Rio Ferdinand wouldn't have been my choice to replace John Terry as England captain - I would have gone for Steven Gerrard.
Maybe Fabio Capello likes to have centre-halves wearing the armband as they can see the play in front of them, but Rio is not even an automatic pick at this point.
He has just come back from injury and earned himself a long ban through a silly elbow and a ridiculous appeal. As a result, we don't know what his fitness level is like, and whether he can get enough games under his belt this season.
Gerrard is an automatic choice, he leads by example and is more of an inspirational figure.
It's true he has had a few negative headlines but he was cleared of affray, and it's not like any of the other contenders for the armband have managed to avoid controversy altogether.
People look up to Gerrard on and off the pitch and, as Liverpool captain, he is well used to all the extra media commitments that come with the territory.
As for John Terry, I don't think Fabio Capello had any choice but to remove him from the position.
Such has been the controversy and condemnation surrounding the Chelsea man, Capello had to take strong action to ensure he was not associated with all this negative publicity.
The Italian needed to avoid getting dragged into the mire, and so his decision had to go beyond football.
It doesn't matter what Terry brings when he is on the pitch, it was clear that his position was untenable and it would have been better if he had realised this, done the honourable thing and resigned.
He brought so much pressure on himself and the team, I don't see how he could have expected to stay on.
Terry can still expect to be the subject of intense scrutiny, however, especially if he continues in the team as it appears he will.
At club level he has thrived in adversity, and hopefully he can channel his defiance in the right way.
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has not come under any pressure to drop Terry as captain, as the national issue has dwarfed anything happening at club level.
If anything, the incident seems to have galvanised them, although as long as the prospect of further damaging allegations remains, they can never really be at ease.
Terry remains a key player for England, especially amid concerns over Rio's fitness, but there is no guarantee this episode will not spoil his relationship with certain team-mates - especially Wayne Bridge.
If there is a problem between the two, the logical move would be to drop Bridge and bring in Stephen Warnock or Leighton Baines.
But if Capello does that, he will be heavily criticised for kicking a man while he is down - from a PR point of view he is almost duty bound to take Bridge to South Africa.
Fortunately, England have a strong-minded manager who can focus on what really matters. But not even Capello can completely undo the damage done by this affair.