It was Dara O’Briain on ‘Mock The Week’ who really made me think about the recent ‘John Terry’ news, which had been reported on the hour every hour on Radio One’s Newsbeat for the previous two weeks.
He said he couldn’t understand how every time the English team got anywhere near an important international championship, the British media seemed to do everything in their power to undermine the team’s stability.
Last time in Germany it was the whole WAGs thing with reports every day designed to unsettle the players and take the focus away from their performances on the pitch to the shenanigans of their wives and girlfriends out shopping or nightclubbing.
This time, for South Africa, other halves have been banned. As Frank Lampard said: ‘This might well be my last chance to win the World Cup. If it means spending 4-6 weeks away from my family, focussing on the football, then so be it.’ And that’s the attitude we should expect.
The recent furore over John Terry’s alleged dalliance with the ex of his England team mate, Wayne Bridge, has me very confused. If she was his ex, then why is Mr Bridge getting so upset? Or is it he that’s unhappy at all? Could it be that it’s just the British media trying to stir things up by eliciting comments from other football players on his behalf.
If the two men are chosen to play for England, as it is suspected that they might because of Ashley Cole’s ankle injury which has seen him ruled out for the next three months, then they are both professional enough to be able to push aside any possible personal differences and get on with it for the team. If they are not, then neither should be selected to make the trip.
It was again one of the comedians on ‘Mock The Week’ who made the comment that the lady in question was French and a model who advertised lingerie. Three words guaranteed to turn the head of any footballer – French, model, lingerie.
As to whether or not John Terry had a relationship with this lady, well, do we really care? His wife seems determined to stick by him. Obviously the £3 million pad with indoor swimming pool complex and fleet of cars might have played a part in her decision… but so to could the possible winning of the next World Cup. What point in destabilising her husband with talk of divorce and following in the footsteps of Mrs Tiger Woods? It is a truly patriotic gesture on her part, but also a sensible one.
However, I suspect that Mrs Terry will not be so accommodating should her errant husband be found in any future compromising situations.
I think it is probably right that he was relieved of the Captain’s armband. In the grand tradition of Bobby Moore and Gary Lineker, we want someone upstanding and moral and a great leader of men, with no newspaper tittle tattle to distract him from the job in hand.
In the meantime, can the British press please just leave them all to prepare for the World Cup in peace.
It’s been over four decades since we had something to sing about. And I really would like ‘Three Lions’ to be Number One again this June.
OverRated/UnderRated Sunday
Originally posted 2010-02-21 10:30:03. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
I understand your tone and sentiment. As of yet, i am not acquainted with your National Footballers, but if things continue on, as they are, I shall be getting many lessons, hopefully starting soon!
I’ll Be Routing with you!!!!
Polar, some of our footballing heroes are plonkers! A bit like sports heroes generally at the moment. The trouble is that they don’t seem to understand that the Press want to sell newspapers and will follow them round gathering information to make into a story… Don’t try to learn lessons on how to behave or conduct your life from our footie players!
Was it just me, or was sex a bigger theme than the games? I enjoy a good sex game now and then, but then again, that is when sex is the point of the game.
Ever since there was that scandal with Bobby Moore and the accusations over him stealing a watch back at the World Cup in 1970 which was later proved to be totally false, bad news has followed the English footie team. Sadly, these days, a lot of them can’t keep it in their pants or are just plain thugs when they’ve had a drink. All that money and the entourages of suckers up make them think they can do what they like… and the newspapers just feed off their bad behaviour, especially when a major Championship is in the offing. It makes news and sells papers. They don’t have our National pride in mind… but then, why would they? Most are owned by non-Brits!