John Barnes was interviewed on the radio the other day and was asked about the rights or wrongs in dropping Terry as England Captain. In a nutshell Barnes said why is it ok to drop JT as captain just in case he is found guilty of being a racist but it is totally acceptable to keep on playing him in the England team? His point of view was if that was the case then the FA are saying it is ok to have a team full of racists as long as your captain isn't one. I know the position of captain holds certain responsibilities but surely any player, regardless of position, should not be allowed to play for the country if such a charge was hanging over them. And what if he is found guilty (as opposed to actually being guilty - we all know he is)? Do they let him carry on playing after the Euros but don't give him the arm band? And if/when he is found guilty how can he remain as a club captain in a team full of black players? I wonder if AVB will be as supportive if the likes of Drogba or Essien say they won't play if JT is found guilty. Still, that is Chelski's problem, not ours. The words 'decent' and 'honourable' don't appear in JT's vocabulary but it would have been the decent thing to have apologized at the time and the honourable thing to step down from the England team until court cases had been resolved. Apologies for a new thread on the same subject but I couldn't be arsed trawling through 4 pages to see if these points had already been made!!
I think the deciding factor was Chelsea's request for the trial to be delayed until the end of Euro12 because they didnt want their players training disrupted. If they believed Terry was innocent they would have wanted his name cleared asap. This gave a clear signal to the muppets at the FA that the football community was being taken for a ride. And the England captain, by colluding with this 'get out of jail free card' has put his club and his own interests before his country and the spirit of the law. Villas-Boas is also coming out of this looking like an immature spoit brat.
Do any of the teams who will be at the Euros have a black captain? There could be a prioblems with the handshake at the coin toss.
I think most people (if Terry was found guilty) have enough common sense to realise Terry isn't a racist. The likes of Drogba and Essien know him better than you or I so it's just wishful thinking on your part IMO. I actually agree with John Barnes completely though if what you have said is true.
Interesting District. You have to determine what constitutes racism though. Does John Terry actively discriminate against black people or any ethnic minorities? Probably not. Does he come from a background where casual racist remarks are commonplace? Probably does. How many of us would consider ourselves racist? Probably not many. How many of us when cut up in traffic or see a news story involving minority groups involuntarily shout out something offensive that would not be acceptable in normal circumstances? Probably quite a few. Is John Terry a racist? Who knows, his barrister obviously thinks he will be able to rely on enough character witnesses to back up JT's claims that he isn't. I'm not mug enough to think he was mouthing "You Blind C***" at Anton Ferdinand. If you pull the other one it goes ding dong. Do racists chant "Anton Ferdinand you know what you are"? Do racists send bullets in the post to victims of alleged racism? If you take a whizz up the side of a wall after one too many sherberts and get caught by the Police you will be classed under the law as a sex offender for committing an act of public lewdness. Try getting a job with that hanging over you. Similarly, if found guilty, John Terry will be called a racist for the rest of his career and probably referred to as a racist in articles written about him long after he hangs up his boots. This has nothing to do with wishful thinking on my part, I'm too busy wishing we don't get relegated!
Some very salient observations there Grove, in the heat of the moment there can be many things said that are borne of anger. Regardless what you think of him I don't think there's a cat in hell's chance of a conviction, this is political correctness in overkill and the 'beyond reasonable doubt' caveat will ensure the 'not guilty' verdict. The fact that Terry is a thoroughly unsavoury character, that he has been indulged by everyone at Chelsea since his teenage days and considers himself a sort of 'Godfather' figure at the club, and now, due to Capello's support, he probably thinks of himself in a similar role in the England set-up. This total self-delusion is what has stopped him from doing the sensible and honourable thing, to have stood down for the good of the team as soon as the CPS announced it was prosecuting him and not making himself available for selection until the matter was resolved. His failure to do that tells you everything about why he should never be selected again. I hope Capello is sent packing today and whoever is brought in makes his first task telling Terry he has played his last game for England, as his arrogant attitude, his failure to condemn the 'fans' who have abused both Anton and Rio and his willingness to let this fester like a bad smell have contributed nothing but aggravation to the innocent parties concerned...
I hope Capello is gone today because if hes not, England have no chance at the Euros. We need a new man who will drop Terry completely so there will be some unity in the squad.
Problem is....if old "arry" gets the job, he loves Rio, JT, Lamps and Stevie G...Not sure he would be the best answer... We need the new lions to step up now and restore some pride....
As a matter of interest, what did Barnes say about Suarez? Can't Imagine he much likes his old football team indulging a racist either?
Ok I have a point to make on this........... When Jon Woodgate and Lee Bowyer were 'allegedly' involved in a racially motivated attack outside a Leeds nighclub a few years back, the FA took the stance that until the court case was over the players involved were to be suspended from representing there country at any level until the case was finished and punishments served. I feel this was the right move and should have been implemented again with JT..........I dont think he would have been so quick to get an adjournment until July if that was the case!? I know the law of the land is innocent until proven guilty but in the eyes of the media you are guilty until proven innocent and the England team gets enough bad press without the JT case or any other case following us around! Do the honourable and right thing JT either admit you made a mistake so we can all move on or stand down, fight your innocence and let the rest of the England team concentrate on football matters.
Well said Superhoops, I was just going to write something like that but you got there first! Cast your mind back to the little thing I had with Northolt some time ago? Well much the same, Yes? You did a good write there.