the "honourable" thing and resign his captaincy.
"He should do the honourable thing, saying he's proud to play, he wants to play, but should resign the captaincy."
In the past 18 months Terry has witnessed released reports of his mother allegedly involved in shop-lifting and his father rumoured to have been involved in a minor drug deal, as well as himself being exposed for organising a £10,000 covert tour of the club's Cobham training ground.
However, this latest setback has garnered intense speculation as to whether the player is fit to carry on his duties as leader of the national team.
Matt Le Tissier, famed for having a thunderbolt shot and a saint-like loyalty to Southampton in the 1990's, echoed Thompson's viewpoint. He claimed Terry's resignation as captain would quell the calls for the FA to take action.
"With all the media attention at the moment, and the fact the England captain's job doesn't stop when you come off the pitch - I think that's the biggest point. If he wasn't the England captain, it probably wouldn't be quite as bad.
If he did resign the captaincy that may diffuse the situation a little bit."
Charlie Nicholas, a Scotland international who was capped 20 times during a playing career that included representing Arsenal and Celtic, believes this latest sting is a further sleight on Terry's character.
"I think he's lost total respect on professional levels. What's gone on in the past? Some people get second chances, some people get third, some people get more.
"He's made his own mess here. He's got to face the music, you've got to go out and face it. You can't run away from it - Tiger Woods has tried it!"
Nicholas also opines that Terry's decision to leave his agent and turn his back on representation has worked against him.
"You've got the England captain, the World Cup coming up, and everyone's going to be pointing the finger: 'is he going to be totally focused?' He's made so many mistakes. Sometimes I think in the early days, when John had an agent, he was very focused. John Terry the footballer, he's totally committed, future Chelsea captain - he's reached all those pinnacles."
Furthermore, Nicholas alludes to the possibility that Terry's actions may cause fractions between himself, and the 'religious' African continengent, adding that the spotlight will now be firmly shining on him from now until the end of the season.
"If you watch all the African players, they're all into their religion. Some of these guys have different focuses in their life, and whether they have a beef against John Terry for being that type of guy, I don't know. I think the scrutiny he's going to be under now until the end of the season is going to be absolutely intense."
Paul Merson who, like Nicholas, is an Arsenal alumnus, believes Terry has "thrown the captaincy away".
"To start throwing the captaincy away... This is England's best chance of winning the World Cup since I've been alive.
"At the end of the day, something's got to happen. It's not normal what has happened."
For more Chelsea news, visit the Chelsea team page!
Pundits on Sky Sports' 'Soccer Saturday' show have called on Terry to relinquish the national armband. Phil Thompson, who received 42 England caps during his playing days, said the Barking-born international should do the "honourable" thing and resign his captaincy.
"He should do the honourable thing, saying he's proud to play, he wants to play, but should resign the captaincy."
In the past 18 months Terry has witnessed released reports of his mother allegedly involved in shop-lifting and his father rumoured to have been involved in a minor drug deal, as well as himself being exposed for organising a £10,000 covert tour of the club's Cobham training ground.
However, this latest setback has garnered intense speculation as to whether the player is fit to carry on his duties as leader of the national team.
Matt Le Tissier, famed for having a thunderbolt shot and a saint-like loyalty to Southampton in the 1990's, echoed Thompson's viewpoint. He claimed Terry's resignation as captain would quell the calls for the FA to take action.
"With all the media attention at the moment, and the fact the England captain's job doesn't stop when you come off the pitch - I think that's the biggest point. If he wasn't the England captain, it probably wouldn't be quite as bad.
If he did resign the captaincy that may diffuse the situation a little bit."
Charlie Nicholas, a Scotland international who was capped 20 times during a playing career that included representing Arsenal and Celtic, believes this latest sting is a further sleight on Terry's character.
"I think he's lost total respect on professional levels. What's gone on in the past? Some people get second chances, some people get third, some people get more.
"He's made his own mess here. He's got to face the music, you've got to go out and face it. You can't run away from it - Tiger Woods has tried it!"
Nicholas also opines that Terry's decision to leave his agent and turn his back on representation has worked against him.
"You've got the England captain, the World Cup coming up, and everyone's going to be pointing the finger: 'is he going to be totally focused?' He's made so many mistakes. Sometimes I think in the early days, when John had an agent, he was very focused. John Terry the footballer, he's totally committed, future Chelsea captain - he's reached all those pinnacles."
Furthermore, Nicholas alludes to the possibility that Terry's actions may cause fractions between himself, and the 'religious' African continengent, adding that the spotlight will now be firmly shining on him from now until the end of the season.
"If you watch all the African players, they're all into their religion. Some of these guys have different focuses in their life, and whether they have a beef against John Terry for being that type of guy, I don't know. I think the scrutiny he's going to be under now until the end of the season is going to be absolutely intense."
Paul Merson who, like Nicholas, is an Arsenal alumnus, believes Terry has "thrown the captaincy away".
"To start throwing the captaincy away... This is England's best chance of winning the World Cup since I've been alive.
"At the end of the day, something's got to happen. It's not normal what has happened."
For more Chelsea news, visit the Chelsea team page!
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