*Official* English Football Season 2011-12

[GIMH]

Nah I think the FA has got this spot on. If the trial was happening before the Euros they could have just waited for the outcome before making a decision but they clearly can't go to a major international footballing tournament with a captain awaiting trial for racism. And it's definitely not an issue they should be leaving to Capello, he was employed for his footballing expertise and this has nothing to do with football.

Yeah I do see the logic but...dunno, uncomfortable with it. Pleased that he's not captain and he is obviously guilty just think it's poorly managed by the FA.

 

[sledger]

Think the FA have handled this poorly to be honest. I can't say I'm sad for Mr Terry at all, but the route the FA have taken is hardly persuasive. Not surprised Capello is annoyed, should have at least been informed. Not sure how this is anything other than a footballing matter to be honest, stripping the captaincy from him is directly interfering in team affairs, it would have been much better to declare him ineligible for selection outright, and even that'd be dodgy, innocent till proven guilty and all that.

 

[Uppercut]

Cmon, going to a major footballing tournament with a captain that's on trial for calling someone a ****ing black ****? Think about what you might be inclined to conclude about the country if the Ukraine did it. Or about what your feelings about the country might be if the Ukraine did it, and you were black. It's a ****ing huge PR disaster for the entire country and totally undermines the FA's efforts to lobby UEFA for tougher punishments in instances of racial abuse. The prospect of making England look like a country full of hypocritical racists isn't "just a footballing issue".

 

[Scaly piscine]

Capello brought it on himself. The uber-**** known as Terry should have been retired after the World Cup, along with some of the other golden generation of dead wood. All the rhetoric he came out with about bringing in a new generation and he's still building a team around a 30-something liabilities for what is a tournament that is a distant second to the World Cup. A number of the players coming through are technically a step-up from the old guys like Gerrard, Terry, Lampard, Beckham and so on. It's not even a case of sacrificing the long-term for the short-term because the next generation are already better than the likes of Terry and Gerrard who will no doubt be first names on the team-sheet if they're fit.

As mentioned above you just can't have someone representing the nation (and the sponsors more importantly as far as the FA are concerned) who has these pretty well founded allegations hanging over him.

 

[sledger]

So why hasn't he been banned completely then? Surely the same thing could happen if he plays at all. PR disaster or not, it's a terrible state of affairs when you start punishing someone simply because he is accused of doing something, it's an incredibly flimsy excuse for what they're doing. It's essentially dispensing with the whole 'innocent till proven guilty' ethos because to persevere with it would be an inconvenience to the FA. Rubbish.

Also as for undermining the FA's lobby for harsher punishments, it would do nothing of the sort. Punishing a player who hasn't been found guilty of any of the allegations against him on the other hand....

 

[Scaly piscine]

So why hasn't he been banned completely then? Surely the same thing could happen if he plays at all. PR disaster or not, it's a terrible state of affairs when you start punishing someone simply because he is accused of doing something, it's an incredibly flimsy excuse for what they're doing. It's essentially dispensing with the whole 'innocent till proven guilty' ethos because to persevere with it would be an inconvenience to the FA. Rubbish.

Also as for undermining the FA's lobby for harsher punishments, it would do nothing of the sort. Punishing a player who hasn't been found guilty of any of the allegations against him on the other hand....

The captain is the ambassador. He's the one that faces the media, he's the public image, the role model.

Playing for England is an entirely different matter. Virtually nobody in sport is excluded from a team because they've been convicted for one thing or another.

 

[Furball]

So why hasn't he been banned completely then? Surely the same thing could happen if he plays at all. PR disaster or not, it's a terrible state of affairs when you start punishing someone simply because he is accused of doing something, it's an incredibly flimsy excuse for what they're doing. It's essentially dispensing with the whole 'innocent till proven guilty' ethos because to persevere with it would be an inconvenience to the FA. Rubbish.

Also as for undermining the FA's lobby for harsher punishments, it would do nothing of the sort. Punishing a player who hasn't been found guilty of any of the allegations against him on the other hand....

