MOORE GLORY WITH JT
England's flame burns in Chelsea skipper
Sir Bobby Robson, brave player, great coach, true gent
Rob Shepherd pays a personal tribute to a genuine football legend
JOHN TERRY was born and bred in the same manor as Bobby Moore.
I don't just hope but REALLY believe this time next year Terry will have something else in common with Mr Moore . . . a World Cup- winning England captain.
Despite the grotesque amounts of money flying about against a back-drop of recession, I feel a warm glow about this season.
Essentially, though, the year boils down to a far bigger, more exotic picture: the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer.
Which brings us back to Terry. While I would hate to see him kiss the Chelsea badge this season having spun Manchester City's interest out to the full, I would love to see him kiss that golden pot on July 11, 2010.
And I suspect that is what will warm Terry in his dotage rather than anything he achieved with Chelsea.
Having been Terry's company on a few occasions I can vouch that he still loves the game for the sheer pleasure of playing.
He stunned PR men a couple of years back by joining in a full- blooded six-a-side match with a few hacks when the sponsors only wanted him to pose for pictures.
I wasn't the only one who had bruised calves for several weeks after as Terry became utterly embroiled in the game, even tucking away a penalty for good measure.
A raw, grass roots-based passionate flame still burns inside of John Terry.
If not quite as cultured as Moore, he is still a kindred spirit.
A great defender and a great leader.
Which is why I have a wonderful conviction he will lead England to glory.
Given the management skills of Fabio Capello, a slightly ageing but still gifted golden generation of players, this will be England's best chance for 18 years to emulate 1966.
It could also be England's last chance before the global power base of the game shifts from the working class roots of Dagenham - where Terry, Moore and Alf Ramsey were bred - and becomes a play thing for silk-suited men in Dubai or Doha.
Please JT, give it your best shot.
Now buy the News Of The World for more from Rob Shepherd
This article has 6 comments
Deluded as usual, England are one injury away from disaster.
By tracey. Posted August 23 2009 at 6:52 AM.
lol.Terry is the week link ....what a rubbish .
England does have a chance.Fair.
They need to have one imaginative Player on the day that's it.Gerrard,Lampard,Rooney can certainly do that.
By chethan. Posted August 21 2009 at 6:48 AM.
win the world cup?? with emile heskey, and co? giv me a break, lets all hope mike owens rediscovers his scoring touch, and we find a sleeping giant somewhere,who knows where the back of the net is////
By simon hayes. Posted August 16 2009 at 5:07 PM.
So JT isn't international class, guess that's why he was the only England player voted into the team of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup, or why he has been the only player voted into every FiFPRO team of the year since it began 4 or 5 years ago. But hey, you just go on believing that JT is rubbish and he'll just carry on being part of the best Premiership defence for most of the last 5 seasons.
By Tom. Posted August 16 2009 at 12:16 PM.
Shep,
Keep taking the tablets.
We haven't got a keeper or a decent pair of strikers.
So unless we get a miracle like Lineker and Beardsley's emergence in 85/86, no chance for the old'un generation.
As for Fabio's, "mistakes" in the friendlies, has he forgotten Ashley Cole's pass?
Lastly, we don't even prepare for the finals properly, allowing friendly matches to end in draws, and not using the opportunity to take penalties in a match situation, which has so often proved our undoing in the past.
If friendlies are to prepare you for real competition, why hamstring yourself by not allowing for pens in the event of a draw?
By Damien. Posted August 16 2009 at 11:42 AM.
john terry is a liability at international level he has the pace of a snail and gets exposed by world class players like david villa time after time in fact terry is the weak link in our defence i would take woodgate and king ahead of him all day long if we meet quality opposition in the world cup in south africa they will tear terry to pieces and run him ragged big time i think your way off the mark with this one shep you watch terry next time at close quarters and you will see terry is not international class
By jimmy. Posted August 16 2009 at 8:25 AM.