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Counterattack: Should John Terry Remain England's Captain?
Goal.com's weekly debate feature takes a look at the question of whether John Terry should stay on as captain of the Three Lions.
Feb 4, 2010 1:49:00 AM
Shane Evans: With all that happened recently regarding John Terry's behavior off the pitch, I think it'd be unfair for the English FA to strip Terry of his captaincy without hearing out the rest of the team and allowing for the problem to resolve itself.
Andrea Canales: Involving the rest of the team, I think, would be a disaster. That would politicize the whole thing and lead to bitterness among the players taking sides. The FA needs to act as the organization is supposed to - administrate the team. Being a captain should be a honor that entails taking responsibility, and not just on the field, either. Terry has dealt the entire team a huge PR blow and distraction. Chants from opposing fans are bound to be vicious, and yet it's not as if they don't have validity. Terry's actions should have a simple consequence - he's not shown himself to be be a responsible leader, and he shouldn't have the honor of the armband.
Evans: That's the thing...the honor is hardly there anymore. He was a marginal choice to begin with and by this point, it's just a red strap to signal who walks out of the tunnel first. Taking that and giving it to someone else won't change anything. He's still going to get booed and heckled, regardless if he's captain. Right now, I think it's best for the team if they show consistency and stand behind Terry. You can see this already as members of the England squad have already said they'd feel uncomfortable taking the armband. Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney...three of the most obvious choices to replace him are all on Terry's side. Forcing it on them now would just cause more friction.
Canales: Um, how about the friction that is caused by the elephant in the room that's already there of Terry's betrayal? The sad part about it is that it comes down to the status on the team. Terry's is higher than Wayne Bridge, because he's a better player. If Terry had an affair with Wayne Rooney's wife, would anyone be on his side? No way, because Rooney is so valuable. It's a sad double standard that basically says to everyone that a player who messes around with teammate loyalty can get away with it if the teammate is just a back-up.
Evans: I agree with you and it definitely is an unfortunate situation, but right now they need unity and pulling another player into the mix who will just get hounded about life as the new captain and if things are different now, etc, just makes it worse.
We all know what Terry did was terrible, but everyone deserves a second chance and he should be allowed to redeem himself. I am just thankful this is happening now rather than April or May, though it should have happened at all. It's just a complicated situation that needs to be simplified, not made more difficult.
Canales: I'm not saying kick Terry off the team, as some have, but letting him stay on as captain doesn't send any message that Terry did anything wrong or regrettable. Don't players on a team have to feel like their captain is looking out for them, and not just thinking of himself? Think of it this way - since you play soccer and you're on a team. If your team captain did to a teammate what happened to Bridge, would you be ok just snickering at the whole thing and continuing on as before? I know it's on a different scale, but the human feelings are the same. You can't just say something is terrible and shouldn't happen - it has to be backed up with something concrete.
Evans: And in my opinion, that has to be settled off the field. I won't be wearing my Terry jersey any time soon, but he's on the team and it wasn't a football offense.
Let it be sorted out off the field and hopefully the team can become stronger because of it.
Canales: It wasn't an offense on the field of play, but being a team is something that happens off the field as well. It takes place partly in the locker room, where even if players don't like each other, they usually have to feel that they are respected by their teammates. Terry didn't show that respect to his teammate Bridge, and that's the minimum anyone should expect from a leader, so the captaincy is the minimum price that should be paid.
Counterattack runs every week on Goal.com
Andrea Canales: Involving the rest of the team, I think, would be a disaster. That would politicize the whole thing and lead to bitterness among the players taking sides. The FA needs to act as the organization is supposed to - administrate the team. Being a captain should be a honor that entails taking responsibility, and not just on the field, either. Terry has dealt the entire team a huge PR blow and distraction. Chants from opposing fans are bound to be vicious, and yet it's not as if they don't have validity. Terry's actions should have a simple consequence - he's not shown himself to be be a responsible leader, and he shouldn't have the honor of the armband.
Evans: That's the thing...the honor is hardly there anymore. He was a marginal choice to begin with and by this point, it's just a red strap to signal who walks out of the tunnel first. Taking that and giving it to someone else won't change anything. He's still going to get booed and heckled, regardless if he's captain. Right now, I think it's best for the team if they show consistency and stand behind Terry. You can see this already as members of the England squad have already said they'd feel uncomfortable taking the armband. Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney...three of the most obvious choices to replace him are all on Terry's side. Forcing it on them now would just cause more friction.
Canales: Um, how about the friction that is caused by the elephant in the room that's already there of Terry's betrayal? The sad part about it is that it comes down to the status on the team. Terry's is higher than Wayne Bridge, because he's a better player. If Terry had an affair with Wayne Rooney's wife, would anyone be on his side? No way, because Rooney is so valuable. It's a sad double standard that basically says to everyone that a player who messes around with teammate loyalty can get away with it if the teammate is just a back-up.
Evans: I agree with you and it definitely is an unfortunate situation, but right now they need unity and pulling another player into the mix who will just get hounded about life as the new captain and if things are different now, etc, just makes it worse.
We all know what Terry did was terrible, but everyone deserves a second chance and he should be allowed to redeem himself. I am just thankful this is happening now rather than April or May, though it should have happened at all. It's just a complicated situation that needs to be simplified, not made more difficult.
Canales: I'm not saying kick Terry off the team, as some have, but letting him stay on as captain doesn't send any message that Terry did anything wrong or regrettable. Don't players on a team have to feel like their captain is looking out for them, and not just thinking of himself? Think of it this way - since you play soccer and you're on a team. If your team captain did to a teammate what happened to Bridge, would you be ok just snickering at the whole thing and continuing on as before? I know it's on a different scale, but the human feelings are the same. You can't just say something is terrible and shouldn't happen - it has to be backed up with something concrete.
Evans: And in my opinion, that has to be settled off the field. I won't be wearing my Terry jersey any time soon, but he's on the team and it wasn't a football offense.
Let it be sorted out off the field and hopefully the team can become stronger because of it.
Canales: It wasn't an offense on the field of play, but being a team is something that happens off the field as well. It takes place partly in the locker room, where even if players don't like each other, they usually have to feel that they are respected by their teammates. Terry didn't show that respect to his teammate Bridge, and that's the minimum anyone should expect from a leader, so the captaincy is the minimum price that should be paid.
Counterattack runs every week on Goal.com
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