The Football Association informed the Chelsea defender, 31, he was losing the armband on Friday.

Terry is due to stand trial in July over racial abuse allegations after an incident with QPR’s Anton Ferdinand.

But sources close to Terry have told the BBC he is not considering his international future.

England coach Fabio Capello has revealed his disappointment at the decision to remove Terry from his role ahead of the European Championships in the summer.

Terry maintains his innocence over the allegations regarding the incident during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat at Loftus Road in October.

It is the second time Terry has had the position taken from him.

Did you know?
John Terry played seven of England’s 12 internationals between losing the captaincy in 2010 and regaining the armband in 2011

Two years ago he suffered the same fate following allegations he had an affair with an England team-mate’s ex-girlfriend.

At the time he claimed he “fully respected” Capello’s decision and would “continue to give everything for England”.

He subsequently played all four of England’s matches at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and was then reinstated as England captain in March last year due to Capello’s concerns about Rio Ferdinand’s fitness.

After returning to Terry 11 months ago, Capello said: “John, when he played without the armband, was everytime a leader on the pitch, a leader in the dressing room.

“Always he is the same. He is a player that is himself a leader. This is really important. He is the biggest personality in the dressing room.”

Terry, who was first appointed captain by Steve McClaren in 2006, has won 72 England caps.

Euro 2012 would be his fourth major tournament with the international team.

England coach Fabio Capello says he disagrees with the Football Association’s decision to strip John Terry of the national team’s captaincy.

Terry, 31, was removed as captain pending his trial in July over alleged racial abuse of QPR’s Anton Ferdinand.

Capello told Italy’s state broadcaster RAI he “absolutely” does not agree with FA chairman David Bernstein’s decision.

“I thought it was right that Terry should keep the captain’s armband,” said the 65-year-old Italian.

“I have spoken to the [FA] chairman and I have said that in my opinion one cannot be punished until it is official and the court – a non-sport court, a civil court – had made a decision to decide if John Terry has done what he is accused of.”

Capello indicated that he did not believe someone should be punished by sporting authorities before a court had reached a verdict.

Terry, who first lost the England captaincy in February 2010 following allegations about his private life, has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.

Capello is free to select the Chelsea defender for the Netherlands friendly in February and the European Championship in the summer.

The FA declined to comment on Capello’s remarks, but former chief executive David Davies said that they would not be a surprise to his bosses.

“My understanding is that when it was discussed with Fabio Capello, who last week was in Italy, he made it clear to the chairman of the FA that was his view,” Davies told the BBC.

“Having said that, the reality is that the board of the FA had taken the decision that they had and life has gone on.

“He clearly wants to support John Terry, a guy who Fabio appointed twice to this very special job.

“He probably also wants to prevent John Terry walking away from international football altogether.”

Capello, who became England coach in December 2007, is reportedly due at Wembley on Monday to speak to Bernstein.

The former Italy midfielder, who earns a £6m a year, is due to stand down when his contract runs out after Euro 2012.

Author Mark Ryan, who wrote a biography of Capello, told BBC Radio 5 live: “I think Capello is very angry.

“He is a proud man and he did not like having his authority undermined.

“He has gone out there and said if you are going to undermine my authority I am going to undermine yours. He has not long to go on his contract and he wants to make it quite clear he wants to go his own way.

“I think he will be talking to the Football Association in the days to come to try to thrash out some way forward together. If that does not happen already some talk of him joining Franco Baldini at Roma and there is further talk of Inter Milan.”

Meanwhile, Capello must decide who takes over from Terry as captain, Anton’s brother Rio Ferdinand having said that he does not want the role.

Central defender Rio was briefly captain after Terry first lost the armband two years ago, but Capello turned back to the Chelsea captain in March 2011.

Italian football journalist Gabrielle Marcotti says there is confusion over the FA’s position.

“This thing where you can play for your country but can’t wear the captain’s armband comes across as a bit of a fudge,” he told the BBC.

