Would we want Terry to hold trophy aloft? (From York Press)

Would we want Terry to hold trophy aloft?

10:55am Saturday 4th February 2012 in TKO Tony Kelly By Tony Kelly, Deputy sports editor

TAKE a long look at this photograph. Bobby Moore, now no longer with us, hoists into the dazzling blue sky the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy, his red-clad England team-mates gathered in unalloyed joy.

It’s the iconic image of England’s history as a football nation. It captures the sheer exultation of the 1966 conquest of West Germany for the country, who first developed football, to have won its ultimate international prize for the first – and so far only – time.

Skipper Moore and his cohorts in conquest did not attain massive plunder for their glorious extra-time win. They were never exposed as commercial commodities.

Their principal reward was a unique place both in history and deep in the hearts of the Three Lions nation. It was a different, less desperate, less exploitative age.

Since then the years of hurt – so maddeningly underscored in that infuriating Euro ’96 song – have increased to closer to five decades rather than four.

But pitch your mind forward a mere four months and what if England were to prevail in the European Championships?

What if the new breed negotiated the group stages and then, somehow, they not only reached the final in the Olympic Stadium of Kiev, but actually won?

And there surrounded by ecstatic team-mates – though this time no doubt accompanied by yet another galling tune, Queen’s tedious “We Are The Champions” thumping through the PA system amid explosions of red, white and blue tickertape – the European Championship trophy is thrust aloft by captain John Terry. What then?

With the current England and Chelsea skipper scheduled to stand trial just a week after the end of Euro 2012 on a charge of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand, could such a celebratory photograph ever become as iconic or affectionately beheld as the one reproduced on this page?

The unlikely scenario was initially envisaged by a colleague at the sports-desk dug-out in Walmgate.

And it was promptly pooh-poohed by another of our sports-smiths who declared emphatically England will not win the European Championships. Simple as that.

But while the odds are heavily stacked against Fabio Capello’s men being victorious, there was a chance England could win, especially as the country presently boasts a candidate for the world’s best goalkeeper in Joe Hart, as we had in 1966 with Gordon Banks.

Thankfully the Football Association enjoyed a growth spurt just yesterday, displaying a pair big enough to take the most sensible decision – stripping Terry of the captaincy.

All along, the Chelsea sentinel has steadfastly denied the allegation of racial abuse.

From the moment the particular Premier League match finished and the accusation flared, through to the case being taken up by the Crown Prosecution Service after a member of the public voiced an official complaint, and on to entering a not guilty plea at Westminster Magistrates’ Court earlier this week, Terry has refuted the charge.

But that does conceal the fact that – barring injury or a sudden change of heart from Capello – Terry would have led England into this summer’s tournament.

Having once restored Terry to on-field lieutenancy after first jettisoning him in the wake of the unedifying ‘Bridgegate’ debacle – Terry was accused of having an affair with Wayne Bridge’s former girlfriend while both players were at Stamford Bridge – Capello would have been reluctant to strip the defender of the captaincy a second time.

Rather than just taking the armband away, some observers suggested Terry no more play for the national team until after his trial is concluded. It’s hard for me not to sympathise with that sentiment as I am convinced Terry is some way down the list of effective central defenders at England’s disposal.

However, given how adamant Terry is that he is innocent of the charges, plunging him into international exile may be considered excessive. It could even fuel the no smoke without fire argument that would clearly be prejudicial to his trial.

But the FA have acted swiftly and decisively and ensured a less troubled path to the Euros.

By acting now before England’s next fixture against Holland at the end of this month, it will soon render the attendant media circus redundant.

If no action had been taken, just imagine what type of hullabaloo would have been in tow around the grounds of Poland and Ukraine in four months’ time.

And we would have had to keep our fingers crossed that The Press’ esteemed rugby league writer, Peter Martini, was spot-on in dismissing England’s victory chances.