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Chelsea and England's John Terry Doesn't Deserve The Hate
After a classic JT 'life on the line' performance in defence for England against Ukraine, is it time to stop hating on the Chelsea man? And is the widespread derision Terry receives truly justified?
Cheers Ref, your wife will be safe tonight
No other player in the English game receives as much widespread criticism, condemnation - and in many instances hate - as Chelsea and England centre-half John Terry. After another dogged display by the national side against Ukraine, in which Terry played exceptionally well, it seems like the right time to analyse what the defender has truly done wrong and whether all the stick he gets is justified.
Whilst Steven Gerrard picked up UEFA’s man-of-the-match award for another swashbuckling performance from the deep-lying role that already proves Roy Hodgson knows what he is doing - and was probably just unlucky at Liverpool - my eye was drawn to England’s centre-backs who got through a ton of work against a confident Ukrainian forward line. I’m not sure anyone would have picked Terry and Lescott as their two central defenders for this tournament, but due to injury and ‘footballing reasons’ they are the couple that have excelled for the national side who topped Group D against the odds.
Ok, so John Terry gets an 8/10 rating because he performed to the best of his abilities, but now lacks the pace that once made him the best centre-back in the Premier League even if he still has that aura of calmness and class about him on the pitch. Off it you would be ridiculed for such a sentence, but he is still useful to this England side.
Terry looks like he’s running through treacle to keep up with the play, but his all-or-nothing defending paid off when it was needed most
In the first half Terry blocked a goal-bound strike with just a shrug of his lower shoulder to beat away a shot that looked likely to beat Joe Hart. In the second period he recovered in a manner Chelsea fans have enjoyed countless times, to clear Marko Devic’s deflected effort away from danger. Yes, goal-line replays prove it should have counted, but Terry never gave up despite being given the run-around by the Shatkar Donetsk forward and his awareness kept England ahead and helped ease their passage to the quarter-finals. Watching that moment again, Terry looks like he’s running through treacle to keep up with the play, but his all-or-nothing defending paid off when it was needed most.
England fans getting together to watch the action this tournament seem to have countless discussions about players based on their club commitments. One such argument repeatedly involves myself - an Arsenal fan - and my Chelsea-supporting friend over the much-maligned John Terry. I have always been ready to stick the knife into ‘JT’, and my mate never tries to fight his corner but keeps me quiet by saying: “What has Terry actually done to deserve it all?” I always point to the obvious controversies, but end up feeling like my argument is hollow. Then the match starts and everyone continues laying into Terry, so I feel content again. But the point remains - and is one I keep thinking about - does John Terry actually deserve the hate?
What the Blues and Three Lions servant has done to deserve so much bile from the terraces and tutting from armchair pundits is completely open to debate. Before the Wayne Bridge ex-girlfriend affair in 2010, Terry had been involved in a number of controversial incidents, but nothing worse than a lot of current Premier League players. These controversies are similar to those committed by other English footballers who are held in much higher esteem than the Barking-born stopper.
Steven Gerrard beat up a DJ for not playing the song he wanted and Glen Johnson stole a B & Q toilet seat worth little over £300 because he forgot his receipt when taking the original back
Terry’s closet skeletons began to break free in September 2001 when he and three Chelsea team-mates were fined two weeks wages by the club for a bar brawl at Heathrow Airport with a number of American Tourists. (here read Jack Wilshere’s night-out arrest) In January the next year Terry and bad-boy mate Jody Morris assaulted a bouncer. (read Steven Gerrard beating up a DJ for not playing the song he wanted) A month later Terry was fined for parking his Bentley in a disabled bay. (read Glen Johnson stealing a B & Q toilet seat worth little over £300 because he forgot his receipt when taking the original back) Then there’s a gap of allegations against Terry until he is accused of hosting private tours of Stamford Bridge in association with his father. (here read Ashley Cole firing an air rifle against a club intern at Chelsea’ training ground)
Those were admittedly just drops in the ocean compared to the two most recent tidal wave incidents that have solidified John terry as Chelsea and England’s most prominent boo-boy. The Wayne Bridge ex-girlfriend affair has seen Terry condemned for sleeping with his team-mates former flame, but colleagues in this England side have surely done worse. Wayne Rooney cheated on his wife by sleeping with a prostitute, supposedly a woman who was a grand-mother. Ashley Cole also initiated a series of extra-marital activities when with his wife Cheryl Cole. And the woman Terry cheated with, Veronica Perroncel, has received press apologies for running the story and maintains the incident never occurred. Similar ramblings from Terry would probably see him castrated, such was the outcry against him over the case.
