For those who read the last edition of the DBS report, you know that John Terry is set to face the court soon. However, his trial has “conveniently” been pushed back to July 9, nine days after the end of the European Championship this summer in Poland and Ukraine. The Chelsea captain is on trial because he apparently made racist comments toward QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in a QPR Chelsea game that QPR won 1-0. What makes this whole saga more interesting is that Terry vehemently denies that he made any comment of the sort. In a statement, Terry’s legal team said, “Mr. Terry looks forward to the opportunity to clear his name. Mr. Terry denies making any racist statement and will establish in court that he is not guilty of any such offence. Mr. Terry has never racially abused another player in his entire career.” If Terry is found to be guilty, his already tarnished reputation will suffer another blow, one which he will never be able to recover from. A week ago today, a news report was released stating that the FA (English Football Association) was debating whether to strip Terry of his England captaincy. However, a day later, the FA decided that stripping Terry of the England captaincy was an action they had to take.
As soon as this happened, Rio Ferdinand (England vice-captain) took himself out of the equation to become England captain. Is this a good thing? Absolutely, Rio is no longer the player he used to be. Not only has the 33 year-old defender has been hampered with injuries and poor form, but a new generation of talented young English defenders such as Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill and Phil Jones are emerging as worthy successors to Terry and Ferdinand.
Graham Taylor, former England manager has spoken on the Terry issue. In an interview with BBC Football, he stated that Terry’s morale will certainly suffer a blow. “I think he will feel let down by the FA. He will feel upset about it, because he’s made it very clear that he could handle the situation.” Personally, I think it is time to end Terry and Ferdinand’s partnership at the heart of the England defense. It is time for a new generation of England defenders to enter the fray, such as the aforementioned Phil Jones, Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill and the rapidly improving Tottenham fullback Kyle Walker.
England’s woeful form at the FIFA World Cup in 2010 showed the world that England needs a new generation of players to replace the overrated, over-hyped, overpaid spine of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole that have been letting down England fans for the last decade. England manager Fabio Capello needs to find a way to get into the good books of England fans at the upcoming Euro Championship or else he will step down after the Euros as one of the most overrated and overpaid English managers of all time. Whether he needs to inject a batch of new players remains to be seen. Whatever happens, Capello needs to understand that nothing lasts forever.
