Fabio Capello - You've been merked

Sunday's draw with Chelsea brought some welcome relief to our early season ‘go slow’ and offered a blueprint to teams hoping to stop Chelsea’s attacking juggernaut. It was also pleasing to see Ronnie back with his nonchalant and seemingly immortal persona. For me though, the game raised questions which have been lingering for the past 18 months.

Why isn’t Rio Ferdinand England's captain?

Why isn’t Rio Ferdinand United's captain?

Who are these crackpots who claim John Terry is better than Rio?

Is Rio better than JT, or is it me doing my bitter United fan rant again?

Having marshalled the Premiership’s best defence last season, Rio was arguably our second most important player behind Ronaldo. Since losing out on the England captaincy to John Terry, Rio has been in imperious form, totally out-shining JT on Sunday and for the past couple of seasons.

Rio invariably seems to miss out on the adulation and praise he deserves. Having sorted out his concentration problems, overcome the missed drug test furore and fulfilled his huge potential he should surely be the long term captain for both club and country.

For England, John Terry rarely seems to be this man mountain he is portrayed as. Lacking pace and class, too often he has to be bailed out by Ferdinand for England or Carvalho for Chelsea.  His heading ability and bravery can only be admired, but come on, he is no Rio Ferdinand.   

For United, Rio is Mr Reliable and should be our captain. As much as Gary Neville and Giggsy are absolute legends, their impact and appearances are slowly petering out. Currently, Rio as a centre back is peerless. Would Rio be seen rugby tackling Jo? Would he have been caught in such a position? Would he grab cards out of referee’s hands? The answer to all of the above………. No!

To suggest that John Terry, the man who appeared to blow his nose (to put it kindly) on Tevez (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hWsRE-_KtPk) should be the captain of our country is ludicrous.
 
Perhaps Capello has studied what is attribute above all else is necessary to become an England legend – what is that I hear you ask? Of course like many England players before him, John Terry has the tremendous ability to miss a penalty when it matters most.

John Terry as England captain, I think Fabio Capello has been merked……

Craig Malpas

Comments

[Chad]

JT firstly didn't "bottle" it in the Euros Final. Clearly he slipped. Have a look, this time with your glasses. He has lead the team exceptionally well. If JT shouldn't be captain then Gerrard should. Rio doesn't possess the characted that JT does, he isn't as commanding as JT and he is most definitely not a leader like JT.

This debate is pointless and i'm done wasting my time on it.

[Ram]

None of this has anything to do with drugs tests or any other BS. It's about who can lead the team more effectivley. Terry has been doing so at Chelsea for some time. A no brainer really.

[Moral Guide]

We know the excuses, and we know the mistake that were made. We forgive, and we forget to a degree. But the fact is Rio served an eight month ban for drug testing rule infringements. He should think himself lucky to have ever pulled on the three lions again. England Captain and role model for all the kids? No.

[Gooner]

Oh g'wan, have the Terry/Tevez debate again so we can all laugh at him more.

Or you could spare us...

Tevez turns round because the ref's whistle hits him; it's there to see if you get a high-quality video.

Then again, Terry did something far more embarassing than spit. It's like the bit in the Simpsons when Bart says 'I'm not going to hit you, Lisa, but I'm going to walk forwards punching the air, and if you get hit it's your own fault.'

You can just see him thinking 'I'm not going to elbow Tevez, but if I walk forwards wiping my nose like this, and he gets hit, it's his own fault.'

Honestly, Terry acted like a six-year-old that time...

[Oli]

Let Ingerlund have JT, a bottler who slips up in Moscow and then thinks all is forgiven when he scores in a meaningless friendly for England and claims it proves he is a big game player.

Let Ingerlund have a player who is not as guaranteed to be in the side as Rio, and about whom Capello walked out of a press conference when pulled up on that point.

And let United keep Rio, with his numerous titles and European Cup, fantastic charity work, his maturity since the idiot days of drug tests and amazing ability on the pitch. It is Ingerlund's loss and many United fans find that quite funny. If he had been captain he would have joined the Nevilles, Becks and others on the list of players who get unwarranted abuse for turning out in the shirt.

United > England

http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6154372534

[Simon]

the author doesn't claim terry spat on tevez. he said blew his nose on him.

[BBB]

Rio may not get caught out of position but at least JT manages to be in the right place at the right time to take a drug test...

[Hugh]

you don't know what your talking about, this is just biased rubbish...get a life mate!

[Guernican]

This article is an excellent example of ignorance, to be honest.

It grinds my teeth to say it, but "Gooner" is spot on. Defenders need to complement each other. You wouldn't want 2 Terrys any more than you'd want two Ferdinands. I'm sure that, as a United fan, your partisanship makes the above comment anathema. Try thinking, instead of toeing the party line, dear boy.

As for the rest of it...

Why aren't we winning? Why can't Rio be in charge? Why is my ice cream melting? Why are we in 14th?

God, what a whiner.

[Simon]

Rio is without doubt the best defender in the world. Terry shouldnt be in the England team at all, it should be Ferdinand and King (when fit).

Rio was top banana on Sunday!!

[Gooner]

As a Gooner, I must be neutral on this, right?

"Is Rio better than JT, or is it me doing my bitter United fan rant again? "

I have to say, I'd go with JT for captain, if only he could learn to stop trying to get in the ref's pants every game.

As defenders, they complement each other extremely well, so have to stay first choice for England at the moment.

As for which is better if you had to pick just one - Terry without a doubt, for me. Rio is overrated by Utd fans; not by much, but by a bit. He's not the modern Beckenbauer; he's no better going forwards than many other CBs and worse than a few. He's also still a little flaky, although obviously all things are relative, and I say that only in the context of comparing top-class defenders.

Finally, JT is a real idiot but Rio is so much worse; I'd rather be stuck in a lift with JT than spend ten seconds talking to the Peckham potato.

[dan]

who really cares, he's made his choice so why waste time thinking about it

[Brett Cox]

Still spreading the false rumour that John Terry is spat on Tevez. It looks like what you want it to look like - it looks to me that the referee's whistle hit Tevez on the back

You've got a blog on the Times, I'd expect a little more caution and a little less outright slander.

[jk]

same wonderful RF that should of seen red in sundays match ? hmm..JT is Englands best captian..

[Eric Cartman]

Anyone care to explain how in the holy hell this is remotely worth the bandwidth?

Moron.