Most critics of the man at this point would point to the racism case with Anton Ferdinand, but as a Journalism student who recently passed his Essential Law exam, I will not be commenting on that incident. The fact of the matter remains that the case awaits trial and no one can be sure whether John Terry is guilty or not until the court comes to a conclusion. In this country the law states that defendants deserve to be treated as ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and therefore Terry must be afforded this concession.
Wayne Rooney cheated on his wife by sleeping with a prostitute - supposedly a woman who was a grand-mother - and Ashley Cole also initiated a series of extra-marital activities when with his wife Cheryl Cole
I’m unlikely to change many opinions of the former West Ham defender with this argument, such is the stench of disgust directed at Terry, but as the nation gears up for the knockout rounds maybe it is time to put personal grudges aside and remember that our other so-called ‘stars’ have committed similar crimes which have since been forgotten. And when you fully survey the truth about John Terry and ignore the anti-JT pub chat directed towards the 31-year-old you start to question just why he is hated so much. For the sheer level of filth he receives is hard to genuinely justify. That may change with the upcoming court case, but for now we should allow England’s premier defender some breathing space from all the criticism. Who knows, he may not be ‘that kind of bloke’ after all…
Tell James he is completely wrong about Terry on Twitter
Other England Euro 2012 articles
A Nation Divided By Roy: Why Hodgson’s Critics Are Talking Cobblers
Manchester United’s Rooney Returns, But England Must Stick With 4-4-2
An Arsenal Fan Explains Why Walcott Shouldn’t Start For England
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COMMENTS
Good angle, better than previous generic articles
Ryan Giggs has done far worse than JT, yet the fans and press seem to ignore this, why?
Bla bla bla... Terry dis,Terry D̶̲̥̅̊α̲̅t̶̲̥̅̊ ? Serious??? Shit ȋ̝̊̅§ when Ūя̲̅ accused of sleeping wit a mates (EX)girlfriend. Shit!!!
Neil Ashton of the Daily Heil has a lot to answer for
John Terry received (and still does so, only not to the same extent) the "bile" from the terraces because he was the figurehead of the national side, coincidently England's most prominent sport. His continual run-ins both on and off the pitch, in a position of vast responsibility both on and off the pitch, highlight the either plain stupidity of the man or his selfish, possibly inherently nasty, side. He does not deserve some of the chants that come his way, however nor do many other players, managers, etc who live their lives as fantastic examples to millions of fans around the world. John Terry does not deserve to wear the shirt carrying our nation's badge, one which we as Englishmen and women take so much pride in. The fact that he does so means he should put up with the scrutiny of his actions until he decides to do the noble thing.
Matt Cronin Terry deserves to wear the England shirt as much as anyone else, including the new England captain. We have seen on CCTV what type of person Gerrard can be, even if not found guilty it was there in front of our eyes. Gerrard has also hardly played this season and somehow gets selected and made England Captain. Terry has now got a court case in a case classed as a misdemeanour, nothing compared to England players of the past.
'Roy Hodgson knows what he is doing – and was probably just unlucky at Liverpool.' Stopped reading there. Nonsense.
Same as Ashley Cole; doesn't seem like a great person, but is an incredible footballer.
fuck off terrys a cunt end of
Easy .All the instances mentioned were divided by X number of players or 1 John Terry . They're all ahem " undesirables" him just more so to a factor of X.
