By Ross Mackiewicz.
The harmony in the England camp has taken yet another hammer blow it seems following Fabio Capello’s public condemning of former captain John Terry where he has labelled the Chelsea man’s remarks to the media as a “big mistake”.
The centre back faced up to the world’s media on Sunday where he made a number of interesting points surrounding team affairs which also included his intention of discussing some sensitive issues with his manager and colleagues at a team meeting.
The Italian is furious with Terry’s public outburst about the team’s disjointed World Cup campaign thus far. Speculation has mounted since that certain members of the camp are unhappy with their former captain for criticising the managers tactics whilst also stating with immediate intent that he and the players were set for a clear the air meeting with the coach. He also singled out Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole as the only two members of the squad who can “unlock” opposition defences which has been regarded to be a slap in the face for the reaming twenty-one members of Capello’s squad by undermining their abilities.
Speaking to ITV, Capello in an open and frank manner gave his reaction where he revealed that certain members of the squad are disillusioned with Terry’s outburst:
“No, it’s not a revolution. It’s one mistake from one player, no more. I read yesterday that John Terry said this. I don’t understand why he doesn’t speak with me every time.”
“I think he’s more disappointed some players because, when you speak, you have to speak privately, not with the media. This is the big mistake. This is very big mistake. I know sometimes some players want to speak more with the media than with the other players. The mistake is you have to speak with the players, with me, with the dressing room.”
“I spoke with some players, and only John Terry said this. No one spoke with me about problems. My door is open always if they want to speak with me. They can. Every time we have a meeting I ask the captain, are there any problems? You want to say something?’ Never. But I hope that from the big mistake comes out a big performance.”
It is clear as day that Terry has made a drastic error of judgment by contesting his managers authority. Believing he had the backing of the players, Terry remained coy in the teams meeting on Sunday night where they watched a video of their performance against Algeria. He didn’t live up to his word of challenging the management.
Capello also believes that a lack of respect has been shown to the rest of the England camp by the Chelsea man for singling out certain individuals, especially Joe Cole, who is being touted as a savour to rejuvenate the team.
“Joe Cole is one of the 23 players who are here.” said the England boss.
“All the players are on the bench. It’s difficult when you speak about the players and speak about one single player. I think you have to respect the other players who have played before. That is most important. The respect of the other players.”
When asked about the mood within the camp he admitted that there are one or two unhappy campers in the setup but insisted that the mood of the majority is the most important aspect.
“Probably one or two of the players are not happy but the majority are happy. For this reason it is no problem. One player is not so important compared to all the other players. The group is more important than one player.”
The 64 year old has well and truly asserted his authority over this issue which is beginning to plague the real task in hand come Wednesday afternoon where England need a victory to guarantee qualification to the knock out phase. Opponents Slovenia proved against the USA that they are a slick and tidy outfit who are more than capable of playing confident attacking football.
The magnitude of the occasion at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium has been labelled by Capello as – “one of the biggest of my career”. There is no doubt that the team must solely focus on their make or break fixture for the sake of their World Cup dreams and put other issues to one side.
Do you believe Capello is right by what he said? Has John Terry undermined the players and the management? What does this now mean for the squads morale? Let us know.
