Why Fabio Capello’s should be embarrassed of his handling of the Rio Ferdinand captaincy issue.

Its been a while since ive written! University and life have made me a busy person. But I think I’m back.
------------------------
So, the unfavourable John Terry has replaced Rio Ferdinand as England captain. This decision frustrates most England fans. It annoys most fans because the one question everyone’s asking is, ‘What exactly has Rio Ferdinand done wrong to be stripped of the captaincy?’

It’s a very fair question. It would have been understandable had Ferdinand acted like a fool and had an affair with Capello’s wife or something like that. But Ferdinand has acted reasonably immaculately during his time as captain. It’s a complete injustice towards Rio Ferdinand.
During his short tenure as captain of England. Ferdinand hasn’t done much wrong. He has represented himself in a very respectable way and well mannered way. Not only does he possess great leadership skills on the pitch, but Rio Ferdinand also is an individual who is versatile and tries to connect with society. Ferdinand seems like a knowledgeable person, trying to break away from the stereotypes that all footballers are numb nuts. You only have to look at his variety of assets such as his magazine (#5 Magazine) and his music label company, surely this shows that he is intelligent and possess talents outside of the game.

Some argue, Rio Ferdinand doesn’t deserve to be England captain anyway. Due to his shady past. Yes, he has been involved with some funny business in the earlier parts of his career. But lets take this into perspective. Most England players are dodgy twats. That’s the honest truth. Most of the England squad have been involved in controversies or been in trouble with the law. Take Jack Wilshere , the guy is one of England’s brightest prospects and is quickly becoming a key player for England. Wilshere, 19, has already had encounters with the police and has even been briefly arrested. Its sad to see that most England players are often in the wrong place at the wrong time, or worse. Some are committing stupid acts, like shooting kids with guns, cheating and hitting people. But Rio Ferdinand continues to be a brilliant ambassador for England and Man United. He is widely respected in the world of football and respected outside the game too.

Rio Ferdinand is deeply upset about being stripped of the captaincy. And so he should be. Ferdinand has been humiliated by Capello. When John Terry was stripped of the captaincy it was seen as humiliating for John Terry. But he deserved it. However, its even more humiliating for Ferdinand. As he hasn’t done anything wrong to be stripped of the captaincy.

After re-appointing John Terry as captain, Capello labelled Terry’s time of being stripped of the captaincy as a ‘punishment.’ This completely undermines the value of Rio Ferdinand. Capello’s actions are basically saying, he doesn’t have faith in Ferdinand’s ability as a leader. It’s a sad state of affairs. As Capello has shown little respect towards Rio Ferdinand.

Fabio Capello’s decision to run back to John Terry shows how naïve he is. It seems Capello is unaware of the potential consequences of his actions. The decision has the potential to unsettle the squad. Some players, may rue Capello’s decision to undermine Ferdinand and may deeply sympathise with Ferdinand. While others maybe stuck in the cross fire of awkwardness. Some players will be unsure of who to turn to, the ex captain or the reinstated captain. Furthermore, some players may not even look up to John Terry after his disgusting antics regarding Wayne Bridge’s former girlfriend.

You also have to remember, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand have to play alongside each other. Now, of course, Ferdinand is a true professional. And wont let it effect his game. But Capello’s naïve decision could have an impact on the relationship between the two players. Communication is crucial in football, especially in the heart of the defence. If both players fail to respect each other and maintain a healthy acquaintance, this could have a devastating effect on England’s performances.

But, yes, John Terry is a good leader, he leads by example on the pitch and has other great characteristics. But off the pitch he is a first class bastard. Fact. But for me, Terry lost his right to lead his nation. He lost that right when he was going to his mates house and was betraying his marriage and friendship. Why couldn’t Capello make John Terry a vice captain? Making him the full time captain is far too much of an extreme decision. This is because of the effects the decision has had on England. Firstly, Rio Ferdinand has been humiliated in the process. Secondly, John Terry in some respects isn’t favoured by players or fans. Thirdly, everyone thinks Terry deserved to lose his leadership of England after his horrible antics. Surely Fabio Capello should have considered this? Capello hasn’t received any good press or been praised for many decisions since the World Cup. Rash decisions like reinstating Terry will only add to a negative perception which is being built up around Capello.

Now, I don’t want to go down the route which most football commentators have gone down, saying, ‘oh Capello doesn’t understand because the issue of captaincy isn’t an issue in Italy.’ I think it’s a bit harsh on those who love, play and follow Italian football. For me, whatever, team you play for, being a captain is an honour. It’s a gesture which emphasises your leadership skills, the respect the players and staff have for you and your professionalism on and off the pitch. Arguably, Terry isn’t really respected by his team mates, some cant stand him because of his actions. But Capello hasn’t misunderstood the value of being captain because of culture in Italy. He has misunderstood the commercial and social side of being the England captain. Throughout the decades, the captain of the England national team is seen as a national treasure, a player which children aspire to be and an individual who has strong respectable values. After Terry’s saga, how many view him as a national treasure? How many companies want John Terry to be the main man in their adverts? How many children, or perhaps, how many adults want their children to aspire to John Terry? Not many. Now that he is captain, will any one turn around and fall in love with him again? Hell no.

