John Terry Gets the Armband, England Fans Get Déjà vu

August 19th, 2008 | by: Daryl | View Comments

It looked for all the world like Rio Ferdinand was going to be the new England captain. But he’s not, it’s John Terry, again.

Apparently Fabio Capello announced the news in front of all the other players after a training session, which is a nice image.

I’m not a huge fan of this decision, but I also don’t think it’s all that important. England is blessed with plenty of leaders – Gerrard, Ferdinand, Beckham, even Rooney – and one of the has to wear the armband. It basically means Terry will be the one doing press conferences and coin tosses.

What is a little more worrying is how Fabio Capello’s England is looking a lot like Steve McClaren’s England…

Not just because he chose the same captain, but also because he’s picking mostly the same sort of squads. I long for an England team that gives us all something to get excited about – an Ashley Young or a Gabby Agbonlahor – not the same old same old squads with Jermaine Jenas, Stewart Downing and Wayne Bridge. And Wayne Rooney being picked no matter how fit he is or isn’t.

Capello started off with some bold decisions: ditching Paul Robinson and announcing that he was changing captains. Now in his last friendly before World Cup qualification begins Capello has recalled Robinson and appointed Terry his captain.

I’m hoping these are just superficial similarities, and we’ll know more after watching England play on Wednesday, but I’m beginning to get the horrible feeling that I’ve seen this all before.