I've been wanting to say this for a while, and in all probability (what with SOPA and all) the smart move would probably be to continue to keep my thoughts to myself, but the FA have now acted and therefore I feel I can say what I think.
The truth of his racial abuse allegations will not be formally determined by a court of law until after the European Championships. There could quite easily be a verdict of innocence and 'Captain Leader Legend' will (in the eyes of some) be vilified. The British criminal legal system is after all based on the principle of innocent until proven guilty and therefore arguably we should all wait and see what the jury decides.
There's two problems with that though, for me.
Problem the first: Terry is England captain. A position that requires on the pitch leadership, respect of your peers and unquestioned say so. Furthermore, off the pitch nowadays, a perfect image, the conduct of a role model, and an exemplary behavioural record.
Personally I'd question Terry's position on purely footballing grounds, although I think it would be hard to dispute the fact that in terms of a line-leading, over my dead body centre half he is not deserving of his spot. I think England can pick two better centre halfs, but I also concede that Terry is worthy of selection.
Ignoring the football side, even as a person however, I say he falls well short. I don't know a great deal about libel/slander (see, I don't even know which one I'm about to commit) but it is fairly obvious that John Terry is a scumbag, from a scumbag family that always have and always will be scum*. When your son is earning millions upon millions and you see fit to get involved in some little scam to make a few extra quid, in my opinion you are revealing yourself to be the scum that you are. 'JT' has, ever since the early days of his career with a deeply unsavoury event in September 2001, come up with enough misdemeanours to suggest he is not really a nice bloke.
To explain, on Pro Evo 6 (I am way behind kids) he is a great defender. His stats are far superior to any of the alternatives, yet I often sub him because I hate him. No way is it a smart move to put Drogba in at CB instead (strong in the air, tall, think about it) but I hate JT enough to get rid of him, to my own detriment.
If that does not resonate, consider this: if the FA had not acted and England went on to win Euro 2012, there would be a statue of John Terry alongside Bobby Moore at Wembley.
No. Thanks.
Problem the Second: the FA run a high profile anti-racism campaign. They have just banned Luis Suarez (rightly in my opinion but let's not open that can, there's likely to be enough worms around as it is) on the grounds of racist abuse. Although Terry is innocent until proven guilty, the FA can't really sit by and ignore it, on the risk that he is found guilty. If he is cleared then he can perhaps rightly feel wronged, but nonetheless at present he does not represent a good example for kids to be following.
In closing, I am pleased that Terry has lost the captaincy. This is not directly linked to the Anton Ferdinand allegations; I just don't like him as a player, as a man or value him as a captain. I've written many times before about my angst in following, supporting, loving an England team full of despicable characters - maybe this is an opportunity to start putting it right.
I say Scott Parker for England Captain, let this be the time to start getting some honour and respect back to the position. Let's make Bobby proud again.
*Knowing nothing of the law please consider this a disclaimer whereby I'm stating an opinion founded on nothing, and safe in the knowledge that living in Sydney they probably won't send the boys round...
No comments:
Post a Comment