Infidelity is the new metatarsal
In the last few days, stories about England captain John Terry have relegated the troubles of the UK economy to the runners-up spot. Infidelity has become the new metatarsal, a major threat to England’s World Cup success.
Now whatever your moral feelings about infidelity, it’s neither illegal, nor unusual. Not that that makes it OK. This isn’t a one-off transgression from Terry though; he’s been a serial adulterer, with a catalogue of boorish behaviour in public. But does that affect his performance and leadership on the pitch? It appears not. Being unfaithful to your partner may not be very nice, but it is a private matter which should only intrude into public life in cases of hypocrisy. The only difference between Terry’s behaviour and hundreds of footballers before him is that he broke one of the games cardinal rules – he slept with his mate’s missus.
So, without wanting to be brutal to Toni Poole, the only issue of relevance to the rest of us it what is the best outcome for the England team. And whilst I am neither a Chelsea or a John Terry fan, I cannot believe it lies in forcing Terry to step down as team captain or even out of the squad altogether, unless there would be a disproportionate effect on the rest of the squad. But whilst former players have called upon Terry to step down, there appears to be no such tsunami of disapproval from current teammates. So the only questions remain; could Terry and Bridge play in the same team and is that scenario likely?
Until a couple of years ago, Wayne Bridge seemed to be Ashley Cole’s understudy for both club and country. A move away to Eastlands made him consider whether the occasional England cap wa worth all the extra travelling and time away from home and he came close to announcing his international retirement – only to be talked out of it by Terry. But not only are England not certain to take a second orthodox left back to the World Cup, but Bridge is no longer the automatic choice.
Fabio Capello has a job to do as the manager of the England football team, not as a moral crusader. Most of us football fans only care about how John Terry performs when wearing his football shorts, rather than when he takes them off.
Related posts:
- Has the world gone totally Kakas?
- Clogging the opposition – spin doctor style
- Why Matt's the only gay in the Olympic village
Comments
Leave a Reply:
