English football in 'shambles' shocker. With a major tournament around the corner, the FA intervene and strip John Terry of the England captain without consulting the manager. The manager resigns. England have no captain, no manager and naff all chance of winning Euro 2012.
In many ways, I don't blame Fabio Capello for leaving.

Welcome to English football in 2012. The captain of the national team faces a criminal charge for the use of racially aggravated abuse during a Premier League match. Five months after the event, the FA announce that this player will be stripped of the captaincy without, it would appear, having consulted the manager.

One of the disadvantages of working a paying job whilst trying to build a readership on your own blog is that sometimes we get blindsided by events that need immediate reporting such as we saw today in London as England manager Fabio Capello resigned his position immediately following a meeting with FA Chairman David Bernstein.

So, Fabio Capello quits as the England national coach. This is, perhaps, unsurprising considering the dog's abuse that he has taken while leading the national team through an almost flawless qualification campaign, before finding that the decision over who would take the England captain's arm-band was taken away from him without consultation.

John Terry has been England captain three times. He has been stripped of the captaincy three times. Rio Ferdinand has been England captain once. He does not want the England captaincy again. Steven Gerrard has been overlooked for the England captaincy several times. He is no longer a guaranteed starter in the side.

There's something beautifully eerie about Arsenal's Emirates stadium when it experiences a night of snowfall. It almost looks like a scene out of the Twilight Zone and the colour of the sky just takes you to a different place. What are these goose pimples? Bring back November, please!

Their is a lot of uncertainity over who will be the next England Captain after John Terry was sensationally axed from the position last week. Favourites for the job United's Rio Ferdinand ruled himself out of the running while Man City's Joe Hart has down played his chances of replacing Terry.

Captain Cuddles John Terry must have thought yesterday was going to be a dream afternoon for him. Three points against Manchester United, plus the perfect opportunity to put his new PR campaign into action. An unsuspecting Ramires was the bemused recipient of the former England captain's affection as JT addressed his race relations isses with [.

This certainly isn't going to go down that well with the FA.

England manager Fabio Capello laid out his thoughts on John Terry and the FA's decision to strip him of the England captaincy to Italian broadcaster Rai 1 today. To say he's not pleased with what has transpired would be a gross understatement.

Over England way, John Terry has been stripped of his national team captaincy. The move comes in the midst of Terry's ongoing prosecution for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, with a trial on the incident set for the summer. Terry's leadership of England was under question before, but the controversy surrounding what he allegedly said to Ferdinand was the tipping point for removing him as captain.

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Who should replace Chelsea's John Terry as England captain? Former England and Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor believes that Liverpool talisman Steven Gerrard is the ideal candidate for the job, but only if he can prove that he's up to it. Speaking to BBC Sport, Taylor argued:"Gerrard's been captain before and I'd expect [Fabio] Capello to give it to him if he gets his top-class form back.

The Daily Mirror is reporting that England manager Fabio Capello is said to be furious over the sacking today of his captain John Terry.

According to the report Capello fought for Terry to remain as England captain until the bitter end and only accepted the FA's decision with extreme reluctance.

Following John Terry's stripping of the England captaincy for the second and probably final time the man who briefly stepped into Terry's shoe's following his affair with Wayne Bridge's girl-friend has also ruled himself out of the running to replace the serial cheat.

Rio tweeted: "I don't want to be England captain after the last episode.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

As Egypt reels from the tragic deaths in Port Said, national team coach Bob Bradley is taking a role in the rebuilding.

The former U.S. manager joined in a non-violent protest march on Thursday as public anger against the interior ministry grows.

It's like deja vu, all over again John Terry was ditched as England captain this morning. 'Sources close to the Chelsea captain' said he was stripped of the armband metaphorically, alas at 10am during a phone call from FA chairman David Bernstein. The decision was made because Terry is due to stand trial [.

The English FA have been forced to strip John Terry of the England captaincy after outcry over his racism case being put back till after this Summer's Euro 2012 Finals in Poland and Ukraine with many looking for the Chelsea defender to be stripped of even an
England Jersey
.

Tory MP Damian Collins who has campaigned for FIFA reform hit out saying:
"He is in a public position as England captain.

Chelsea and England captain John Terry's problems are not about to end any time soon after fellow players and anti-racist campaigners called on Fabio Capello to exclude him from his squad for the European championships.

These sentiments come after Wednesday's landmark ruling where the FA announced that Terry would only face trial for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand until after the tournament.

Just a quick round-up this morning:

Terry will go to the Euros...

• Shambolic! RT @RobHarrisUK BREAKING: England captain Terry not to stand trial on charge of racially abusing opponent until after Euro 2012.

The skinny: John Terry's legal trial regarding his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand postponed to the week of July 9th.

Although you can't argue with the fact that David Beckham decided to turn down an awful lot of money and the lure of several major clubs in order to continue pursuing a career in the MLS, proving a number of soccer betting tips wrong in the process, that fact fades into insignificance when you realise that not only does Becks want to stick around because he enjoys playing in North America, but also because he has a vested interest in staying for the long term in order to take advantage of the clause in his contract that means he could become the owner of an MLS franchise once his deal expires.

Manchester City's crosstown rivals and English Premiership title contenders Manchester United could also do with a transfer signing. Nemanja Vidic, the club captain and lynchpin of the Manchester United defence, is out for the rest of the season. Rio Ferdinand, the former England captain and one of the best defenders in the club's history, continuously suffers from niggling injuries and his participation is never certain until the match begins.