The England captain represents the FA. If the FA don't want a captain who is facing charges of racist abuse, then that is their call.

 

[sledger]

Then why wait till now? It was fairly obvious a long long time ago that Terry was bad news. He's been involved in numerous controversies prior to now, the FA stripped him of the captaincy already and then gave the green light to have it back, and now all of a sudden they realise he's a **** and want him stripped again? Amateur handling imo.

 

[Furball]

Then why wait till now? It was fairly obvious a long long time ago that Terry was bad news. He's been involved in numerous controversies prior to now, the FA stripped him of the captaincy already and then gave the green light to have it back, and now all of a sudden they realise he's a **** and want him stripped again? Amateur handling imo.

Yes, I agree with that.

 

[Uppercut]

So why hasn't he been banned completely then? Surely the same thing could happen if he plays at all. PR disaster or not, it's a terrible state of affairs when you start punishing someone simply because he is accused of doing something, it's an incredibly flimsy excuse for what they're doing. It's essentially dispensing with the whole 'innocent till proven guilty' ethos because to persevere with it would be an inconvenience to the FA. Rubbish.

Also as for undermining the FA's lobby for harsher punishments, it would do nothing of the sort. Punishing a player who hasn't been found guilty of any of the allegations against him on the other hand....

He's not being "punished". That implies that the purpose of stripping him of the captaincy is to teach him a lesson, it's not. They're just acknowledging the fact that a man that's on trial for racist abuse is inappropriate for the role of captain of England at a major tournament. In the same way that someone on trial for fraud is inappropriate for the role of bank manager.

 

[cpr]

Reminds me of the Ferdinand drug test issue, where he was kicked out of the squad before the FA hearing, and the players threatened to strike as they felt it wasnt fair when he'd not been tried for it.


See none of them sticking up in this way for Captain F***tard though, but still same principle should apply

Playing for England is an entirely different matter. Virtually nobody in sport is excluded from a team because they've been convicted for one thing or another.

Also remember England deselecting Alan Smith, as the police were looking into him for the haughty crime of booting a water bottle off the pitch, only to call up James Beattie (who was serving a drink drive ban at the time )


Basically, the FA do what the **** they want, and usually get it completely wrong.

 

[cpr]

Anyone else get Orange's 'Ask The Gaffer' weekly football question text?

This week its 'Name all the Cisses who have played in the PL and list their clubs'

My first thought went to A. Cole of Arsenal/Chelsea.... I dont think thats what they meant somehow

 

[marc71178]

Heard David Davies on the tellybox this morning suggesting Capello's comments would put him in breach of contract - must be a strangely worded document - I suspect a messy and expensive divorce might be on the cards

Would love to know how Davies knows this, seeing as he left the FA before Capello was appointed.

 

[fredfertang]

Would love to know how Davies knows this, seeing as he left the FA before Capello was appointed.

Well he was speculating, but is presumably familiar with the terms the FA try and use - sadly our resident authority on the law of Master and Servant never comes within a bull's roar of this thread, which is a shame

 

[sledger]

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp misses the game at fog-shrouded Anfield which will provide a serious test of his side's title credentials after he was unable to fly from City Airport in London because of a technical problem with his plane.

Haha, the CPS keen on preventing him from conveniently doing a bunk before the upcoming verdict perhaps?....

 

[fredfertang]

Were the potential jurors asked what team they support?

 

[grecian]

I hear Terry was so glad about Fab's support he just hugged a random black man, coz that's what he does.....

 

[GIMH]

Bale should be off for my money. One for the dive and one for the shove. Maybe.

 

[Tom Halsey]

Yeah Bale should have been off, that was a dire game.

 

[Nate]

Massive game coming up. Don't think I have ever, ever watched us beat Spurs.

Haha, and again. Happy enough with a point though.

I've been pleased with Carroll's improvement lately... but I still don't think he's a suitable partner for Suarez, who should be our first choice striker. Tricky.

Mah00sive game Saturday!

EDIT: Agger mentally breaking Bale was one of the greatest moments of my life.