GROUP C: ENGLAND:FABIO CAPELLO has condemned John Terry for making "a very big mistake" by publicly calling for senior players to stand up to the England manager after the side's stuttering start to the World Cup.
The Italian claimed the deposed captain had let down his team-mates by effectively implicating them in a perceived coup that was due to take place at a meeting on Sunday evening.
Terry was subsequently left exposed after fellow players reacted in dismay having become aware of his comments, with the Chelsea defender understood to have since apologised to some of his colleagues for the outburst.
The team meeting at the Royal Bafokeng complex passed without incident, with Terry having been warned of the implications of speaking out by a member of Capello’s coaching staff.
Asked whether England had been on the verge of a player revolt to match that has erupted in the France squad, Capello said: “No, it’s not a revolution. It’s one mistake from one player, no more. I read yesterday that John Terry said this. I don’t understand why he doesn’t speak with me every time.
“I think he’s more disappointed . . . because, when you speak, you have to speak privately, not with the media. This is the big mistake. This is very big mistake. I know sometimes some players want to speak more with the media than with the other players. The mistake is you have to speak with the players, with me, with the dressing room.
“I spoke with some players, and only John Terry said this. No one spoke with me about problems. My door is open always if they want to speak with me. Every time we have a meeting I ask the captain: ‘[Are there any] problems? You want to say something?’ Never. But I hope that from the big mistake comes out a big performance.”
The Italian was just as unimpressed with Terry’s ill-advised call for Joe Cole to be selected in tomorrow’s decisive match with Slovenia, with the defender’s comments seen as betraying a lack of respect to his other team-mates. The former captain is not alone in hoping Cole features in Port Elizabeth, and there remains the very real possibility that the 29-year-old will make his first appearance of the tournament in a game Capello counts as “one of the biggest” of his career.
Yet Terry’s honesty when asked about the midfielder’s possible recall – “I personally think he and Wayne [Rooney] are the only two who can open up defences,” he said – was not welcomed by the management. “It’s another mistake when you speak about one player because there is no respect for the players that play before,” said Capello.
“Always the players think individually. I have to think about the team. That’s important. When you speak you have to be careful. Joe Cole is one of the 23 players who are here. I think you have to respect the other players who have played before.”
Asked about the mood in the squad after the suggestion on Sunday of a challenge to his authority, Capello said: “Probably one or two are not happy, but the majority are happy. For this reason, it is no problem. One player is not so important compared to all the other players. The group is more important than one player. If somebody wants to speak with me, he can speak. I always tell people they can speak, but yesterday nobody spoke. We saw the [Algeria] game without any comments.
“The spirit in the camp is fantastic. Not good – it’s incredible. I just spoke with the other coaches and they say: ‘It’s incredible.’ They are training really well. The spirit was there, the smiles and the players together. Everything is like the best moment of their lives. But I want to see this during the game, not only in training. We have prepared everything perfectly for the players: they can swim, go to the gym and train. The players are free and can go where they want. Everything is more or less perfect. But we are here to play at the World Cup and not for a holiday.”
Capello will play Matthew Upson at centre-half in the absence of the injured Ledley King and the suspended Jamie Carragher, with the announcement that the West Ham United defender would start in Port Elizabeth representing a break from his normal policy of naming the side two hours before kick-off. “Upson will play because he played always with John Terry [for England],” said the Italian. “I will probably change some other players.”
That could see Jermain Defoe start alongside Rooney at the expense of Emile Heskey, with Capello intent upon England quickening the tempo of England’s passing and movement. Shaun Wright-Phillips or Cole could replace Aaron Lennon on the right, while both midfielders could feature if the management opt instead for a more radical switch to 4-3-3 or 4-5-1.
Frank Lampard insisted at a press conference earlier yesterday that there was no “crisis” meeting with Capello and wants him to stay as England coach even if their World Cup campaign comes to a premature end.
The midfielder was paraded before the media to try and diffuse the impact of Terry’s comments. Terry claimed the players were going to air their views on what they felt needed to change but Lampard is adamant a DVD re-run of the goalless draw was all that was on the agenda when the squad gathered with Capello and his staff at the team hotel on Sunday night.
Guardian Service