Meanwhile, Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, 24, is flattered to be linked with the captaincy, but feels there are more obvious candidates.

“There are a lot stronger candidates than me,” he said. “I don’t have a view on who should be captain. As long as I’m playing, I don’t care.”

Despite dominating possession and territory, Scotland failed to turn their superiority into points in part because of a resolute England defensive effort but also due to some poor handling.

They were also the victim of some bad luck with the chargedown from Dan Parks’ clearance bouncing kindly for Charlie Hodgson to ground the ball, while in a similar situation Greig Laidlaw was adjudged not have had control.

It is on those decisions that matches are decided and Robinson argued despite their failings Scotland had be plenty to be proud of, particularly in the performances of Lee Jones and David Denton in their first Six Nations starts.

“We created some great opportunities,” he said. “It was just that last pass that was missing. The game is about inches, very small margins.

“You’ve got to be able to execute under pressure. It was desperate defence, we just lost our heads a bit.

“I’ve spoken to Greig, he says he got the first touch. It’s disappointing but that’s the nature of game.

“I felt we shouldn’t have got ourselves in that position in the first place just after half time. We performed poorly in that five minute spell which gave England the opportunity.

“We’ll work hard, we’ll have to look forward to the next game. Everybody is so disappointed about it. They’re tough test matches and you’ve got to be able to deliver.

“We didn’t get the breaks. We’ll have to look at the positives. Lee Jones did well, Max Evans looked really sharp. I’m delighted with the way David Denton played.

“We’ve got to keep moving forward. But we’re all disappointed and we feel we’ve not achieved what we’ve set out to.”

AUTHOR: Christopher Halfer | IN: Fantasy | COMMENTS: No Comments |

Home » Fantasy » 2011 Fantasy Football: Mr. Freakin’ Fantasy’s Top QB Sleeper Picks

If Matt can stay can on the field this year, he might put up top 10 QB numbers. (Picture source: sports.popcrunch.com)

This is the year where I think you can wait to take a QB until the later rounds. Well, that’s if you miss out on Mr. Rodgers, or Michael Vick. Those two are in a tier of there own this year. They mostly likely will go in the first round of your fantasy draft. Rightfully so, they put up big time points and can win a fantasy match all by themselves. Other then those two, the next five or so QB’s look to be about the same caliber of players. Manning, Bress, Brady, Rivers, and Romo. That’s a lot of talent, but talent I’m willing to wait on this year. I won’t be taking one of them in the second or third round this year. Instead, I will be loading up my roster with RB’s and WR’s.

The reasoning for this is simple, the QB position is getting deeper and deeper. Here are my top QB sleepers that will be great values this year!

Matt Stafford. If he could ever stay healthy he has a chance to be top 10 at the position. After all, Stafford does have “Megatron” on the opposite end of his passes. Also, Nate Burleson is underrated in my opinion. The other Johnson has potential, both TE’s Pettigerw and Scheffler are better then average. Let’s also not forget about Jahivd Best, he had that turf toe for the better part of last year. Best is a home run hitter that can catch the ball out of the back field, with the BEST of them when healthy. The Lions showed everyone they’re a team on the rise last year. Anyone remember that Thanksgiving game against the Patriots?? I do, the Lions looked like the better team for the first half of the game. That was also with Shawn Hill of all people at QB, not Stafford! The Lions would go on to lose, but they showed a lot of heart that day! Don’t think to hard about taking a late round flyer on Stafford this year. The Lion’s will put up some td’s this year!

Matt Cassel. This is another team on the rise littered with talent. Bowe, McCluster, Charles, Moeaki, and now Bladwin! Cassel will have many weapons at his disposal. Cassel’s numbers last year 3,116 yards with 27 td’s and only 7 interceptions. Not bad! I believe the yards will go up, maybe in the 3,500-3,800 range, and Cassel has the potential of bringing the td numbers up as well. Matt can be inconsistent at times, but that doesn’t mean he’s not wroth a late round flyer. I have him top 15 as of right now.

