John Terry - Just take the hit, John

Just take the hit, John.

Do you remember at school there was usually one teacher you had a grudging respect for? The man or woman who, whenever they told you off, you knew deep down that they were right.


In my case it was Mr Ellis the history master. He used to come in to the classroom holding a cricket bat. Not to beat us with but to smote imaginary cover drives to the boundary while he told us about the Black Death.


At first we thought he was just weird but soon we realised he was a good sort, strict but fair and he made lessons interesting because they were sprinkled with nuggets of sporting knowledge that appealed to us.


I get the feeling Fabio Capello is a bit like Mr Ellis. He’s someone the boys have grown to admire because he accepts no nonsense and you know what he’s telling you are the nuggets you need to keep you on course for a decent mark.


I admire Capello for sacking John Terry. There’s no nonsense with him. Capello flies in, arranges the meeting, says a captain should set an example, decides Mr Terry hasn’t been up to the mark and cans him.


My one regret that is that John Terry didn’t have the bottle – or was just too arrogant – to resign in the first place.


I suppose that tells you the measure of each man.


1-0 to Capello. And you can bet there won’t be much dissent. The rest of the class know he’s right.