Terry does not deserve to wear that shirt as much as anyone else. He's a disgraceful human being and representing your country should mean more than what you do in 90minutes. Just because others have done wrong, doesn't legitimise what Terry has (or hasn't) done.
Sorry Mr Cronin but Terry does deserve to wear the Shirt ,Considering the rap sheets of other England Players if we banned them all because we did not care for their private lives there would be few left in the team ,as to the court case lets wait until next month . I actually met him and several other Chelsea players on a US Tour and was really struck by how humble they were ,especially Terry ,very down to earth and lets admit a lot of the hatred towards the man is stoked up by the Mail and The Sun .This is probably his last England campaign lets leave him alone for once .
Matt by your reasoning Gerrard should not be captain for his disgraceful action of assaulting a DJ. Also by the same argument Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney shouldn't be wearing the shirt - if extra marital affairs are a factor in making England's starting eleven. I agree John Terry is unlikely to be a good person, but does that mean he has to put up with far more abuse than those other players who have made similar mistakes? My opinion is no. As for the other point about Ryan Giggs, I didn't include him as wanted my examples to be English and relevant to this Euro 2012 team, but I should have mentioned the Welshman as he illicitly proves the point - some players (Terry) get more stick than others (Giggs) for very similar heinous actions. And for now the racism case just has to be ignored, it can only be discussed when a conclusion has been given.
Decent article mate, although you forgot to mention the affair of England's favourite son, David Beckham, and the shenanigans Bobby Moore got up to back in the day, including affairs and (alleged) theft. But, of course, you can't say a word about that. The fact is, he's one of the best central defenders this country has ever produced and should be celebrated. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. Jamie Carragher, one of the most knowledgable footballers around, and a top defender himself for most of his career, put Terry in his top-five defenders of all-time which speaks volumes.
The fact that you could provide a Terry example akin to each offence committed by Gerard, Johnson and Cole shows exactly why people despise him. That and getting caught on camera being racist.
this article reminds of the scene in life of Brian, apart from the roads, the security, the healthcare etc, what have the romans done for us?
Terry didn't look good against a Ukraine rated waay below pishy Scotland in the world rankings. He looked slow and is still a iability. Ultimately he will be the cause of England's failure and just to top it all of he is a wanker, racist and shags his friends wives. Yep top man and top angle on him.
THE MAN IS A CUNT. FACT.
I think the problem with Terry, more so than the others, is he just comes across as unbelievably arrogant without being that great. Being arrogant isn't necessarily that bad a trait, but when you can't back it up, you just come across looking like a tit. Terry is a good player, but he does seem to have the Barton/Balotelli disease of having an overly-inflated opinion of how good he actually is.. that's why I dislike the guy anyway.
At the end of the day he plays football, And he's flippin good at it! I don't turn up to watch a match to see how things are between JT and his wife. His career reads 'footballer' he should be treated as such. The blokes sitting in pubs bagging him out have probably done alot worse and when it comes to football have done nothing.
JT never played for west ham that was lampard!
Most footballers are cunts in my opinion. Not many are blameless when it comes to cheating - on the pitch and off - and generally being horrible arseholes. It seems to me that they may all be quite decent people at home but when at work the money, adulation and the rise of agent induced player power turns them into irredeemable fucktards.
John Smith - Good point mentioning Beckham and Bobby Moore, i didnt have the awareness to think back to previous England stars. JW - its not yet proved he was being racist so leave that one for the judge to decide. Lee Freer - im not sure Terry comes across that arrogant. Maybe just my view by Ashley Cole looked far worse spouting trash-talk after the Champions League final (although terry didnt cover himself in glory there - well he did but he kinda shouldnt have) Josh - Lastly Terry started in the WHU academy before being poached by Chelsea aged 14. But anyway...
Everyone who's seen the video footage from the qpr chelsea game knows what he did, you don't need to be a lip reader. He will probably get away with it in court, had the FA had to act alone - looking at the Suarez case - he'd have not gone to the Euros at all.
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