Captain Liability

Before I start, let's make something quite clear: John Terry hasn't been found guilty of anything and he is as deserving as anyone of his day in court and the right to explain or defend himself.

BUT ...

England play in one competition of any merit every two years; the World Cup and the Euros. This summer it's the turn of the junior tournament.

The captain of England, Terry, is facing charges of a racist nature and is supposed to share a dressing room with team mates who may have his private guarantee of innocence, but will still be left wondering about the ultimate outcome of the court case that is due to be heard shortly after the Euros conclude.

It's not an ideal situation.

In the build up to the World Cup in 2010, Terry was named as having an affair with the former girlfriend of Wayne Bridge - the mother of his child. After Bridge withdrew from the England squad, I remember wondering how Terry's actions would affect the other players - some of whom were undoubtably pals of Bridge. I may well be wrong and it may have had no affect on the dressing room at all, but it was hardly the positive contribution to a tournament build-up that you'd expect from the skipper.

So are we about to see history repeated?

I believe that as the leader of the team, Terry should now step down to allow the squad to focus fully on football while he turns his attention to his legal defence. He could always issue a statement along the lines of:

"I have thought long and hard about my position in the England football team in the light of the reporting and events over the last few weeks. It has always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful thought I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and potentially divisive.

Sadly therefore, I feel for the sake of the team and in order to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided not to put myself forward for selection."

Wise, selfless and honourable words.

I'm not going to quote the source, but should Wayne Bridge enjoy a good spell on loan up at Sunderland, I wonder whether he'd consider coming out of international retirement if Terry were to step down?