The boil should have been lanced

Wayne Bridge’s announcement that he is no longer available for England selection sent the scribes into overdrive and the decision has polarised opinion. Sympathy for Bridge’s plight is overwhelming, although Terry Venables in the Sun would have preferred him to front up to John Terry and put the team first, but Oliver Holt in the Mirror points the finger firmly at coach Fabio Capello. Holt feels Capello made a grave error by stripping Terry of the captaincy but leaving him in the squad. ‘This agitated the boil rather than lanced it’ and was clearly not enough to appease a heartbroken Bridge.

It is not often that Fabio Capello has appeared foolish during his reign as England manager but he is looking pretty dumb today.

Not just because a couple of days ago he was adamant Wayne Bridge would join up with England on Sunday.

But also because he has made such an appalling mess of his handling of the whole sorry affair of the disintegration of the friendship between Bridge and John Terry.

It was evident to anyone who knew anything about the situation that sacking Terry as England captain three weeks ago would not fix anything.

Terry being captain was never the problem for Bridge. Terry being in the squad was the problem for Bridge.

Terry just being there, being in the same room, was the problem and Capello was not prepared to banish the Chelsea skipper from the squad altogether.

So he made a gesture. An empty gesture aimed at appeasing the media and the public. And now he is reaping the rewards of what he did.

Not only has Capello lost Bridge, who may have been his best left back in South Africa if Ashley Cole doesn’t recover from injury, but he has destabilised Terry as well.

He has conjured up the worst of both worlds and when Bridge quit England yesterday it was a worrying sign that Capello has badly misjudged the mood of his squad.

By linking the players’ private lives with their professional lives, he has also effectively put a price on each of their heads. Nice work, boss.

Bridge knew all that. He is not stupid. He knew that Capello had not lanced the boil by sacking Terry. He had merely irritated it.

Winter of content
The Winter Olympics are drawing to a close and despite some negative coverage in the media, Matthew Pinsent tells the Times that Vancounver has been an example for London to follow.

The challenge of hosting and winning lots of medals is something to which we have to pay close attention, with London next to light the Olympic flame. Most of the Canadians have performed to or above expectation, but some of the most high-profile and hyped athletes have slipped back. Our own gold medal-winner, Amy Williams, triumphed in the skeleton at the expense of Mellisa Hollingsworth, of Canada. The latter had every right to be considered a contender, but in the end she was a weeping wreck, apologising to viewers on television.

As ever, the reporting of the Games has been sharp and occasionally biting. The world’s press have descended on West Hastings Street, where Vancouver’s drug issues are arguably at their worst. It is testament to the hosts’ openness that they simply chose not to hide the issue. We have to expect the same rigorous investigation before the Olympics in London.

What sets Vancouver apart for me is how carefully they examine criticism. I was very politely refused an interview by Donald Sutherland, the actor, with the advice to “please tell the Guardian newspaper that this is not the worst Games ever”.

Newspapers here have a daily game of “quote what the rest of the world is saying”. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to explain the difference between BBC Sport and the British papers. Canadians have touchingly thin skins — or perhaps we have evolved into rhinos when it comes to press coverage.

The sporting seal for Canada has still to be decided - the men’s ice hockey final takes place a few hours before the closing ceremony. We are constantly reminded that “hockey is Canada’s game” and that the men’s players have had, more than all other home athletes, to perform under fan and media pressure.

If they can display their best form in the final, then perhaps Canadians will at last believe that their Winter Olympics are what I’ve felt they have been all along - wonderful.