John Terry had his chance, and he truly messed it up. But Capello is clearly disconnected from English football, as he cannot see the dislike that surrounds John Terry. How many times can you hear boo’s when John Terry touches the ball in every away game Chelsea have? This shows how much he is disliked by fans of Premier League teams. And a majority of England fans, support teams in England, who are more often than not going to boo John Terry.

Terry maybe a good leader, but the fans still play a crucial role in football. I bet most fans feel Terry doesn’t deserve to be the captain of England. Even though he has served his ‘punishment.’ But what does Capello except? John Terry has managed to stay clean and not play away from home for a whole year, so his reward is the England captaincy? Lets get real.

Over the past 8 months Capello has made some alienating decisions. He has made decisions which have confused the England squad players themselves and the fans. And in some respects, Capello’s poor decision making, is making the fans lose their patience and faith in him. Perhaps, the players are now questioning Capello’s credentials too.

For all the money Fabio Capello earns being England manager, I think he should spend a bit of that cash on communication courses. The boss seriously needs to learn how to handle intimate issues with care, he is far too ridged. And that is going to unsettle and make the players feel terribly undervalued. The fact he hadn’t spoken to Rio Ferdinand when he removed as captain his disgusting. It just emphasises his lack of common sense and respect towards an integral member of the England squad. A good coach is one who explains why you have to do something, rather than telling you to do it. Capello must get his ideas and thoughts clearly across to the players, or they these multi millionaire players will feel that Capello is looking down on them.

Rio Ferdinand deserves the respect from Fabio Capello to explain why he has been removed him as captain. The back pages of the newspapers should not inform Rio Ferdinand to why he has been removed as captain. After all, not many can deny that Ferdinand represented his country in a textbook manner

When John Terry was stripped of the captaincy in February 2010, it left a sour taste in the mouth of John Terry. And he deserved to taste it. Now over a year later, he has been reinstalled as captain.

But this time, it’s left a sour taste in the mouths of the every England fan.

Football Tweets of the Week 03/03

Our latest round up of Twitter's best football related tweets!

1. ‘The only way Gaddafi's going to get away with what he's doing is if he ends up being judged by the FA.’ David Schneider – Schneider is probably right too. The tweet was made after Wayne Rooney escaped charges from the FA after he elbowed young James McCarthy.

2. ‘Chelsea give Cole dressing down over gun incident. If there's one man who needs no encouragement to take his clothes off it's Ashley Cole.’ – Jack Whitehall – Brilliant tweet made after revelations that Ashley Cole shot a work experience student with an air rifle.

3. ‘Just back from an appearance at a primary school in Bolton, first question I was asked, "Are you the guy from Coronation street?”’ Stuart Holden – He maybe a great player, but it seems the kids in Bolton are still a bit unsure of who Stuart Holden actually is!

4. ‘United need to get Howard Webb on asap.’ PeteAkopite – Cheeky little tweet made after Frank Lampard gave Chelsea the lead against United.

5. ‘A close second for Best Actor is Roy Hodgson. At times he would almost have you convinced that he's a football manager’ – Phil Thompson (Parody) – The Oscar’s were this week and the parody Phil Thompson believes Roy Hodgson should be in contention for Best Actor after his great portrayal of trying to act like a manager.

6. ‘@rioferdy5 That damn achilles injury has kept me out for months. Who knows when i'll be back playing at the top level.’ James Corden – Another beauty from Corden. After Rio Ferdinand revealed he was to be out for a little longer, James Corden sympathised with him, explaining his injury was also keeping him out of the game..

7. ‘What on earth has O'Neill taken Villa to court for? Is he still trying to get some transfer funds out of Lerner?' Charlie Anderson – Tweeted after it was revealed former Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neil was to take the club to court. But honestly, is he still trying to squeeze funds out of Lerner!? Must be why he is going to court..

8. ‘If Torres had a camera in his hand he would look like all them other lost tourists walking round London’ – Mike Hunt – Comment made during the Chelsea Man United match. As Torres gave another woeful performance for Chelsea.

9. ‘25,000 - Number of reasons why Wojciech Szczesny may not want to check his Twitter account in the next few days. Insults.’ - OptaJoke – OptaJoke at their very best after Szczesny’s blunder against Birmingham in the League Cup final.
   

10. ‘When @NeilAshton_NOTW goes into hiding you can always leave a voice message for him on someone else's phone.’ Hoggsy – A disgruntled Chelsea fan takes the piss out of the News of the World’s Neil Ashton after he revealed that Ashley Cole had shot someone at the Chelsea training complex. Brilliant tweet though. Sad thing is he is probably right!

