Fabio Capello's sacking of John Terry a message to the England squad
7 / 2 / 2010
Fabio Capello's intervention into the John Terry affair was typical of the man. It was a quick, clean procedure, conducted with surgical precision.
The sanitised style in which he did it was as important as the substance: it was a lesson in comportment.
The England manager privately admits to being stunned at the level of attention Terry's private life has attracted and felt he needed to puncture the process before it got out of control. He now hopes that the manner in which he has conducted himself will be reflected in the behaviour of his players. This is how it is done.
Capello was encouraged by Terry's initial response to the sacking in Friday's meeting, and again by the public expression of his determination to continue giving his best for the national side.
This, though, has to be the end of distractions from the single-minded goal of winning the World Cup. Capello is prepared to act swiftly if there are any signs of complications.
Capello's camp insist it will be business as usual from here on in. That means no special meeting, no clear-the-air-talks before the friendly with Egypt on March 3. The squad for that game will be announced on the weekend of Feb 27/28.
Assuming they are fit and in form, both John Terry and Wayne Bridge will be included and will be expected to show up and train like every other player.
It is typical of this saga that the fixture list has done its best to ramp up the tension ahead of that game. Feb 27: Chelsea versus Manchester City, Terry versus Bridge. Capello must suspect conspiracy.
With three City players wearing Team Bridge shirts last weekend and reports that Terry's sacking was greeted by celebration by some City players, there is the potential for the game to turn nasty. That would be the last thing Capello wants going into the Egypt match, the resurrection of the whole ugly mess.
The onus therefore is on the players to settle their differences. It is understood that Terry will seek to contact Bridge, although he wants to wait for things to settle first. Whether Bridge will be willing to listen is another matter. Cordiality might be Terry's best hope.
The other solution would be if Bridge retires from international football, something he has supposedly been considering. He has consistently been selected as Ashley Cole's understudy by Capello and should the Chelsea left-back pick up an injury, Bridge would be playing at the World Cup. That is a lot to give up. Whether his ire at Terry has been placated remains to be seen.
There will be inevitable frostiness when England get together on the Monday before the game. Capello felt Terry's demotion was necessary to preserve the dressing room dynamic, but even so the dynamic will still be tested.
This is where Rio Ferdinand comes in. The new England captain is a popular figure in the dressing room. He straddles factions: he is a Londoner who captains Manchester United. He has had a reputation as a bit of a joker in the past, a man concerned with his music and TV side-projects - the expansion of 'Brand Rio' - at the expense of his work on the field.
From now until the end of the World Cup, Capello will demand total focus from Ferdinand, while the players will be looking to him to exert the kind of authority that makes a transition from Terry's captaincy a smooth one.
In many ways Capello is blessed by the number of players with leadership material in the dressing room. Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Matthew Upson and David Beckham have experience of captaining sides.
This is an experienced and ambitious group and they will want to have done with the distractions of the Terry affair as quickly as possible. The first step to doing that will be a low-key training camp followed by victory over Egypt.
The scrutiny will be there but the England players will have to behave as if it is any other friendly.
Telegraph
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