Dominating the English newspapers over the last 3-4 weeks, has been the emotional saga involving England internationals Wayne Bridge and John Terry, with Vanessa Perroncel providing more than a supporting cast. Earlier this week, Wayne Bridge released a statement effectively ending his international career by officially withdrawing from the England squad for World Cup 2010 in South Africa next June. England manager Fabio Capello had already punished John Terry for his exploits by stripping him of the captaincy and stating that under his management, Terry won’t captain the squad again. Yesterday’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and Man City will forever be known as “The Handshake Game”, where during the traditional team handshakes prior to kick-off , Bridge chose to walk past Terry’s open hand. True to form, the media were all over it.

The crucial question now is how will these events affect the England squad going into it’s first preparation game against Egypt on Wednesday and beyond ?

My own feeling that Bridge’s departure from the squad is actually a positive move for all concerned. Bridge was never going to start over Ashley Cole other than if the Chelsea full-back doesn’t recover from his ankle injury. Even if Cole fails to make the squad, I think that Capello had better options at that position despite Bridge’s position as first replacement. Bridge has never impressed me as an international. He is slow, and does not have the offensive qualities that are necessary nowadays for international full-backs. His performance against Argentina in Geneva before the 2006 World Cup where he was roasted on almost every Argentina attack, showed up a lot of his weaknesses, and his starting position at Chelsea was constantly under threat as the club first signed Asier Del Horno and then Ashley Cole as their first choice left back in preference to starting him. I think Leighton Baines and Stephen Warnock offer better options at left-back despite their lack of experience at international level.

Leighton Baines

Bridge’s absence now allows Terry to perform at his best, free from unnecessary distractions which I’m sure Capello is relieved about when he looks at England’s frailties in defending set-piece situations. An under-performing Terry is Capello’s worst nightmare as the Chelsea captain’s recent performances have shown. The squad will also be breathing a sigh of relief as no-one wanted the media hype to be any worse than it ordinarily would be for a World Cup tournament. In fact the only people disappointed about this development will be the reporters and paparazzi who must have been licking their chops at the prospect of such prime material in such a high profile arena.

Wayne Bridge and John Terry in better times

My own opinion about this whole circus is that it has been completely blown out of proportion. These kind of love triangles occur all the time in our own walk of life. I grant you that it was a distasteful move by Terry to cheat with Perroncel, but he has paid a huge price both personally and professionally. As for all the “flag waving” from his teammates, and shows of support with T-shirts bearing Bridge’s name, you have to remember here that we are dealing with European soccer players, who hardly fall into the top category of “most mature people on the planet”. I’m quite sure that this type of stuff goes on regularly across the League and Sepp Blatter’s comment that” if these were Latin players, they would be applauded” suggests that it is not the exception but the rule.

Either way, it’s over now, I think, and Bridge’s absence won’t cause so much as a blink of an eye with Fabio Capello. He has much bigger fish to fry.