Ready for action: John Terry, who was stripped of the England captaincy, says he will still represent his country if called upon

The idea that Terry’s successor is undermined by Capello’s insistence that he will still treat Terry as his captain is ludicrous. Quite obviously, whatever the FA board decree, Capello is entitled to interact with every available player as he sees fit. If they wanted Terry out of Capello’s orbit, they should have ordered him dropped. They did not.

Capello is not devaluing the role of captain, because every player knows who Capello regards as England’s captain. He has made that clear: three times now.

The FA did not make a statement on Capello yesterday, but I understand his defiance was not unexpected. The FA’s original announcement on Terry is believed to have contained a comment from Capello making plain his disapproval. It was removed, apparently, because Capello preferred to make his own statement.

There are other senior executives around Team England who share the manager’s view, including managing director Adrian Bevington.
In the circumstances, then, Capello’s comments at the weekend were hardly a surprise.

Part of the problem here, the schism between the FA board and Capello, is the absence of his lieutenant Franco Baldini.

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