Terry shouldn’t be captain, but that should be Capello’s decision to make

The England manager Fabio Capello is both right and wrong about John Terry.

Right because it was stupid and, as Terry Venables says, ‘knee-jerk’ of the Football Association to remove the captaincy from the rat-faced little scrote. That’s up to the manager, a man disinclined to give a clamorous press what it wants. Wrong, because Terry should not be captain in the first place, nor indeed on the field of play. These days, Eric Pickles would be a more mobile and nuanced centre half for the national side than Mr Terry.

Capello was also wrong to have reinstated Terry as captain after succumbing to FA and media pressure to remove the honour from him after that business where the defender was accused of shagging Wayne Bridge’s ex girlfriend. Reinstating Terry as captain infuriated one of the few England players whose IQ stretches (just) into double figures — Rio Ferdinand. But then it is doubtful Rio should be on the pitch either.