Terry, Captaincy & Discipline

[misschief 24]

Interview shows John Terry to be small-minded and self-centered

SoccerLens

Just had a quick read through the comments of Chelsea captain John Terry here (his interview in the ICON magazine published yesterday), and I’m afraid he should have kept his mouth shut and gotten on with the game instead of giving this interview.

He’s quite passionate about football - we see that at Chelsea so if he’s upset about losing the England captaincy and thinks of it as a snub to his leadership qualities, that’s understandable. The way he goes on in the interview, he’s defending himself against all the press he’s been getting about his ‘behavior’ off the pitch and on the pitch when playing for Chelsea and that his right.

On the other hand, giving such an interview - even if he’s talking about himself and Capello rather than anyone else - is essentially shitting on his teammate Rio Ferdinand, who has done, by all accounts, a fair job when asked to be Manchester United captain and has led his backline with authority and passion. You only need to see the bawling over Rio gives to EVDS when the senior man makes a mistake - if that’s not passion, what is?

Here’s part of what Terry said:

“If they don’t want an England captain fighting for England in every way possible, fighting to win the ball and come out of the tackle, fighting for the cause, then that’s down to them to make that decision.”

and…

“If Mr Capello wants someone who is going to go out there, desperate to win and to do everything it takes, then I’ll be his right choice. If not, that’s down to him to make the decision.”

A lot of what he says, I agree with. He wants to win, he fights hard, etc etc, I believe it and I value it. The only problem is that he does that for Chelsea, while not for England. None of his other teammates perform at the same level either as they do for their clubs, so you could argue that it’s relative, but if the whole team is playing piss-poor does that transform one man’s efforts into ‘great’? No, on an objective scale, Terry is a winner for Chelsea, not necessarily so for England.

But more than that, John Terry, as Chelsea captain and former England captain, and as a person who wants the armband so very much, should be smart enough not to put down his teammate and temporary captain the way he has in this interview. Where Rio Ferdinand talked about the temporary nature of his appointment and his desire to do the best for England, Terry was going on about how he deserved the captaincy.

Terry:

“The money, the lifestyle, counts for nothing, it’s about the performance. More than the performance, it’s the winning. I am not going to change. It’s for the people in charge, the new manager, to make their decision.”

This is outright whining and childish stubbornness. You’re being asked to lead by example, and part of that ‘leadership’ requires you to be respectful to your teammates as well as respectful of the spirit of the game. If you can’t do that, then at least perform when called upon.

At this point, JT is showing all the necessary passion and none of the intelligence that leadership requires. That might work in the Premier League, it doesn’t work on the international stage.

His comments are the sort of talk that divide teams - and it not only hurts his relationship with Rio but with other Manchester United players as well. I’m sure both are big enough to work it out between them, but if Terry wanted to keep his public image clean, he could have gone and fucked Britney Spears and caused less damage.

Anyone else bothered by JT's attitude? Personally, he's a player who, up until Jose left, I idolised. He clearly loves Chelsea, gives total committment and puts his heart and soul into it. Having said that, something's changed - he's changed. Yes, its a captains job to ask questions of the ref, but his lack of composure when he does it lets him down, not to mention allowing 3 or 4 other players to crowd the ref at the same time. Shades of Utd and D'Urso - and I (along with half the country) had plenty to say about that. To an extent I blame Mourinho, he instilled a certain attitude (not to mention a touch of arrogance) in his players and whilst it worked for the time he was around, its not working anymore. Instead of coming across as a 'team' ethic, the players come out of it looking arrogant and disrespectful. Cue negative press and FA hearings.

Thats what was so disappointing about his interview over the England captaincy, JT had the perfect opportunity to hold his hands up and accept he's made mistakes, reassure supporters its an issue he's committed enough to address. He chose not to and instead came out of it looking like officials arent the only one's he disrespects.

[Elliott 7]

Got to agree with you misschief. A year ago if someone asked me who my favourite player was I'd have said John Terry, but I'm not so sure any more. He's certainly showing Rio Ferdinand a lot of disrespect.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

JT's attitude has changed, certainly. Now there is little discipline from the coaches, I think he thinks he can get away with going up to the referee, whereas under José, he'd get a bollocking from TSO.

[misschief 24]

JT's attitude has changed, certainly. Now there is little discipline from the coaches, I think he thinks he can get away with going up to the referee, whereas under José, he'd get a bollocking from TSO.

This is the one thing that can't be blamed on Grant imo. This questioning of every decision against us is something that started under Jose's reign. Under him I certainly regarded it as the 'fighting mentality' but its getting to the point now where its almost impossible to defend players chasing refs down the pitch, screaming at every decision. When Utd went through that phase I thought they were a bunch of arrogant cocks and right now, we're not coming out of games looking much better.

