You must have heard that peace has returned to England as John Terry is removed from England captaincy because we just found out that he’s not Jesus Christ and he’s been impersonating all along. Rio is the new captain (stop laughing) and Stevie-Me is the vice (captain). There are also rumours that these decisions have had a positive impact on global warming and to some extent plug the hole in the ozone layer.

Did I expect Fabio to come to this decision? Honestly, no. I thought he would retain John Terry as the captain for various reasons – (a) he is the best man for the job and anyone else is a compromise (b) he has worked in Italy where he would have such things and more (c) he is not media’s bitch. Sadly, Fabio has disappointed me. Anyway, I’d like to think that this was not his independent decision, despite that’s how this is being projected. In a country where footballers are expected to be role models who have to be held in very high esteem and have to be shining beacon of moral values, Fabio must have been under intense pressure to give in. I’d have kissed him if he’d said ‘fuck media, John’s the man’.

Well Fabio Capello has made two decisions – Removing John Terry the sinner from captaincy and elevating the team status of two saints to wipe away the stains of John Terry. Though I’m more concerned about the first one, the latter one has to be consistent with the overall theme of these two decisions. Let’s first look at John Terry’s removal first.

There are opinions that John Terry must have resigned himself. No way. As long as he thinks and believes that he is the best man for the job and he can continue to do the good job that he has done so far, he doesn’t even have to think about resigning from captaincy. Plus, for a player like John Terry, if he is on the pitch, he naturally becomes the captain. Armband or no armband, you’ll see him playing the captain.

In the last blog, I’ve said my bit about why this issue must not have an impact on being a football captain. There’s an attempt to make the role of the England captain sound like the role of prime minister or something. By removing John Terry on account of this issue, Capello has set an expectation around what his captains should do in their spare time. While we assume that it is the extra-marital affair that caused this removal, Capello’s communication around the removal of Terry does not clearly explain the decision.

Why has Terry been removed? Is it because he had an extra-marital affair? Is it because he had an extra-marital affair with an ex-girlfriend of an England team mate? If it’s because he had an extra-marital affair, it’s not even a punishable offence under law (I don’t mean to be advocating that though!). Why are we so concerned about who these players are sleeping with? If someone should have a problem with that, it must be Toni Terry. And whether Toni Terry has a problem with that and how she responds purely their internal matter. That’s between a husband and his wife. If every husband had to lose his job because he cheated on his wife, half the men would be rendered jobless. I, by no means, accept Terry’s extra marital affairs. I truly do not condone his behaviour. But I only say, as a society we need to be less hypocritical. So what’s next? Are we going to strip someone of his captaincy because he is a bad father or a bad son-in-law?

The argument that Terry has lost the trust of his team mates is very weak. Among the players, they know they are not ideal role models and they don’t want to be. Because, deep down they are all normal human beings with the same set of vices that anyone would have. I believe the respect on a fellow-player or a captain comes purely from the performances on the pitch and not from whether he smokes weed or bangs whores in spare time. There are numerous examples in this very sport for truly remarkable players with tainted private lives. Imagine Diego Maradona being stripped of his captaincy in 1985 because of his cocaine addiction.

So, to conclude my view on John Terry’ removal from captaincy – (a) I’m upset, disappointed and gutted (b) I don’t accept JT’s behaviour (c) I think we should be less hypocritical (d) I believe this incident will have no impact on Terry’a ability to lead his teams (e) John Terry must have remained captain unless there is a football reason to remove him.

I have an important question for Mr.Capello and the FA. How long is this sentence or this disqualification? How long should Terry carry this baggage of sin? At what stage or at what milestone John Terry can become a captain of the England team again? What should he do? Or is he permanently disqualified from being an England captain because he had an extra marital affair? The fact that he had this affair is not going to change. So how will he become a captain again? If the trust and respect that he is supposed to have lost because of non-football reasons is to be earned back, should be doing community service or something?

So now, let’s come over to the second part of the decision. Rio Ferdinand (now stop laughing again) is the new captain. Stevie-Me is the vice (captain). Fabio has put his faith on two people who have never ever slept with anyone other than their wives/girlfriends. Do you think Fabio must have asked Ferdinand and Gerrard this question – “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, that you have never slept with anyone other than your wife/girlfriend since she became so?” Let’s get an undertaking from them so that we can save a lot of embarrassment when Rio is caught shagging in a brothel while he had to be taking a drug test and when Stevie-Me is caught punching teenage girls because they refused to change the music in a pub.

So how did Ferdinand fare for Man Utd last week? Oops . . sorry, he didn’t play because he was banned for four matches for violent conduct. What an irony! So the man who missed a drug test (which is a far serious offence from a football point of view than an extra marital affair) is a good example and an inspirational leader? The man who was caught on CCTV punching around in a pub is a better role model?

Rio Ferdinand, on current form, should be struggling to start for England. And he is now captain? Lucky him. Just when his blunder ratio is increasing, he becomes captain and thanks to that, he retains his place in the team. And Stevie-Me is probably having his worst season of his career. Liverpool are an embarrassment this season, the season of the world cup. They are not even in the knockout stages of champions league and unlikely to make the next season’s champions league. If this is how much a player like Gerrard can inspire a Liverpool team, there is no merit in his selection as the vice captain. Look at his body language. He’s lost it man. He knows he’ll never touch that premier league trophy in his lifetime. And that ‘hopelessness’ is just all over him.

Now Rio will be under extra pressure because every time he makes a wrong move, every match that he draws or loses, every time he sees a voluptuous chick, someone will raise this question – is he the right man for the job? Did Capello make a mistake? Media does not take sides. It is not convenient for them to take sides. So if Rio is caught for drunken driving sometime next month, expect a media wave against Rio too. The question how bad is ‘bad’ will be back.

There is some real hope for England in the World Cup 2010. This time the hope is not a media-hype but a hope built on the performances in the qualification stages. A hope built on the credentials of a world class manager and a set of top class players starting to work as a team and deliver on the pitch. In this backdrop, Fabio has made a big decision that could have a real impact on England from the knockout stages. When England trails by two goals at half time in the world cup semi final, Capello would know that he’d die to have a John Terry leading the team than anyone else. That’s the time he would realise that he must have dumped the media and let Captain John do what he does best.

Let’s be aware that there are a lot of people who support the retention of JT as the captain of England. Also, there are a few brave journalists who have raised their voices against the hypocrisy of the blood-baying public and the press that loves character assassination. The Italian media is laughing at the English hypocrisy (what is John Terry – a footballer or a priest?). My support towards John Terry is not only because he is a Chelsea man but also because I truly believe that he is being victimised and the treatment of the whole matter is insane, hypocritical and disgusting. That’s what I thought when this happened to Tiger Woods. And that’s what I’d say even if it happens to a Sachin Tendulkar or a Roger Federer.

I hope John Terry would be able to come through his personal issue which has now become a professional issue as well. If there is a man that you can trust to make a turnaround, it’s gotta be John Terry. May he get all the strength to deal with this situation. One way for him to show his middle finger to his detractors, is by winning the premier league trophy and the champions league trophy for Chelsea. And yes, he’s gonna do it. C’mon John, we know you can do it!