How Twitter has changed the spectation of football for the fans

The press has given Twitter a poor representation. It’s been portrayed as a place where gossip originates, rants unleash and annoying famous people try to act normal and fail..miserably. To be honest, this is all true. But there are some brilliant positives for being part of the Twitter movement, especially regarding football.

The beauty of Twitter is that it gives the fan’s instant updates of what’s going down in the footballing world. Of course most of the credit has to go the journalists and the sport pages from the Newspapers and the likes of Sky Sports who all use Twitter. These sporting institutions play a crucial role in the footballing aspect of Twitter. As the ease of posting tweets have allowed journalists to post breaking information, quickly and concisely to the fans from virtually any mobile phone, laptop or computer. This enables the fan to have a better knowledge of what’s happening at their club and around the footballing globe.

A perfect example of this is the transfer news and gossip. I joined Twitter in the middle of January 2011. Maybe this was the one of the most ideal periods for any football lover to have Twitter. This is simply because Twitter enabled me to have knowledge on most of the transfer issues around the globe. Of course, one may turn around and say, ‘just look at the BBC gossip page, or the Sky Sports website.’ But the difference with Twitter is that you can get the news instantaneously from one application. And even if a news story is yet to be confirmed, you can bet the football fans on Twitter will already know about the story. A perfect example is Blackpool’s Charlie Adam handing in his transfer request. The story was well known on Twitter before it hit the Sky Sports News breaking news ticker bar.

Furthermore, with Twitter you can see reports being confirmed by different football institutions. This makes the news far more credible. As its been verified by different footballing sources. A perfect example is when Fernando Torres was rumoured to be leaving Liverpool.

The evening started off with various tweets confirming Liverpool had reached an agreement to sign Luis Suarez from Ajax. This was met by the Twitter community (especially the Liverpool fans) with great happiness and pride. But this news was quickly overshadowed by another burning issue. Tweets began to continually flow in stating Fernando Torres had handed in a transfer request at Liverpool. However, there was something I recognised. What surprised me about that day, was even though various tweets from respected football journalists such as Guillem Balague. They all tweeted that Torres had handed in a transfer request. But the larger football institutions such as BBC and Sky Sports didn’t publish the story until a few hours later. This made me consider that if I didn’t have Twitter, I probably would have been celebrating the Luis Suarez signing a lot more and would have been oblivious to Torres handing in a transfer request. But because of the continuous tweets regarding Torres’ future, this made me sit up and take the story with all seriousness.

Another fantastic aspect of Twitter for football fans is that footballers use Twitter too. This makes footballers more accessible to the fans. Of course, there is a light and day difference in terms of economic welfare between the fans and the players. But before Twitter there wasn’t a feasible way for players to be accessible to the fans. Twitter allows the fans to learn more about their hero’s and have a little incite into their lives. It also works the other way too. Footballers can see how much they are appreciated by the fans. In some respects, the fans now have the application to motivate the players and inspire them. As they can send tweets in support and appreciation to the players.

Some players on Twitter try and create a connection with the fans too. The likes of Rio Ferdinand, Lucas Levia , Johan Djourou and many more, create competitions for their followers to win signed shirts and even meet the star themselves. The concept of being even more connected to the fans is visibly clear with some footballers. Rio Ferdinand consistently holds question and answer sessions on Twitter. This works by the fans tweeting him questions and he tweets the answers to their questions. Of course the relationship between the fans and professional footballers is still hugely distant. It’s not like these footballers are going round your house for tea. But for the first time in a long time, the players are becoming a little more reachable for the fans. Its about time, to be honest.

Some footballer’s tweets have caused controversy. Ryan Babel was fined for posting a picture of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt after the United- Liverpool game. Arguably cases like this cause bad press about footballer’s use of Twitter. As some may see Twitter as a place where footballers act like idiots and just complain about life. This isn’t really the case. Every now and then you see a footballer showing the little common sense they have. But most footballers represent themselves very well on Twitter. Some footballers also ReTweet comments by the fans and ReTweet support to charities. These positive actions clearly highlight the gracious and supportive attitude of the players.

Some players have even confirmed or denied speculation of their future on Twitter. Steven Pienaar confirmed to the world via Twitter that he was joining Tottenham. Whereas, Charlton Cole denied speculation linking him to a deadline day transfer through Twitter. This shows that Twitter can be used by players to get their message directly across to the fans. In some respects, Twitter works as a mini statement space for footballers. As they can confirm or deny issues without the need of a journalist or a media outlet to publish the story. Twitter allows the fans the space to voice their views on the latest football issues and results. The social networking site works as a big debating platform. As Tweeters may ReTweet in agreement or tweet in disagreement. Of course, every now and then there are some first class twats on there, who talk no sense. But generally people have great thoughts and are kind and open to discussion.

Twitter has changed the spectation of football. The fans can now connect to their heroes more than ever before. But the biggest aspect of Twitter and football is that lovers of the game can learn news of their club within minutes of it happening. Giving the fans more information than ever before.