Why John Terry should stay as England captain, plus why I remain sceptical about the Rafa to Juve rumours

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Published 22:58 31/01/10

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John Terry is taking a lot of flak at the moment for his behaviour off the pitch, but I definitely think he should stay as England skipper.

And I will be disappointed if manager Fabio Capello relieves Terry of the England captaincy ahead of the World Cup.

Terry is the best man for the job, absolutely no doubt about that, and we quite simply should separate his personal life from his sporting life.

He is the England captain because he leads on the field and plays the game well - not because he is faithful or unfaithful.

It was no surprise to see him score the winner for Chelsea at Burnley on Saturday evening to move his side four points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Terry was booed by the home fans following the revelation he had been cheating on his wife with Wayne Bridge’s former girlfriend.

But we are all treading a very fine line if we start to question anyone’s ability to do their job based on moral flaws.

If it is illegal, then that is a different matter, but spare me the role model b*******!

We see images, news and political decisions everyday that have a considerable damaging effect on kids and adults without batting an eyelid!

Terry in his working life, like us all, should be judged on that alone and its quality.

Let he without sin cast the first stone!

But the saga has cast a shadow over England’s World Cup preparations.

I still am still looking forward to the tournament in South Africa this summer though.

But I just hope every genuine football fan who wants to go gets the chance.

Many people have tried and failed to get a ticket to watch their club or country play in a big game in the past.

I hate touts with every bone in my body but I’ve paid them in the past because it’s that or miss out.

Now my worry isn’t that touts might be the problem this summer, but profiteering companies who, with the tournament being held in Africa for the first time, will want to make sure they catch up on revenue shared around the world in the last 70 years.

Several South African airlines are being investigated for allegedly colluding to fix prices for flights in the summer for game-hopping fans, and as England supporters will probably take the most, make sure you are vigilant.

The Football Supporters Federation is a great place to start if you are planning your trip and if you feel you are being ripped off for hotels, flights or anything else, give me a shout, and I’ll tell all to steer clear on my talkSPORT show.

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The Rafa Benitez for Juventus rumours and stories are circulating at the moment.

A sceptic, of course, would say that agents accustomed to drumming up interest in their playing clients now do the same for mangers.

So supposedly Rafa is bravely fighting off some of Europe’s biggest clubs to stay in charge of his one true love.

I am sure that will keep the “in Rafa we trust" section at Anfield loyal and very happy indeed.

But it seems odd there is such a steady trickle of big clubs taking an interest in Rafa at a time when is stock in England couldn’t possibly be any lower.

Liverpool are out of the FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League and are touch and go for fourth spot come May.

So I think everyone could be forgiven for thinking that agents are drumming up false interest in Rafa in the hope of persuading Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett not to sack him.

Or I could just be one of those sceptics...

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