Kevin Kolb. This is only if he gets traded, and I believe he will. Mr. Kolb will be taking his talents to……the Arizona Cardinals! Anyone that has Larry Fitzgerald as a target your stock is going up! I’m not exactly jumping up and down about this, but if Kolb does end up in Arizona he can be good! Take a late round flier and see what happens.

Sam Bradford. Boy was he good as a rookie! Quick, who’s the number 1 WR for the Rams??….. Yea, I don’t know either. That’s how good this kid was for St. Louis. Sam’s numbers last year. 3512 yards 15 td’s, but he did have 18 interceptions. The Ram’s do have some good young talent. Lance Kendricks is a rookie at TE, but has the ability to be good, Danario Alexander was hurt a lot but flashed at times, and Brandon Gibson was ok. Look for the Rams to add a WR through free agency. Some say Randy Moss is on their radar because Josh McDaniale’s is now the offensive coordinator. Let’s not forget that Steven Jackson is still there! Put all this together, and Bradford could be in for a good year!

Josh Freeman. Well, if you have been reading my other articles you know I absolutely love his guy for the upcoming year! I believe he could end up top 5 at the QB position. Last year he finished at number 8! Yes!! 8! He will be under valued come draft time. I have ranked him at number 10 in my QB rankings for this year. He just has so much talent and size at 6’6! Freeman or “Free Willy” as I have nick named him. Total numbers last year were:. 3,451 yards, 25 td’s, and only 6 interceptions, 364 rush yards, which was second only to Michael Vick! Freeman didn’t get into the endzone last year, but look for 3-5 rush td’s from him this year. Only thing that worries me about Freeman is his O line. If that holds up, the sky’s the limit. Also, lets not forget about the talent around him. Mike Williams, Kellen Winslow, LeGarrettet Blount, Arrelious Benn, Sammy Stroughter….wow. Listen, I will be drafting this guy as my starting QB for my fantasy football team. Let’s hope the rest of the world doesn’t catch up, and we can draft Freeman in round 8 or so. Look for a big year from “Free Willy” without breaking the bank!

Well that does it for the QB sleepers. Hope you guys enjoyed that.

Look for more blogs on the way.

Like always, thanks for your time,

Christopher Halfer…”AKA”…Mr. Freakin’ Fantasy.

As far as the sports teams are concerned, newer players are being added on a consistent basis. It is observed that new players can destabilize the harmony of the team and may eventually affect the performance of the players directly. On the other hand, having a new experienced player can easily boast the morale of the team and may increase their abilities.
Sometimes the change of the coaches or the managers can have a great impact on the performance of the team. As soon as the management changes, there are chances that the game plan and the strategies might also change. The players need some time to get used to the newer plans and hence may not be effective right away.
These days, a lot of attention is being paid to the players’ lifestyle. A few players are not able to handle the exposure and may perhaps deteriorate with their performance. Therefore, you must also know a little about the players’ personal life.

There are non-divisional games, which always take place in between the regular divisional games. You must look to bet against teams that are placed in this spot. You will often notice interesting clashes here and a win or lose in these contests will seemingly affect the teams in the next week.
At the time when a team is preparing for a context and has a bye on the deck, they will often struggle to maintain their focus. All those teams that have a win in the last week are likely to feel confident about them. As a bettor, you must always bet against these teams.
You must always play on the team that is destroyed by the National Television the previous week. Most bettors stay away from such teams, but as far as NFL is concerned, the teams are neither as good nor as bad as they appear. Players and coaches in these tournaments have a lot of pride and they will aim to fight back once they are lashed out on television.
Always bet against teams that end up with messy wins. For all those who do not know, a messy win is a scenario where a team wins after committing three or more turnovers. Such wins are unusual and are often a sign that shows something is not right. Since this team won the last week, the odd makers may not adjust the betting lines. Therefore, it is a great opportunity to make value bets against such teams.