Below-par Terry is a liability for England

Posted Thursday, April 22, 2010 by theguardian.com

Any match, any team, at this time of year it's all about England

As the World Cup finals approaches, any intrigue gets the same response: 'Yes, but what does Fabio Capello think?'

The obligatory photograph of Fabio Capello in the stands, on this occasion at last weekend's Manchester derby.

It is that time of year when Capello watch becomes an integral part of any Premier League football match. "Is Fabio here?" is the burning question in the press box before any kick‑off, just so that we can all be sure that any England player's performance is loaded with sufficient resonance. A glimmer of the main man on a TV monitor is like a starter's gun. Let the heavy judgment, and the idle speculation, begin.

The challenge to cram material into an England World Cup-related issue was exemplified by the genius observation following Gareth Bale's terrific performance in left midfield for Tottenham against Chelsea last weekend. "Fabio must wish he was English," the inquisitor plaintively put to Harry Redknapp. Well, that was helpful in terms of prompting the Spurs manager's analysis of the young Welshman.

The most significant issue for Capello to scrutinise during that game, clearly, was John Terry's turbulent second-half showing. The former England captain gave an uncomfortable demonstration of the recklessness which has tainted his game increasingly of late.

His first booking can be put down as just one of those things, but to follow it up almost instantly with another late and angry challenge showed a worrying lack of control. This was Chelsea's uber‑experienced captain, with his team up against it in a pivotal game, and he allowed himself to get so heated up he cost his team badly. As Carlo Ancelotti put it afterwards, "It was impossible to recover the game with 10 against 11".

For the second consecutive weekend the cameras homed in on the watchful Capello for a reaction. The Italian master of the inscrutable pose shifted in his seat and looked decidedly stony-faced, just as he had after Terry launched into James Milner's knee at Wembley with all the subtlety of a combine harvester driven by Lewis Hamilton. Capello's body language hinted at a need-this-like-a-hole-in-the-head disapproval.

The combination of Terry's slowing legs and the expose of his personal life that cost him the England captaincy is a cocktail that seems to be having a potent effect on his judgment on the pitch. Even before the scandal broke, this was not his most convincing season defensively. But since, the evidence is there for all to see. Although he did a bold job of presenting a business-as-usual facade with a matchwinner at Burnley in the midst of the crisis, the cracks are deepening. In addition to some hairy moments at the back, Terry looks like he is playing with pent-up resentment which can be triggered at any moment of any game.

Capello can only hope that the preparation period for the World Cup gives him enough of a change of scene to get a handle on it, so it does not manifest itself in dangerous tackles at the World Cup.

They are not going to be tolerated in South Africa, where the competition will be under different controls to the Premier League norm. Phil Dowd went against the grain in actually sending Terry off at White Hart Lane (as well as having already given a penalty against him), considering there sometimes appears to be a little-known refereeing sub-rule to protect members of the England establishment. How often has the letter of the law been inadmissible when, for example, Steven Gerrard demonstrates his skill at simulation, Wayne Rooney shows his detailed knowledge of fruity language, or Terry tugs and nudges a little too keenly?

But the problem for Capello is that he is not blessed with alternatives. With Rio Ferdinand's season blighted by injury troubles and a number of the understudies struggling for one reason or another – Joleon Lescott with a hamstring and Matthew Upson with a possible relegation – you then wonder how wide he can reasonably cast his net.

Michael Dawson is being heavily backed by Redknapp for a call-up, but he is a rookie at that level. Phil Jagielka, just back from a long-term absence, has only three caps. Sol Campbell and Ledley King both have experience to burn and are performing with much more assurance than Terry, but neither can handle much training. Just about every option has imperfections.

But Capello knows he is far from the only one facing such a predicament. In his homeland, the critics have debated whether Fabio Cannavaro should even go to South Africa. Italy's captain, who gave a masterclass of the defensive arts en route to hoisting the trophy four years ago, is the Azzurri's most capped player ever. Now 36, some downright mediocre displays for Juventus this season have Italians very worried.

Cannavaro, incidentally, did not receive a single yellow or red card during the 690 minutes of impeccably timed, calmly intercepted, brilliantly-read football he played at the 2006 World Cup.