Stuart Pearce found himself on the front page of the newspapersI could not help but find the front pages of some of Friday's newspapers anything other than embarrassing.

Stuart Pearce has only just been named as England's caretaker manager, and already the press have dredged up some story from years ago in an attempt to discredit him.

I just cannot understand this attitude of the British media that as soon as someone is elevated to sufficiently high office they are fair game. Even if there is nothing new to smear a person's name with, they will happily trawl through a person's past just to get anything on them.

That is what has happened here with an

England boss Fabio Capello looks quizzicalThe FA should take another brave decision and fire Fabio Capello after he undermined their authority in the latest episode of this John Terry saga.

Capello's comments to Italian TV — when he said he completely disagreed with the decision to strip Terry of the England captaincy because of his upcoming court case — are evidence enough in themselves that the right call was taken: Terry is a one-man media circus, a distraction and a sideshow and an embarrassing one at that.

Capello's comments also undermine the authority of his paymasters, the other senior players in the England squad — who know

John Terry on England media dutyYesterday they celebrated Groundhog Day in the US, a term which has come to mean living the same day over and over again. It certainly feels as though we are going through the same motions today following the news that John Terry has again been stripped of the England captaincy.

It'’s almost two years to the day since he first had the armband taken off him following claims of misbehaviour off the pitch. Now it is the repercussions of something that he is alleged to have done on the field - something which he denies - which has led to him losing it again.

I realise that the FA felt they had to

David De Gea (AFP)The dust has finally settled on Manchester United's FA Cup defeat to Liverpool, and there can be little doubt that Sir Alex Ferguson's greatest concern will be David De Gea.

It was not really the Spaniard's errors that were the problem for me; I thought his mistakes for both goals were relatively minor and he was undone by some poor defending.

What really bothered me was his apparently complete lack of confidence.

It makes me wonder if he will be able to handle the scrutiny he is under at the moment.

Has he got people here to support him? Not just at the club, but also family and friends.

When

Luis Suarez was banned for eight matches for racially abusing Patrice EvraI think Patrice Evra has the character to deal with whatever is thrown at him when Manchester United visit Liverpool in the FA Cup on Saturday and I don't think he will let any abuse from the stands affect him.

I am sure the controversy won't affect Manchester United either, though the intimidating atmosphere as a whole may have an impact on those players who haven't played at Anfield before in a United shirt. It is quite an experience.

The Luis Suarez racism case hangs over this match of course, and it was disappointing how Liverpool tried to make out that Evra was the villain of the piece

Balotelli checks on Parker's condition after their clashIt is such a shame that Mario Balotelli's apparent stamp on Scott Parker has overshadowed what was an exciting 3-2 win for Manchester City over Tottenham on Sunday.

One of the biggest matches in the Premier League this season — bigger than United's visit to Arsenal was later that same day — lived up to its billing in the second half, but all anyone is able to focus on now are the negatives.

When the incident happened in real-time it was difficult to ascertain how serious it was. The lack of reaction from the Spurs players and the close proximity of referee Howard Webb seemed to show it was not

Andre Villas-Boas has radical plans for the future of the gameIf Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has his way and the top clubs are allowed to enter B teams into the league ladder at the expense of existing Football League sides it would be an absolute embarrassment to English football.

One of the best things about the English game is the way it has structural integrity and is built around the concepts of fairness and honesty. The league ladder is there for a reason: you rise and fall dependent on your performance; it is a meritocracy. We have got four well-structured divisions with long historical roots. This has been in place for well over 100 years

Nathan Dyer celebrates his goal against ArsenalAfter Arsenal's 3-2 defeat at Swansea on Sunday, Thierry Henry took issue with one travelling supporter's criticism of his team.

I don't know what it was the fan said to Henry, but assuming it was nothing abusive or unreasonable then they were right to voice their frustration.

Fans are asked to pay ever increasing amounts of money to follow their club, and when they have genuine grounds for complaint it is only right they should let the players know their feelings. Arsenal got to fly home on Sunday evening and will get today off, but most of the away fans will have had a long journey back to