The question of the atmosphere in the England camp has been the talk of the papers. John Terry has said;
“I went into yesterday’s press conference with the intention of being honest. I was asked a question about Joe Cole and maybe I went too far. But it was never my intention to upset the manager or the players and if I did upset anyone, I apologise.
“I have told the manager he has my total support and I don’t believe I have been a disruptive influence in the camp.”
Frank Lampard was the player chosen for yesterday’s press conference and he did a good job of explaining that basically there is no great rift in the camp, that John Terry was just expressing his passion, and that Fabio Capello has the full support of the squad. It has been suggested that of course players talk about the games and of course they might express opinions, that is normal in any work place. The media certainly are trying to paint a picture of Terry as some sort of Machiavellian figure organising some sort of coup d’etat, motivated by the stripping of the captaincy last February. Basically I am not sure that John Terry is so politically motivated. He is the captain of his club Chelsea and is used to being a mouthpiece for the players. Fabio Capello has described Terry’s comments as a “big mistake” and reminds us that the group is stronger than the individual.
It might be a good thing that this situation has occurred, at the very least it might alleviate any boredom as the players pick over the papers and see the next installment of the soap opera that they are participating in, albeit unwillingly. It could also bring together a togetherness brought about by events. The ‘us against the world’ attitude does serve some teams well. Tomorrow’s game could change the mood completely.
