Who are the main benefactors from the former England captain’s decision to hang up his international boots?
In the past few days there has of course been one major story on the footballing landscape as John Terry announced his retirement from international football. After the FA pursued charges of racial discrimination after a court of law had already cleared him of such an offense he was right to say his position had become untenable, whatever you believe.
The fact is Terry could not go on in the England set-up and despite his quite obvious unlikeable attributes one thing you can’t deny is his desire to play for his country. Not many players of the past five years in particular wore the England shirt with more pride. That means nothing of course if he did use deplorable language toward Anton Ferdinand and this day is probably long overdue.
But who wins in all of this?
Roy Hodgson
Seems a strange one and yes he did announce his disappointment at the retirement of the former captain earlier this week but it now gives Roy a chance to stamp a claim on this England side. We all know the old boys are dithering around a little longer then they should be in the national set-up and now there is a real chance for players such as Phil Jagielka, Ryan Shawcross or Steven Caulker to be given a chance; not to forget the talents of the currently crocked Manchester United pair Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.
Roberto Di Matteo
This probably couldn’t come at a better time for Di Matteo as he chases a Premier League title to add to his Champions League crown from last season. Terry has struggled with injuries recently and the decreased burden on his ageing legs should give him the opportunity to prolong his career and expand his trophy cabinet. It worked for Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes while Ben Foster has also improved significantly since cutting the international scene from his repertoire. All of this will be music to the ears of RDM.
John Terry
Well for the same reasons as Di Matteo of course. Sure he will miss playing for England but he was never likely to win major silverware with them in his advancing years and he can just focus on staying fit for Chelsea and bringing in more medals.
Football Fans
England fans and Chelsea fans should be pleased with the decision. For England fans you get to see the back of John Terry and see new faces given a real chance in the first team while Chelsea fans get their captain all to themselves. If you are an English Chelsea supporter then you will simply have to see the good and the bad.
The FA
Nobody lucks out better than The FA on this one. If they had found John Terry guilty of racial discrimination but then allowed him to continue representing the nation that they are supposed to represent it would be a direct contradiction of the current ‘Kick It Out’ scheme and all anti-racism activations. John Terry has made their decision to potentially find him guilty even easier with his retirement.
What do you think? Do these five really benefit from John Terry’s early retirement?
image: © jorge-11
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