Parker backed for England captain’s job
Capello urged to hand Tottenham midfielder the armband as managers unite to back Italian in simmering row with FA
EMBATTLED England manager Fabio Capello has been urged to make the best of his dispute with the Football Association by appointing Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker as his new captain.
Capello, at loggerheads with Wembley chiefs over their decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy, is due to meet FA chairman David Bernstein this week for talks aimed at calming the row.
A fragile truce is the most likely outcome but the FA is not expected to budge on its insistence that Chelsea skipper Terry should not lead the national team while allegations of racial abuse – which he denies – hang over him.
That will leave the Italian needing to select a new captain for the summer’s European Championship, and Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel believes he should look no further than the in-form Parker.
“Playing with Scotty for the last six months or so you can see, whether he has the captain’s armband on or not, he is going to be a captain,” said Friedel.
“He is a top pro around the club, he lives his life right, and on the pitch he covers in front of the back four the best that I have played with. Also when the right or left back go forward he is always looking at where the gaps are that he can cover, and the amount of metres he covers in a game is immense.”
Liverpool talisman Steven Gerrard and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart are also among the favourites to inherit the armband, but 82-cap former United States international Friedel rates Parker at least their equal.
Capello triggered the row on Sunday when he publicly criticised the FA’s decision. It followed the adjournment of Terry’s trial, over claims he racially abused QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, until after Euro 2012.
The England manager yesterday received backing for speaking up from two of the Premier League’s most respected managers.
Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson said it was a “difficult situation”, adding: “When you have a captain that is an important part of that team you don’t want to lose him, so I can understand there’s a lot of discussion about it.”
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas, who has backed Terry since the claims surfaced, said: “He has the right to his opinion and to share that defence with the player.”