[Alee. 182]

Thats shocking, Didnt expect that from JT..

[Fulham Broadway 16,980]

Most top flight players have media coaching- and are told near enough what to say when interviewed, though obviously missing in this instance. Terry is pissed off at losing the armband, and in a way it shows his fighting spirit -this is what has made him the player he is.

Thing is, footballers are just that -footballers. More often than not they're not that bright, and it's wrong to equate ball skills with intelligence.

[MikeCFC 45]

This is just Cappello's way of flexing his muscles-showing people who's boss.It does'nt help also when the media are goading Terry over 'supposingly' losing the arm band.

We all know the leadership qualities Terry posseses,although he can be lairy at times with referee's.His attitude does'nt really bother me tbh,besides,you don't get nowhere in life by being nice.Capello is a fine example of that.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

This is just Cappello's way of flexing his muscles-showing people who's boss.It does'nt help also when the media are goading Terry over 'supposingly' losing the arm band.

We all know the leadership qualities Terry posseses,although he can be lairy at times with referee's.His attitude does'nt really bother me tbh,besides,you don't get nowhere in life by being nice.Capello is a fine example of that.

Capello has come in and knocked a few noses out of joint, which is the same thing Mourinho did. Now on the England bench, we see players sitting in suits, not tracksuits and wrapped in tin foil. The man is a professional and he has become a professional, as Mike says, by being badass.

[C'mon the chels 0]

Its interesting that people think JT has changed, in actual fact he has always been the same. I went to School with JT and am actually on first name terms (no Bullshit, he lived on Thames view estate in Barking and I lived about 1 mile away in Craven gardens just round the corner from where Bobby Moore lived). I can tell you that he is one of the best defenders in Europe, one of the best to ever pull a Chelsea shirt on and easily could have been one of the best players to pull an England shirt on but thing that has always let him down is his arrogance right from when we were at school. When he broke into the first team at Chelsea he was absolutley ecstatic and calmed down a bit because he was new kid on the block but as he got more and more responsibility under Mourinho and mclaren he started to slip back into this 'I'm untouchable mental state' which has done him no favours. I saw the England captaincy thing coming a mile off and unfortunately based on the last few years he doesn't deserve it solely because of his attitude towards officials. Still wouldn't bloody swap him for any othe Centre back in the world though!

[MikeCFC 45]

I personaly think this England captaincy thing has been blown out of all proportion.Capello stated from the off that he would be diverse about the captaincy and he also said that he'll be nominating two more candidates for the summer friendlies,which is likely to be Gerrard,as well as JT.

Capello does'nt also regard the Captaincy as a 'big thing'.When he was boss of Italy he would hand the arm band to the most capped player,or the oldest player as an alternative.Besides,the England football team captaincy is'nt as responsible as the England captaincy in Cricket and Rugby,where the captain makes all the vital descions ie:strategy changes,when the game's in progress.

[C'mon the chels 0]

Very true, but the players regard it as a big thing and so do the media and fans. Not sure why when you put it like that as the role of the captain in football is much the same as a cheerleader. Whe and you think about it you really want 2 or 3 motivaters in your starting line up at least.

[MikeCFC 45]

Very true, but the players regard it as a big thing and so do the media and fans. Not sure why when you put it like that as the role of the captain in football is much the same as a cheerleader. Whe and you think about it you really want 2 or 3 motivaters in your starting line up at least.

Spot on fella.I'm in no way demeaning the captaincy as many great English footballers has worn that arm band with upmost pride and endeavour.The media just hype it up even more.

My point was in Football,the captain can't and won't ask a midfielder to pass to a certain player or a striker to position themselves in another way.Fair enough,the captain might organise set-pieces.In Cricket,the captain does everything ie:decides whether to bat or field first,providing they win the toss.The captain will also organise the batting order to the advantage of winning the match as well as organising the field etc.

Football should be like that too,giving the captain more responsibility.Funny thing is,the media will never make the captain a scapegoat,prefering to single out the more creative players.

JT knows the score and i'm sure that losing the England captaincy(temporaily) will not change his game.He's Chelsea captain,and that's what matters more.

[manpe 10,861]

First time I read that. Hell yeah Terry, Ferdinand is zero compared to you. Damn right he ought to be pissed. Talking his mind, nothing less. He could've talked the regular jibba-jabba "oh, he's a great player, I'm a professional bla bla", but he chose not to. I respect that.

But that interview hurt him and his reputation. Nevertheless it doesn't change my opinion about him. JT is Superman, he's Chelsea.

Edited April 19, 2008 by manpe