David Beckham has joined LA Galaxy owner Tim Leiweke in hoping that the invaluable Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard considers signing for LA Galaxy in the future.

Lampard, 33, has been linked to the MLS Cup winners in recent weeks but having rubbished all reports of an exit from Stamford Bridge, the midfielder looks set to continue his impressive form for the West Londoners.

After signing on to remain an LA Galaxy player, David Beckham is aiming for more silverware with the reigning MLS Cup Champions.

It was announced Wednesday that Beckham agreed to a two-year contract with the Galaxy after playing a pivotal role during last season's championship run, the club's first triumph since 2005.

One schoolboy had his moment of glory during a kickabout with John Terry when he volleyed the ball at the England captain's nuts. The ball sat up nicely to present the youngster with a chance that many people up and down the country would relish. The Chelsea man clearly felt the impact, although he was [.

Guardian: MPs to hold inquiry into racism in sport following Luis Suárez case

• Culture, media and sport select committee will consider issue • Inquiry will not only be restricted to football A committee of MPs is to hold an inquiry into racism in sport following the Luis Suárez case and allegations against John Terry.

With the news that Eric Cantona wants to become the next French president, OTP turned its thoughts to the UK and potential candidates to become the next Prime Minister. 1. Steve Kean He has proven practical experience of tackling youth unemployment by offering jobs in Blackburn's defence. Plus, the British public have already demonstrated that [.

Image: FINDLAY KEMBER/AFP/Getty Images.

Remember kids. Smoking is bad. It rots your lungs, prematurely ages your skin and due to recently implemented non-smoking legislation, can cause hair frizzing as you stand outside in the rain.

Now, John Terry might have made our hair curl in the past with his nefarious lady-bothering activities, and even caused the odd bout of breathlessness when his shorts get clingy, but so far he hasn't aged us.

Speculation that David Beckham has made a huge u-turn to sign a new deal with LA Galaxy is mounting today, following reports that he has turned down a switch to big spending Paris St. Germain in France. For a number of weeks now, Beckham has been linked with a return to European football with the club that has just appointed former Chelsea boss, Carlo Ancelotti as its new manager.

By Alan Duffy

He may be public enemy number one these days, or maybe number two behind Luis Suarez. But John Terry discovered that love can conquer all, after a fan/loony ran onto the Stamford Bridge turf during the Villa game in order to express his physical love for the England captain.

Good article on MLSsoccer.com about Gavin Wilkinson and his travels abroad. I think we all already knew this, but he pretty much spelled it out that we're going to see a couple new faces this off season from abroad which shouldn't be surprising given the amount of scouting he's been doing in recent months.

It's been a good week for racism in football. Luis Suarez has been banned by eight matches and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Patrice Evra whilst Chelsea and England captain John Terry faces a racially aggravated public order charge for allegedly abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in a match in October.

On the 23 October, John Terry was caught on camera blatantly screaming a racist expletive at QPR's Anton Ferdinand. Whether he had racist intent is open to debate, but the available evidence was/is definitely persuasive enough to warrant an FA charge...or so you would have though. For two days after the incident, the England captain was the subject of major controversy and recrimination, and the

The England national football team will jet off to Poland and Ukraine next summer with the hope of achieving something their forbearers have not. Namely, winning the European Football Championship. Yet the inhabitants of Krakow and Kiev would be hard pressed to place a cigarette paper between our brave English Lions, with their matching suits, [.

Becks rules out management career

"I love working with kids and coaching kids, but being a manager is one of those things that has never interested me," says former England captain

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-12-06 09:20:53 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Beckham plays football with Filipino street children picture special

Former England captain met the kids as part of his work as a Unicef ambassador

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-12-02 14:41:51 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Barcelona star Daniel Alves believes that the media furore over Gerard Pique's booking against Rayo Vallecano proves there is an agenda against his club.

Pique has been pillored in the media for collecting a yellow card for time wasting during the closing stages of their 4-0 win over Rayo, which rules him out of their clash for Levante.

While discussing his future in football, David Beckham has played down reports that he will move back to England to finish his playing career.

Those who bet on soccer will note how the former England captain is out of contract at LA Galaxy this month, meaning that a move to a new club could be on the cards.

Paris St. Germain defender Sylvain Armand has become the first player to publicly voice concerns about the potential arrival of David Beckham in the French capital after claiming that the Los Angeles Galaxy star adds little value on the field.

Armand, 31, has spent seven seasons with PSG and only recently has he been able to enjoy training with a strong squad, which is currently built around Argentine sensation Javier Pastore.

Norwich City and Aviva show that football can convey a positive message - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

In the modern day professional football can set a poor example for our children, with cowardly and unsporting behaviour seemingly the norm at all levels throughout the game. With England captain John Terry under investigation by the FA for supposedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in a recent English Premier League game, role models and the ethics of hard work, fair play and determination can sometimes be lacking to the untrained eye.

John Terry spoke to the press ahead of England's friendly with Sweden and has revealed he is feeling good, getting plenty of support from players and managers alike and always looks to two Chelsea Captains of the past as his inspiration.
We all know what allegations JT is facing at the moment and as a result he couldn't speak directly about the investigations being made by the FA and Police.