Could Hodgson be set to bring JT back?

Since retiring from international football in September, pundits and fans alike have called for England boss Roy Hodgson to pick up the phone and see if he can tempt Chelsea star John Terry out of international retirement ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

But will Hodgson try and tempt the 78 time capped defender out of retirement? All signs at the moment suggest not. Hodgson only yesterday said there would be no surprises in his selection for the World Cup in Brazil.

Hodgson defended the current centre-back pairing of Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill. The pair started the crucial final games together in the qualifying period after Terry's retirement, however they did endure some fierce criticism from fans despite England going onto qualify by finishing top of a difficult group.

Against Poland, despite winning 2-0, England's back line were caught all too often on the break. If Robert Lewandoski was in his usual form then there is no doubt that the game wouldn't have finished so comfortably for the Three Lions.

Hodgson has said he has no intention on picking up the phone and calling Terry. He has faith in his current centre-backs and that must be applauded. He believes in them and he urges the fans to believe in them as well. Hodgson knows that going back to England's old boys at each tournament could only see a return to their usual failings.

It wouldn't be the first time England have turned to a retired international for the tournament should Hodgson make the call. In 2010, former England Manager Fabio Capello called upon Jamie Carragher to join the squad despite not playing a single minute during the qualifiers. Carragher found himself thrust into the major tournament and he suffered, England suffered and another miserable campaign come and went.

There are two sides to every argument and these two arguments are very good. Firstly, it wouldn't be fair on Cahill and Jagielka if they missed out on the World Cup because Terry was recalled just for the tournament. The centre-backs have been reliable if nothing more, and Hodgson should remember that when it comes to naming his 23 man squad.

Of course there is a flip side to this, Jagielka and Cahill have been caught out in the qualifiers a few times, thankfully not causing any real disasters, however against the likes of Spain, Brazil, Germany and Holland you have to wonder if they are competent enough to do a solid job.

Calling on Terry would mean experience, it would mean a leader, it would mean a commanding centre-back who has proven against the worlds best he can do a fine job. The Chelsea man though has been troubled of late with injury problems which are likely to do his cause no good.

I think it is time England left behind some of the old guard that they rely on time and time again and fail with. This is the chance of Jagielka and Cahill, they need time to grow and blossom into England's centre back pairing for the next four years.

Why the second coming of the 'Special one' may not be so special

Jose Mourinho today returned to Stamford Bridge having signed a four year deal with Chelsea FC.

Mourinho's final game in charge of Real Madrid on Saturday evening, despite six goals being scored, was a sideshow as all focus was on the man that once pronounced himself as the 'special one'.

Of course all signs seem to have pointed towards Stamford Bridge for the last few weeks as Chelsea fans licked their lips in excitement at the second coming of their former boss. Today we look at whether a return to the English capital is the right move for Mourinho. 

There is no doubt that the 50 year old is Chelsea's most successful manager in recent history and those fans still love him. But could that all change? 

They say in football you should never return, we never expected Mourinho to listen to that advice, why would he? Here is a man that has won most things in most countries. 

This time though things could potentially be very different from when the eccentric Portuguese manager took over at the Bridge in 2003. Back then Mourinho had a team that had achieved very little and he had John Terry and Frank Lampard in their prime. This time he set to inherit a side that has won the Europa League and qualified automatically for next seasons Champions League.

The aim will be simple for Mourinho this time around, win the Premier League and the Champions League. Of Course he never had to deal with the threat of Manchester City during his last tenure, while Manchester United and Arsenal will also be out to upset his return to Englands top flight.

While it is argued that now is the perfect time for Mourinho to walk back into Stamford Bridge like a knight in shining armour, you can't but help but think while he has lots to win, Mourinho has so much more to lose this time around. 

The fact he has the same love of Chelsea as their supporters will give him an extra boost in the challenge to complete his 'unfinished' business at the Bridge. The boss also enjoys a strong relationship with the British press, not something every manager can boast. 

The one relationship though that seems fractured is that of Mourinho and the Chelsea owner Roman Abromovich. In 2007 Mourinho left the Bridge blaming a breakdown in relationship with the influential Russian. While it appears that the relationship is now fixed, you have to wonder how long it will be before that all changes. 

Is a return to Chelsea right for both Mourinho and the Blues?

