Capello to delay captaincy decision

Fabio Capello will delay his decision on whether to keep Steven Gerrard as England captain until the squad have met up next week ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier at home to Montenegro.

The very fact that Capello will not simply revert to Rio Ferdinand reveals that he is undecided on an issue which he regards as relatively incidental, yet one that he acknowledges matters to the English public.

There is an added factor in the equation which may quickly make the whole debate redundant - will Ferdinand even be fit? He played in Manchester United's Champions League tie on Wednesday but it would be no surprise if he were omitted by Sir Alex Ferguson for Saturday's visit to Sunderland. Just as it would be no surprise to see Wayne Rooney play.

Certainly Capello is making no assumptions about either player, although it is understood that Ferguson's recent decision to award the United captaincy to Nemanja Vidic, rather than Ferdinand, because of his better fitness record has not gone unnoticed by the Italian.

Capello likes continuity and Gerrard impressed hugely during the last two England matches with his play on the pitch and his behaviour off it - not least with dealing with the media.

An added ingredient in the mix, however, will be the return of the fit-again John Terry. He will never captain England again under Capello but remains an influential figure. Indeed sources within the camp believe that it was Terry's absence that helped Gerrard blossom in the last get-together.

If Ferdinand is fit and loses the captaincy it would, also, however go against the statement Capello made after he stripped Terry of the honour last February following his alleged affair with Wayne Bridge's former partner. Then Capello said: "When I chose John Terry as captain, I also selected a vice-captain [Ferdinand] and also named a third choice [Gerrard]. There is no reason to change this decision."

He could argue that Ferdinand's unreliability, because of his fitness problems, means the situation has changed and, for the sake of stability, he will now go with Gerrard but that would appear harsh on the central defender.

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