Capello In No Rush To Decide England Captaincy

John Terry will have to wait to find out whether he has kept hold of the England captaincy as Fabio Capello has indicated he will take his time over the decision. The Football Association has made it known that the England manager is in no hurry to decide over the fate of the England and Chelsea skipper whilst also confirming that Capello alone will make the judgment. The Italian is set to return to England on Thursday when he is thought to have scheduled meetings with England’s general manger, Franco Baldini and John Terry himself.

Terry’s captaincy has been put into doubt as a result of recent allegations of an affair with the former girlfriend of England team mate Wayne Bridge. As former team mates at Chelsea, Bridge and Terry were close friends and were thought to have remained friends even after Bridge’s move to Manchester City in January 2009. Bridge and the woman in question, Vanessa Perroncel, are even known to have been guests at the wedding of John Terry to Toni Poole in 2007. The French lingerie model Perroncel , whose relationship with Bridge ended last summer, is the mother of Bridge’s first child.

This alleged immoral behaviour has led to a debate over Terry’s suitability to the England captaincy. Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has been quoted as saying that ‘if these allegations are proven, it calls into question his role as England captain’. And although there have been some who have come out in support of Terry, arguing that the allegations should not affect his role as captain, especially just months before a major tournament, many football experts, such as BBC’s Mark Lawrenson, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown, have agreed that this incident will probably end Terry’s tenure as the England captaincy post requires a ‘squeaky clean image’.