Capello reconsiders Terry as captain, restarts the tabloid train

John Terry showing how much he cares by trying to deflect a shot like a kamikaze trout.

Just as everyone began to collectively convulse from a lack of controversy or scandal from team England, Fabio Capello has spotted Euro 2012 on the horizon and decided to to strongly consider hitting an imaginary reset button that he really hopes exists.

So, with Wayne Bridge and his refused handshakes now a distant memory and the newspapers' apologies to Vanessa Perroncel for the baseless and untrue rumors of an affair with John Terry long ignored, it looks like Capello's original captain will be getting the armband back.

From Soccernet:

"I think after one year of punishment that is enough for a mistake," Capello said. "For this reason, I need to make a decision about this problem. It does not need to be captain for one game, it needs to be permanent. Before I announce a decision I want to speak with Terry, with the players, but in the end it will be my decision.

"Rio was captain, but my first captain was John Terry. Rio was a good captain, so was Steven Gerrard, but I selected Terry first until his mistake."

Capello has said that seeing the armband passed between Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and then Ashley Cole in the friendly win over Denmark last month was unpalatable, particularly with Terry on the pitch. With fitness problems continuing to afflict Ferdinand, Capello may seek a new long-term solution.

"I was upset about the armband being passed around against Denmark," he said. "Who is the captain? Where is the armband? I do not like that. That was not a good moment for John Terry, either.

"I did not expect to talk about the captaincy so much when I took the job, but I understand now it is really important in England. I took my decision after what I saw against Denmark, because it made me understand the value of the captain and the armband in England. I didn't like to see it going around the pitch. Until then, I had always had captains one, two, three, but then it was, 'I'm captain, then I'm captain'. Now I will make it clear. I will decide."

Fabio won't announce his clear decision until his press conference ahead of England's Euro qualifier against Wales. But if he doesn't give the armband back to Terry after a preamble like this, then he obviously has some kind of mental problem. So, a year and a failed World Cup later, it looks like Fabio Capello is hoping to forget his inability to withstand public pressure over the most scrutinized of inflated English titles and get back to where he started out.

Meanwhile, the tabloids put fresh bait on their hooks and wait for a bite.

Photo: Getty Images

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