Fotboll / Andy Gray / 04 februari 2010 /

The furore currently surrounding John Terry is the last thing England wanted in a World Cup year and Fabio Capello has a big decision to make over the next few days: does he back his skipper or does he axe him?

The reassuring thing for me is that Fabio hasn't rushed into making a decision but then again he doesn't strike as the sort of man who would. He's well aware of everything that has gone on, will know what's being said in the papers and that the country is split down the middle as to whether Terry should remain as captain or step aside. The next step is to meet his skipper in person, see what the lad has to say about it all and then go away and make the decision that's best for English football and his side's chances of winning the World Cup.

The word on the grapevine is that the three most likely candidates for the job - Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney - are all reluctant to make themselves available before any sort of announcement on Terry's position has been made.

Of course, if JT resigns or is forced to resign, someone will have to step up to the plate and lead their country but my instinct is that it won't come to that. The fact this trio of senior players are effectively backing their skipper is an indication that the dressing room as a whole is ready to forgive Terry and in the process keep disruptions to their World Cup campaign to a minimum and that could be the deciding factor. He may get a rap on the knuckles from Capello and be told he's in last-chance saloon but I'd be surprised if he's not leading out the side when England play the USA in the opening match of their World Cup campaign. He's currently available at 2.3 on Betfair's "England Captain" market to do just that and that's where my money would be.

Aside from deciding who captains the team, there's also the small matter of picking the 23 players making up the squad. I'll be discussing this matter further over the next few weeks here on Betfair Football but my gut instinct is that barring injuries, 18 or 19 players are shoo-ins at this stage, and we know who they are. Betfair is running a market on who makes the squad and though at present it doesn't have a great liquidity, I'd recommend keeping an eye on the prices of three players in particular.

The first is Stephen Warnock. One thing to come out of this unfortunate incident is that Wayne Bridge's international career may be over and that if we assume Ashley Cole is already on the plane, that leaves one more spot for a natural left-back. Joleon Lescott should make the squad as a centre-back whilst neither Paul Konchesky nor Kieran Gibbs have been particularly consistent. Leighton Baines is also in with a shout but my money would be on the Villa man. The second is another Villa player in the shape of James Milner whose versatility, stamina and passing should see him get a place in the squad as well. You may have to back him at odds-on but that should be a safe bet. The last one to keep tabs on is Darren Bent. The Sunderland man hasn't figured too much for England under Capello but he's getting goals in a poor side and is a completely different animal to the likes of Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch. I wouldn't expect him to start a match in South Africa but he's a good man to bring on from the bench.

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