The FA must 'shake-up' the pre-match routine to save respect

Having read lots of articles and blogs on the subject of whether the FA should abolish the pre-match hand-shake after the refusal of Luis Suarez to shake the hand of Patrice Evra (the man he was found guilty of racially abusing) in the Liverpool-United clash at Old Trafford last weekend I thought I would share my thoughts.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said after the game that Suarez could have caused a riot, slightly over the top; however, Fergie continued that Suarez was “A disgrace to Liverpool and English football”. This I completely agree with. Suarez had the opportunity to put the whole thing to bed by a simple shake of the hand, but could the FA have done more by abolishing the pre-match handshake before the game?

I personally see the handshake as nothing more than a pre-match marketing tool where sponsors on shirts get extra coverage meanwhile TV broadcasters use the hand-shake to go to advert breaks. Rightly the FA will argue that the hand-shake shows respect between the two sides, however I argue that if the players genuinely respected each other we wouldn’t see some of the awful challenges that we see on the field and we certainly wouldn’t see scenes such as Evra’s pathetic celebration after the game in the face of Suarez which in Ferguson’s own words ‘Could have caused a riot’ in itself.

The FA already undermined their ‘respect’ campaign weeks ago when they decided to abandon the pre-match hand-shake between QPR and Chelsea players in the wake of the John Terry and Anton Ferdinand racial abuse accusations. The removal of that hand-shake appeared to have removed the tension between the two sides and a clean game was played between the two.

Where to go from here? In all honesty the FA must abandon the pre match hand-shake as soon as possible. The players don’t need to prove their respect for the other players before a game, their actions on the field should show that. It is nothing more than a PR stunt from the FA and must be scrapped. If they insist on keeping it then it should be moved to the end of the game after the players have finished. By moving it to after the game not only are the players showing respect to their opponents they are also teaching younger players to lose and win graciously as well as putting an end to the childish behaviour we saw from Evra and his team-mates after Manchester United’s win against Liverpool.

What do you think? Should the hand-shake be scrapped or does it promote respect?

As always let me know. 

FA decision is Terry-ble news for John

‘Innocent until proven guilty’ is the way the Football Association normally react to situations that don’t sit easy at the headquarters, however, today the FA went against their own policy as they stripped John Terry of the England captaincy over allegations that the Chelsea defender racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand when two sides met in October at Loftus Road.

On Tuesday, John Terry’s legal team pleaded not guilty on behalf of the Chelsea defender, while the club itself threw their own support behind their player as they insisted Terry could ‘Have as much time off as necessary to clear his name.’ The court hearing was adjourned until July 9^th, eight days after the final of the European Championships which England and Terry will be hoping to be involved in.

The 31 year old defender was informed this morning by the Football Association chairman David Bernstein that he would no longer be captain until the situation was ‘resolved’ meaning that Fabio Capello will have to find a new leader to captain the side out in England’s opening game against France on 11^th June.

Oddly, Capello was not involved in the decision to remove the armband from Terry with many at the Association fearing the decision not to allow Capello his opinion could backfire on the FA, however, it has appeared since the announcement that Capello has respected the decision not to include him in the decision process.

So the question that remains is who next? A various amount of candidates are in the running with Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard currently odds on favourite at 4/5, while Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker is second favourite at 9/2. One man that seems to have a lot of backing is Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart. Starting the day at 20/1, odds have considerably shortened to 6-1 as support for the 24 year old increases. The need for a long term captain seems to be the main reason for many supporters tipping the Shrewsbury born keeper with 19 year old student Luke Stone saying “If it was up to me JT would still have it. The FA should stick behind their captain until proven innocent.  But Joe Hart would be my choice for the next captain as he is likely to be in the side for years to come and we need a long-term captain”.

Support continued from Southampton Solent University student Ollie Eden who said that Joe Hart would help England ‘form a new generation’. Support has also been thrown behind Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard from 21 year old Glenn Noble who stated: “Gerrard for the Euros, let’s see how he goes and what the new manager will have planned”.

Odds of England captain at Euro 2012 (Odds from Skybet)

Steven Gerrard 4/5
Scott Parker 9/2
Joe Hart 6/1
Gareth Barry 7/1
Frank Lampard 9/1
Rio Ferdinand 25/1
Ashley Cole 25/1
Phil Jones 25/1

One man that is no longer in the running is Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand after he tweeted this afternoon "I just want to concentrate on playing for Manchester United." That will come as a blow to some supporters who would have hoped the experience of Ferdinand would have helped the younger players along in the pressure cooker of a major championship.

Of course there are those supporters who support the Chelsea skipper, his club manager Andres Villas Boas who after the announcement humoured with the gathering press that “I have nothing to say on the matter- except I think it was the wrong decision”. 21 year Old Sam Copson from Watford said the whole situation was a sorry mess: “The whole situation is a mess; it should have been dealt with by now. Think it’s all been overhyped and Terry can feel hard done by”.

