Should Capello turn a blind eye to John Terry misdemeanours?

England manager Fabio Capello will meet with John Terry this week, following the recent revelations about the England and Chelsea captain’s private life.

Despite the revelations that one member of the FA’s committee privately believes Terry should resign as England captain, the FA have decided that Capello will be the one to decide on Terry’s fate. The Italian, who is monitoring the fall out from the Terry affair from his holiday home in Switzerland, will return to England on Thursday and meet with his trusted lieutenant Franco Baldini to discuss Terry’s fate.

A statement on the FA’s website yesterday said:

“Fabio is fully up to speed with developments regarding John Terry,” an FA spokesman told the governing body’s website

“He spoke with our chairman, Lord Triesman, and chief executive, Ian Watmore, today, who both backed him to make the best decision for England on footballing grounds. Fabio is dealing with the matter in his own way using his extensive experience as a football manager.”

Terry’s affair has been well documented in the last few days, as has whether the Chelsea defender should relinquish his England captaincy. The FA has stated that they will observe the players and the dynamics between them, and a poll released today stated that the England players are sticking behind Terry as England captain.

Capello is well known as a displinarian and a man of authority, and the question arises whether he will clamp down on his influential captain and strip Terry of the captaincy, or will he turn a blind eye and keep his captain?

The Italian has stated in the past he does not have any qualms about dropping big name players. He told Sky Sports in 2008:

“I never choose a player because of the name. I choose based on the group and the quality – not the name.

“If I choose the player it’s because I think they are the best players, the very best at the moment. And I will have no problems in leaving anyone out.”

Capello has a history of falling out with and dropping big name players. He’s dropped the likes of Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, Antonio Cassano, Ronaldo and David Beckham, whilst managing at Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid. This suggests that Capello would have no problem dropping John Terry and removing his as captain.

“The Gob on Legs” summed it up yesterday when he said that even though the England captain is supposed to be whiter than white, many former captains of the Three Lions have committed misdemeanours, such as Tony Adams battling alcohol problems and spending four months in jail and Alan Shearer punching teammate Keith Gillespie in 1997. David Beckham’s highly publicised affair with Rebecca Loos, (which even though she wasn’t a player’s wife/girlfriend), still shows that previous England captains haven’t exactly been angels.

Ultimately, I believe Capello will keep John Terry as captain and turn a blind eye to his affair. Terry is the best candidate for the England captaincy, the best leader and obviously still has the respect of the players (barring Wayne Bridge). Who else could captain England in place of Terry? Rooney, even though he is England’s best player, is no angel himself; Gerrard fails to perform for England as well as he does for Liverpool and Lampard, at 31, is not a long term solution.

What do you think? Will Capello keep John Terry as England captain?