Ferdinand As Captain

Rio Ferdinand has been made England's captain.

Ferdinand was given a hero’s reception as he arrived at Old Trafford to watch his Manchester United side beat Portsmouth 5-0.

He did not play as he is currently serving a four-match suspension for violent conduct in last month’s match against Hull.

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will now take over as skipper- Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard is the new vice-captain.

Shamed Chelsea defender John Terry paid the price for his alleged relationship with French lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel, being dropped as the skipper by England boss Fabio Capello.

The Italian, who is described as strong, ruthless, decisive, brutal, took just 12 minutes to dispatch the 29-year-old at a meeting at Wembley.

Terry said “It hurts so much, but I will fight back.” “If there’s a 1% chance of being World Cup captain, I will fight for it tooth and nail.”

 Terry will have little time to dwell on his loss as his Chelsea side take on Arsenal in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the London derby on Sunday. Capello, who has a reputation as a disciplinarian, informed Terry he had been relieved of his captain’s armband after the Chelsea star drove to Wembley for a crunch meeting.

The player, who described the captaincy as the “ultimate honour” when he was first appointed in 2006, later vowed to continue to serve his country.

Respecting Capello’s Decision

In a short statement he said: “I fully respect Fabio Capello’s decision. I will continue to give everything for England.” Capello said he had come to the decision based on what was “best for all of the England squad”.

He added: “After much thought, I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry.

Former England captain Alan Mullery believes coach Fabio Capello had no choice but to sack John Terry as skipper.

Mullery believes Capello’s swift action will serve as a warning to other players. “It says to me he’s very, very strong,”

Mullery said, “He’s asked John for all the details and he’s made a decision. Former England striker Mark Hateley also believes Capello has done the right thing. “I think it’s probably the right decision,” he said. “It’s all about being ‘Team England’ at the moment.

“The first thing (Capello) did when he took over from Steve McClaren was get the dressing room harmonised. “John is vocal anyway. An armband is an armband but he will be still be a captain by his leadership qualities on the pitch.

Capello said he had made his decision based on what was “best for all of the England team”. Capello was thought to have been keen to settle the captaincy issue before he travels to Warsaw for the qualifying draw for the 2012 European Championships this weekend.

Mullery said Terry would remain one of England’s most influential players, despite being stripped of the captaincy. He said: “He will be the same person, ordering people about on the pitch. He’s always been a leader and he’ll lead again. “You need four or five captains in the England team. He’ll be a captain again – he just won’t be wearing the armband.”

Courtesy of Sky News

HAVE YOUR SAY: Was Cappello ruthless or did he really have no other choice? After Ferdinand’s own misbehaviour, is he really suitable to lead England or should someone else have