The defender was conspicuously silent during the meeting Fabio Capello held with his squad on Sunday night to find a way of improving their underperformance at the World Cup.
That was predictable enough. Terry’s outburst during media briefings was not endorsed by all the other players. Indeed some believe that Terry is part of the problem.
It is understood that he has cut a discontented figure at times in South Africa, with his unhappiness traceable to when he was stripped of the captaincy back in February. Terry has also, it is believed, expressed discontent at the training methods and, in that, he shares the views of goalkeeper David James.
Senior sources within the camp told Terry yesterday that his public complaints were not helpful and that, if he had concerns, he should direct those to the management. It points towards a day of reckoning once this fretful campaign is over.
Capello will take a dim view of Terry’s behaviour, especially as he does not have backing. It is true that members of the squad have doubts about some of the selections and the style of play but they believed change could be achieved in a different way. For his part, it is believed that Capello knows changes must be made against Slovenia.
The Italian was frank and direct – but also conciliatory – when he addressed the players and asked them why they thought things were going wrong and why they played so poorly against Algeria. Capello reviewed the first half and highlighted two moments that struck him: one passage of play when a player was very slow to retrieve the ball for a throw-in and another when a second player was slow to get back to his feet after falling over.
The manager is understood to regard these as clear signs of the “fear” that he feels has gripped the squad. He called this a “Wembley Fear” when he was appointed but now refers to it as a “World Cup Fear”. Capello told the players that they need to perform as they can do and to try to relax and enjoy themselves.
He also acknowledged that it may require changes to be made against Slovenia — and possibly even a change in formation — but there was also a clear message that even though they have played badly so far, they have not been beaten in either match and are, he believes, by far the strongest team in Group C. The implication was that if they started to play then they still had more than enough to win the group and do well in the competition.
In truth, England’s poor form has come as a shock to Capello and rattled him, especially as he felt he had dealt with the issue of low confidence, which he had identified in his first game in charge against Switzerland in February 2008.
Now Capello believes that he has perhaps underestimated the pressure England feel at a World Cup. He has told the players to remember that they are there to play football and that they should not worry too much about the expectations from fans or the media.
It has seemed that Wayne Rooney is carrying the world on his shoulders and Capello wants to hold a one-on-one discussion with the striker, who apologised after an outburst into a television camera. Capello regards this as a sign of the strain Rooney feels rather than anything more divisive and wants to reassure him.
Capello will tell Rooney he has no intention of giving up on him but also that he needs to try and get the player in a better frame of mind. The message for all the players was: you are here to play football, you love to play football. At the same time, Capello has no intention of deviating from his routine of naming his side two hours before kick-off.
Senior sources within the camp told Terry yesterday that his public complaints were not helpful and that, if he had concerns, he should direct those to the management. It points towards a day of reckoning once this fretful campaign is over.
Capello will take a dim view of Terry’s behaviour, especially as he does not have backing. It is true that members of the squad have doubts about some of the selections and the style of play but they believed change could be achieved in a different way. For his part, it is believed that Capello knows changes must be made against Slovenia.
The Italian was frank and direct – but also conciliatory – when he addressed the players and asked them why they thought things were going wrong and why they played so poorly against Algeria. Capello reviewed the first half and highlighted two moments that struck him: one passage of play when a player was very slow to retrieve the ball for a throw-in and another when a second player was slow to get back to his feet after falling over.
The manager is understood to regard these as clear signs of the “fear” that he feels has gripped the squad. He called this a “Wembley Fear” when he was appointed but now refers to it as a “World Cup Fear”. Capello told the players that they need to perform as they can do and to try to relax and enjoy themselves.
He also acknowledged that it may require changes to be made against Slovenia — and possibly even a change in formation — but there was also a clear message that even though they have played badly so far, they have not been beaten in either match and are, he believes, by far the strongest team in Group C. The implication was that if they started to play then they still had more than enough to win the group and do well in the competition.
In truth, England’s poor form has come as a shock to Capello and rattled him, especially as he felt he had dealt with the issue of low confidence, which he had identified in his first game in charge against Switzerland in February 2008.
Now Capello believes that he has perhaps underestimated the pressure England feel at a World Cup. He has told the players to remember that they are there to play football and that they should not worry too much about the expectations from fans or the media.
It has seemed that Wayne Rooney is carrying the world on his shoulders and Capello wants to hold a one-on-one discussion with the striker, who apologised after an outburst into a television camera. Capello regards this as a sign of the strain Rooney feels rather than anything more divisive and wants to reassure him.
Capello will tell Rooney he has no intention of giving up on him but also that he needs to try and get the player in a better frame of mind. The message for all the players was: you are here to play football, you love to play football. At the same time, Capello has no intention of deviating from his routine of naming his side two hours before kick-off.
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