Stop the Press! The F.A show common sense!

John Terry: charming bloke.

     Who would have thought it eh? The rich men in suits who are seemingly intent on ensuring football descends into a non-contact sport made a good call, the guys who thought that this man was the solution made the right decision. The news this week that John Terry had been stripped of the England captaincy for the second time in little over two years wasn't surprising for its moral reasoning; but more so for its decisiveness. It is fair to say the FA have been far too ponderous and perhaps weak on decisions gone by; Terry's controversial re-instatement after losing the captaincy initially in 2010 being a fine example. 

Do I really need to write a caption?

    John Terry is a great defender, an iconic figure within English football, that is of no doubt. He may not be as influential and unrelenting as he once was but he certainly still has a daunting presence on the field. The fact is that he was the England captain and he was due to appear before a criminal court on charges of racial abuse after this summer's European championships, as the case was delayed.  Terry's position was by all accounts untenable, how could England allow another incident to overshadow preparations for a tournament, it was a sense of deja vu; a dark mark hovering over the camp like an unwanted swarm of wasps at a picnic. Many of England's best players are black and that is the reality, in fact the victim in the whole saga, Anton Ferdinand, is the brother of Rio, the man who Terry displaced as captain last year after incredibly being re-instated following the Wayne Bridge furore. The whole situation is farcical enough as it is, the FA had to make a decision and it was one that was well warranted. The very fact that this has made such big news this week is saddening in a way; surely a normal society would unanimously agree that it is the correct decision beyond doubt. It lacks of integrity from the Chelsea captain to plead 'not guilty' to the charges and thus dragging out an unwanted, ugly saga. I am by no means a lip-reader but everybody has seen and heard the footage, how long can it take to process that through court? He will need an extremely good lawyer come July 9th, personally I cannot fathom a plausible defence for such actions.

     

      I do not believe for one minute John Terry is a racist but he is certainly guilty of racial abuse and as the England captain, 'the biggest rolemodel' in English football it is unforgivable, with this decision the FA have reduced us from laughing stock to figure of fun. There have been whispers of 'JT' quitting England all together after being 'humiliated', my heart bleeds along with many others I'm sure. England have a wealth of talent to choose from defensively with younger talents such as Phil Jones, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Chris Smalling, Michah Richards and Joleon Lescott's relatively recent emergence. It might suit both parties if he had received his last cap, who knows? They are all typical unconfirmed reports from mysterious 'sources' though so it would be unwise to read into that too much. 

    Despite not playing this weekend, Terry's team rounded off the worst of weeks for their skipper after capitulating against old foes Man Utd in a pulsating 3-3 draw, a game that saw the Blues race into a three goal lead early in the second half, only to decide that wasn't exciting enough and in turn self destructing. It was an incredible turnaround from United and although their team looks one of the weakest Red Devil teams for a while on paper, their spirit and hunger is insatiable. It is the hallmark of a Ferguson team, that tenacity and never say die attitude is what differentiates them from their 'noisy neighbours' Manchester City.

    

Thierry Henry grabbed his 1st premiership goal for 5 years this weekend,  Torres might have to wait 6.

      The result left Chelsea only three points clear in that prestigious champions league position after Arsenal went goal crazy against a hapless, albeit ten men, Blackburn Rovers outfit. Van Persie grabbed a hat trick recording his 22nd league goal of the season, before Oxlade-Chamberlain helped himself to a brace and Thierry Henry put the icing on the cake with a late tap in. It was a perfect day for the Gunners and a very welcome result for the perennially under pressure 'Profeseur', Arsene Wenger. At the the top of the table City opened up a two point gap over Utd with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fulham in wintry conditions at the Etihad, Sergio Aguero dazzling for Mancini's men. 

World of Sport

• Pakistan compounded England's misery with a remarkable comeback in the final test in Dubai to complete a 3-0 series whitewash of the world's number one side. Pakistan became the first side since 1907 to win a test match having being bowled out for less than 100 in their first innings, further rubbing salt into the wounds. 
• The Spanish cyclist, Alberto Contador has been stripped of his 2010 Tour de France win and banned from the sport for two years after being found guilty of doping this week.
• Eli Manning joined the elite after leading his Giants team to a thrilling 21-17 victory over the Patriots in Superbowl XLVI on Sunday. Eli now has two Superbowl rings, one more than his legendary brother Peyton and two Superbowl MVP awards. 
• In Rugby the annual six nations kicked off with the biggest game of the weekend being Scotland vs England at Murrayfield with the Calcutta cup at stake. Charlie Hodgson scored the only try of the game as England sneaked their first away win against the old enemy for five years in a 13-6 victory. Other results saw Wales grab a brilliant win in Dublin in a close game 23-21 and France complete a routine 30-12 victory over Italy at the Stade de France.
• The F1 teams unveiled their new cars for the upcoming season this week, with Lewis Hamilton feeling his usual confident self. The English driver has claimed he can 'win every race' this season and that is his aim. Good luck to him.