I have read, watched, and listened to with fascination all the coverage concerning John Terry, the Chelsea and England football captain. I feel the need to put my opinion on record because many aspects of this sorry issue annoy and sadden me.
When Fabio Capello came to England to manage our national team, I know from conversations with 'football people' that he, like many foreigners that come to Britain to work and live, is fascinated by the importance of trivial details in British life. I do not think that he truly appreciated the significance of the appointment of the England captain; David Beckham, in my opinion was a fine captain - the blame for England's failings at the previous World Cup should be laid at Sven's door not his. Having observed the England team from afar, initially Capello felt that selecting a captain would be as insignificant as deciding whether or not to sprinkle parmascen cheese on his pasta at the dinner table. As he convalesces in his Swiss home, the real concern now is not his knee but the true dimensions of the poison chalice that is the England manager's job. What is most worrying though, is how toothless the Football Association has proved itself to be time and time again. Fabio is alone in the wilderness to make a football decision, which vitally is also a diplomtic and corporate one too; make no mistake, this WILL affect sponsorship if handled poorly and the F.A. know it: so there you have it, our tarnished image will be sorted by a foreigner, albeit an excellent strategist.
John Terry, the person, first came to my notice in June 2007. I was preparing to play for a Civil Wedding Ceremony at Whittlebury Park, Northants for an ardent Chelsea fan. During the course of my usual exhaustive preparations, I met Martin Swann, a local minister here in Northampton who informed me that he was a Chelsea chaplin and had been approached by John Terry that week to perform a Wedding Blessing as a bolt-on for his Civil Ceremony at Bleinham Palace in Oxfordshire that week. He said he had initially agreed to the request but withdrew at the eleventh hour after learning that OK magazine were sponsoring the event for exclusive rights to coverage. His explanation was concise and simple: as someone who offers unseen Pastoral support to many of the players in confidence, his integrity would be compromised by being linked and photographed at such an event.
I gave John Terry the benefit of the doubt over his Wedding, after all David Beckham and Ashley Cole amongst many others have done similar things but I have made a point of observing Terry since then. Whenever London based players are discussed gambling and losing large amounts in various London Casinos and Race Tracks, Terry's name is always mentioned, there was the misdemeanor with him selling trips around the training pitch, marketing himself by mass E mail touting himself to the highest bidder, if that wasn't bad enough, some of his relatives were cautioned for shoplifting! Come on! He is the highest paid player in Britain earning reputedly £150,000 a week, that's not a year, a month, a fortnight, that's every week!!! I can honestly tell you that if music EVER made me THAT kind of money, I would be more than a little discreet about my conduct in public flaunting my life-style, family and homes; especially now.
Driving up the A19 to watch Middlesbrough at the Riverside, has reminded me of the huge sacrifices rank and file punters make to follow their heroes. Having said that, supporters honestly don't mind what the players drive, where they live etc. But there is an understanding that for all the special privileges and earnings that they enjoy, they really ought, with all that in their favour, to be proper up upstanding pinnacles in society. Our celebrity culture and the internet has fast-tracked people, more accustomed to humbler surroundings and limited attention, into an arena that they and their families and friends are ill-prepared for. Excess is the norm and no-one is reining it in, because we are too busy being consumed by the whole machinery.
I will say it AGAIN! Thank the Lord that we have a foreigner, who is reflecting over a glass Pinot Grigio in Switzerland right now, calmly considering the responsibility of his next move. Its a shame that our up-and-coming fabulous feel-good Bar-be-que Summer of 2010 will be kick started by a successful England football team, marshalled by the iron fist of an Italian called Fabio Capello. John Terry right now fears this man more than his missus, and for that I, for one, am grateful.
