JOHN TERRY - A JUSTIFIED OUTBURST OR ALTERNATIVE AGENDA?

John Terry is a passionate player. Nobody in their right mind can suggest that he doesn’t give one hundred per cent every time he steps on to the field of play. But was his outburst in front of the press on Sunday pre-mediated or was it just a badly advised moment of madness?

Is the Chelsea captain still annoyed about being stripped of the captaincy back in February? And can much of the a problems in the squad be partially put down to that espisode concerning Wayne Bridge?

It is rumoured that Bridge was a popular member of the England squad and that Terry's actions have actually caused a split in the camp and been the catalyst for the apparent lack of cohesive team spirit.

Some of the points Terry made on Sunday were probably things that every fan and most journalists agreed with. But to actually question the manager publically, was in all honesty, a complete lack of respect.

This is not Avram Grant Mr Terry! Fabio Capello has won nine league titles, been in three Champions League finals, played in World Cup’s for Italy and managed some of the biggest stars in football. If it wasn’t for the lack of centre backs, Terry may well be on the plane home right now. He is a lucky boy.


Concerning tonight’s clash. There are two important points I'd like to make.

Firstly, shouldn't Peter Crouch be playing up front? He has a terrific goal-scoring record at international level and is England’s version of Miroslav Klose. Although he is not so effective at club level, just like the Germany forward, he seems to thrive on the pressure of playing for his country where the teams are not so familiar to his presence. I think tonight would be a perfect platform for the Tottenham forward, but it appears Capello will play his club-mate, Jermaine Defoe alongside Wayne Rooney.

Secondly, not a lot of fuss has been made about the referee selected by Fifa, but I am a little concerned by their decision. It has created a grey area, which could probably be avoided.

Wolfgang Stark of Germany has previously officiatied three England matches of which England has won all three. However, during the World Cup there are not supposed to be any 'conflicts of interest' concerning the officials. The fact that either England, Slovenia or any of the teams in Group C could possibly face Germany in the next stage surely constitutes a conflict of interest. Isn't Steven Gerrard on a yellow card?

Whoever the referee is during the clash with Slovenia, England do not need to play well. They just need to win. It may sound simple, but performances are not what are important in the World Cup qualifying groups. There are endless examples of teams playing fantastically in the group stages and then subsequently falling short in the knockout stages, and vice versa.

Four years ago, Spain and Argentina were the eye-catching teams in qualifying, but both crashed by the last eight.
On the opposite side of the argument, France and Italy were the two finalists in Germany, but both – especially the French – were very patchy in the group stages.

In 1998 meanwhile, Argentina (again) were superb in the group stages, as were Nigeria, but again both teams failed to progress beyond the quarter finals. Take note Argentina: This is a bad habit you have developed down the years.


Speaking of the French team, what a farce their World Cup campaign has been. They may as well have let Ireland take their place in South Africa and a lot of aggro concerning that notorious 'handball' could have been avoided.

Whatever the players think of Raymond Domenech, they should still respect their fans enough to give their all. Four years ago there were apparently also issues with Domenech's methods, but the team took the opposite route and pulled together. However, they have no talisman in Zidane this time, who has publically and rightly condemned the squad.

Last night, only Hugo Lloris –the French goalkeeper - showed any sort of fighting spirit. A better side than South Africa would have won 6-0.

In the next couple of days, England, Germany and Italy could all, quite easily, be eliminated. If England’s draw with Algeria was perceived to be terrible result against a team ranked 22 places below them, New Zealand are ranked 78 - a massive 73 places below the current world champions.

We’ve been here before with Italy though, and Marcello Lippi is such a shrewd coach. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them still in the tournament come the quarter finals. But a second round blockbuster clash with the Netherlands awaits the Azzuri, and that's a mouth-watering prospect.

It is now, in my opinion, where the World Cup really starts and it should be a roller-coaster next three days. As the (quite disappointing in my view) group stages come to an end, hopefully the quality of matches will begin to improve and the games on the pitch will begin to match up to the atmosphere in the crowd, which has been magnificant (from the armchair anyway)

On a final note, the manager, the press and the fans have talked endlessly about how much pressure the England players are under. But lets put this in perspective and I’m not jesting here. Imagine the pressure on the North Korean players (The DPRK) after their 7-0 defeat to Portugal on Monday night. Remember it was, for once, screened live on terrestrial television, but imagine the reaction back home? They were probably terrified of the prospect of playing live in front their dictator. Now that’s pressure ladies and gentlemen....