Capello would have wanted to avoid these scenes heading into his final major competition as England manager. It is expected that Capello will go with what he knows meaning that he will choose Gerrard to lead his side in Poland and Ukraine and then leave the manager following in his footsteps to choose the next permanent captain of English football after the Euros are completed. 

The unEXpected goalscorer

Fernando Torres, Raul Meireles and Nicolas Anelka were all lining up against their former club Liverpool this afternoon hoping to grab a goal that would help Chelsea avoid a second consecutive home defeat in nine years, however it was a former Blue now playing for the Reds who scored to condemn Villas-Boas’s side to a second home defeat in a row.

Glen Johnson of all players on the field was the man to score against his former side after playing at Stamford Bridge between 2003 and 2007 as he swept home a fine goal to send the travelling supporters delirious as they claimed their second win at Chelsea in two seasons as well as recording their third straight win against the London side.

This defeat will of course add to the disgruntled noises that are currently rumbling out of Stamford Bridge. Club officials rubbished reports of a rift in the relationship between AVB and owner Roman Abramovich as ‘Total nonsense’, this result would suggest otherwise.

Torres, a £50 Million pound buy last January from Liverpool started the game on the bench and was lacklustre when he did rear his head above the pit in what was a feisty encounter. Torres defendants will say that the man himself never claimed to be worth that amazing figure so he shouldn’t be kept be judged by it, however, money in football has spiralled out of control so when fans see their club pay that much for a player with the money that supporters pay to watch after a long week at work then I feel it is fair for Chelsea fans to begin so much for from their ‘star striker’.

As for Liverpool this was a superb win and ironically they earned it with their massive signings on the bench. Andy Carroll (£35 Million), Stewart Downing (£19 Million) and Jordan Henderson (£20 Million) were all rested as Kenny Dalglish threw the likes of Maxi, Suarez, Lucas and Johnson into the mix.

These two sides will be expecting to challenge for the title this term, however the grim reality for the pair is that they both sit 12 points behind league leaders Manchester City. Dalglish will be happy with the win whereas AVB will be aware the pressure is building on the 33 year old and despite many hoping that he will be given the chance to turn it around, knowing the way Abramovich does things it could be that AVB could be gone before Christmas.

What do you think? Did Chelsea deserve to lose? Will AVB sacked before Christmas? Can Liverpool build on this win and push for the title?

As always let me know. 

Has racism been shown the red card yet?

‘Let’s kick racism out of football’ was set up in 1993 to do exactly that, but in this blog I pose the question, has racism been kicked out of English football?

The Premier League is currently investigating two cases of racism after Manchester United defender Patrice Evra accused Liverpool striker Luis Suarez of abusing him in their 1-1 clash at Anfield two weeks ago. Last week saw Chelsea defender John Terry also accused of racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand.

It would be wrong for me to suggest that either of the two alleged players are racists until the full reports are published, but quite frankly I find the fact that allegations like this are even being made in 2011 is sickening.  The Premier League currently has its highest percentage of foreign and black players in its 10 year history and it brands itself as the world’s biggest league, if that’s the case then any proof of racism should be met with the heaviest sanctions.

But are we right to assume that eradicating racism from football is possible? Bearing in mind we live in a society where people are quick to judge and mindless thugs continue to wander the streets of our ‘Great Britain’. John Barnes, racially abused while playing for England in the 80’s said recently that we were silly to believe that racism had been kicked out of football and he himself questioned whether it ever would be.

Contradicting that view though was manager of Manchester United now for 25 years, Sir Alex Ferguson. Sir Alex said he was ‘surprised’ that there were two cases being investigated, and ‘hoped’ there would never be a third.

It is clear that some western European countries still struggle at large with racism in football. Spain and Russia have received heavy sanctions from FIFA in years gone by as ‘punishment’ for their part in racist taunts, but is England in danger of slipping back to the dark days of the 80’s when black England players were abused by their own fans?

Thankfully I think we are not set to slip back to them ways. We are a nation that has currently possess some great black footballers, as well as having the most entertaining league in the world that involves some of the greatest foreign players of the modern era, and losing that over racism would be ridiculous, suicidal and damn right pathetic.

I hope that in both cases being investigated that both alleged offenders are found not guilty for the sake of the image of English football. It is true that England leads the way in the fight against racism; however, I fear that if Terry or Suarez are found guilty then our image as a nation is tarnished.

Do you agree? Is racism still happening in our game today or do you think we have ‘kicked it out’? If found guilty, how should Terry or Suarez be dealt with?

As always let me know.