FA right to act on Terry – now appoint Gerrard
THE Football Association made the correct call in stripping John Terry of the England captaincy and the governing body must now act decisively in conjunction with manager Fabio Capello by appointing Steven Gerrard as the Chelsea defender’s replacement.
Capello clearly thinks otherwise, but with Terry’s court case delayed until after the European Championships there is no way the FA could have let him lead his country this summer with allegations of racism, which he strenuously denies, hanging over him.
Having dealt with that issue, there is no reason for the FA and Capello to delay naming Gerrard as the fourth permanent skipper of the Italian’s reign. The temptation might be to wait until the friendly against Holland later this month but a swift resolution would be preferable, rather than letting the situation drag on.
There are only a handful of viable candidates and for me Gerrard is the obvious choice, despite him not having featured for his country since November 2010. He’s just about the most experienced member of the squad and, having captained such a high-profile club in Liverpool for the last nine years, he’ll easily be able to contend with the additional pressure that accompanies the job.
Scott Parker is another name being touted but I have my doubts whether a player who has only just established his place in the side is ready for such a significant promotion.
Trevor Steven is a former Everton and Glasgow Rangers winger who represented England at the 1986 and 1990 World Cup.