This one is going to rumble on and on. The papers are desperately trying to tell us that the pressure on Terry to resign the England captaincy is growing, almost oblivious to the fact that it is indeed they that are manufacturing the storm. The one real exception to that is Gerry Sutcliffe MP, the Sports Minister, who today inexplicably added to the squall by calling for the FA to take a stance on the Terry issue and suggesting Terry’s actions weren’t becoming of an England captain.
Why on earth is he getting involved? What has it got to do with him? Firm proof that the issue is spiralling far out of control, and may well end up costing John Terry his England captaincy.
Ironically however, for all the talk of John Terry’s leadership and command in the dressing room being called into question over his alleged dubious morality, the papers are largely missing the point. Surely the primary driver behind John Terry losing the England captaincy – rather than a loss of respect from team-mates or any sporting reasoning – will be a factor far more powerful than Fabio Capello’s opinion: money.
Imagine you’re Umbro. Or Nationwide. Or whatever England sponsor the FA are wheeling out next week. How do you feel about your investment being tarnished in the eyes of your customers by association with a man of John Terry’s rapidly declining status? Would you want your brand associated with his image? In the case of Umbro for example, John Terry has always fronted the launch of all new England strips. To have John Terry leading an Umbro-sponsored launch would imply tacit support of John Terry – and his lifestyle - from Umbro, support they almost certainly wouldn’t want to give.
Tiger Woods sets the precedent here. After his similar fall from grace, arguably the world’s biggest sportsman was dropped by a myriad of the world’s largest brand names including Gillette, Accenture, Pepsi, Tag Heuer and AT & T within weeks of his misdemeanours hitting the headlines. 
Perhaps – perhaps - John Terry’s situation is slightly different – the likes of Umbro are sponsoring a team, not an individual. It is possible too that sponsors have very different expectations of footballers than golfers. But it’s very likely marketing chiefs at those organisations will err on the side of caution, and threaten to pull the plug if Terry is not removed. If that happens the FA will probably have no choice but to force Capello’s hand.
As each new John-Terry-love-rat headline appears, so the potential damage to sponsors’ brands – as they see it – grows. Far more than their efforts to suggest team-mates are turning against him, this is by a margin the greatest damage journalists can do to John Terry’s prospects of leading his country in South Africa. In my view, John Terry is the only man for the job. But all the speculation around when Capello will make his decision on the captaincy could well be a red herring.
In reality, the Italian might end up not even having a choice - in which case Terry might have to hang up his Umbro-endorsed England boots for good.
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an interestng take on the story i havent read elsewhere.
if this is true though, how would the sponsors feel about gerrard being captain? or roonery? or ferdinand? they're all terrible role models really
Posted by: chelsfan | 01 February 2010 at 17:54