Capello’s moral quandary

Coaches will no doubt tell you that football management is much more than tactics, formations and cones on a muddy training pitch. The advances in technology and coaching techniques means standards are higher than ever before, and at top level the slightest weakness will be ruthlessly exploited.

So when England boss Fabio Capello gathers his troops for the friendly with Egypt next month he will have to assess the unity and morale of a squad potentially fractured by the John Terry affair.

In dealing with this issue the Italian will have to focus on what is good for the team without completely disregarding his moral compass.

Few people would argue that what did Terry was acceptable, but if we were to drop every England player who has a messy personal life we would have precious few to pick from. Modern day footballers are overpaid, full of their own self-importance and by and large have lost all sense of morality and reality.

But the reality is Capello has to concentrate the England camp and their World Cup chances. The “Team Bridge” T-shirts on display at the City Of Manchester Stadium last week suggest some players have strong feelings on the issue and the wrong course of action by the England manager could drive a wedge between members of his team. He can’t have this festering on the plane to South Africa.

Capello has a delicate balancing act to achieve. He must punish Terry sufficiently to appease Bridge and his supporters and keep squad discipline, while also making sure he has a strong, focused side available for the World Cup.

The FA have been criticised for paying Capello such an exorbitant wage but with this issue threatening to derail England’s preparations for South Africa the Italian may just start to earn it.

The football betting makes England one of the favourites for the World Cup and they will have to work hard to justify those odds.

Meanwhile, Terry will be looking to focus on boosting Chelsea’s Premier League title challenge which faltered after a 1-1 draw with Hull last night.