It’s fair to say that the UK media, and public, like a scandal, so with John Terry still plastered all over the newspapers it has been difficult to find another topic to feature in today’s Paper Round; but we’ve done it.
Just as the nation was split over whether Terry should be sacked as England captain, so the nation is split over the decision to give the armband to Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
The Times‘ Jonathan Northcroft is backing the England centre-back as the right man to lead his country.
“A few months ago, in a spartan sports hall in one of the most violent inner-city areas of Britain, I watched a footballer hold an audience of street kids rapt as he spoke eloquently and from the heart of growing up in similar environs but steering away from a life of crime. Peers ended up in prison: he took another path, which, this summer, should lead him to South Africa as skipper of his country at a World Cup.
Rio Ferdinand later told me, sincerely: “I don’t take it for granted, never. You’ve got to use your position to say something. I still believe to this day if I hadn’t been a footballer, I’d have been a youth worker.” Just a thought: this is the new England captain; the previous one was the sort of bloke who (fined for doing so in 2008) left his Bentley in a disabled parking bay outside a Surrey restaurant.
Ferdinand will do fine if he remembers the group is what it’s about; not breaking collective player agreements with the FA to try to make side-money by flogging tickets for your Wembley box; not sleeping with the mother of a fellow player’s son.”
Meanwhile, in The News of the World, Andy Dunn, is certain that Ferdinand is not the man for the job and England boss Fabio Capello has made a mistake.
“We don’t know how Ferdinand will behave as England captain. At the moment, all we can ask is whether or not he is the right man – football-wise – for the job. I believe the answer is no.
Ferdinand in his pomp is a peerless defender. Truly world-class. A footballing centre-half to complement the indestructible will of Terry. But right now, he has issues he needs to deal with on the pitch – that require total focus.
Prior to his three-month lay-off with a back injury, Ferdinand was in a crisis. A poor display in the friendly against Holland and a catastrophic rick in the Ukraine were signs that his international place should not have been as automatic as it has been.
These were augmented by a howler against Manchester City and a scorching from Fernando Torres at Anfield. Maybe it was the back injury. Or maybe those old lapses in concentration were becoming more frequent. And when he finally returned, pent-up frustration manifested itself in the swipe at Craig Fagan, which earned him his current ban.”
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