Roy Hodgson was perfectly right to dismiss any speculation about John Terry returning to the England setup. The England manager told the BBC that “the door isn’t open because he has retired from international football” before adding that “when players retire, we move on.”
That is not to say that the media speculation about John Terry’s return was not necessarily unwarranted. The former England and current Chelsea captain has been on a run of decent performances thriving under Jose Mourinho’s tactics.
His contribution has meant that Chelsea have had the best defence in the Premier League this season; they have conceded only 21 goals this season which means they are the only side to concede less than a goal per game. And I would argue that Terry has been a huge part of that since no man in the club, and probably the league too, can lead a back four like him.
But England has moved on since Terry’s departure as Hodgson rightly mentioned. For all the criticisms the England team have received for playing a negative brand of football, England has only conceded four goals in the qualification process.
A part of their defensive successes is down to the rigid tactics that Hodgson has implemented since his appointment pre-Euro 2012. They kept two clean sheets against Italy and host nation Ukraine as well as a workmanlike performance in their opener against France; a good strike from Samir Nasri stopped them from having three clean sheets.
Terry then decided to leave the setup later that year meaning that Roy Hodgson had the unenviable task of replacing the cornerstone of England’s back four. And it is only recently he’s found that magic formula for a solid partnership at the back with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill and Everton’s Phil Jagielka. As unglamorous they sound, these two men have delivered time and time again for England in the past year by stepping up to some big occasions.
One can understand the concerns that some pundits have over Cahill considering he didn’t start a fair few games at the beginning of this season. But Cahill has started to gain momentum and he has started in Chelsea’s last ten games and assisting them to six clean sheets. Needless to say he has been an essential contributor ever since Mourinho decided to move David Luiz further up the field. Plus it’s a habit of Hodgson to use players that work for him and not necessarily for their clubs—Danny Welbeck is a fine example of how he does brilliantly for England but not for Manchester United.
Apart from the great performances shown by Cahill and Jagielka, the re-recruitment of Terry to the England ranks could be considered as a hypocritical move from England’s plan to introduce younger talent. If Terry was continually called up to the England squad then this team would never move on until he actually retired from football and his appearances would stagnate, not aid, the development of the England team.
Furthermore, a recall for Terry would not disrupt the England setup tactically but psychologically too. Sometimes I think psychology can be used as an excuse too much in sport but definitely not in this instance.
Terry was disastrous as England captain. And even when he wasn’t the captain, his influence over the squad was clearly destructive. There were too many controversies to count: the affair regarding Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend and the allegations of racism from Anton Ferdinand, relative of then England centre back and teammate Rio Ferdinand (the FA found him guilty but the courts acquitted him) were two examples of his destructiveness.
And then there was the lack of success he brought to the squad. He failed to lead a perfectly decent team to Euro 2008 and moreover he was stripped of the captaincy. Twice. Before major tournaments.
And then he became a disruptive influence in the 2010 World Cup Squad trying to rally his troops to change Fabio Capello’s management style. Admittedly Capello and McLaren’s managerial techniques weren’t the best but all he seemed to do was cause trouble. In the unlikely scenario that he becomes part of England once again then one has to suspect he will have trouble keeping his anonymity within the unit.
If England were to consider every run of half-decent performances from any English born player has ever had then nothing would ever develop. It’s the same reason why I believe the likes of Adam Johnson, no matter how great their run of form is at the moment, should not be considered for selection, because he’s only been good again for a month. Same logic could apply to Hull’s Robbie Brady at the beginning of the season before his injury troubles or Fulham’s Steve Sidwell right now– it’s a case of form is only temporary. Just like Terry’s time. Move on England, it’s time for change.
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