Oblivion

Random "Unbiased" Journo on why JT shouldn't be England captain So, England's dreaming must continue with John Terry wearing the armband that signifies he, once again, is the captain of his national team. GettyImages John Terry has beaten Rio Ferdinand to reclaim the captaincy. He's not started speaking Italian in an English accent yet but Fabio Capello seems happy to take many of the same decisions as Steve McClaren. Playing Wayne Rooney as a lone striker? Check. Playing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in midfield together? Check. Recalling David Beckham? Check. Showing faith in Emile Heskey? Check. The selection of Terry as on-pitch leader follows this familiar pattern. For chest-beaters like Tony Adams, who like their captains like, er, Tony Adams, Terry may be the right choice for the passion he will bring to his team. For others he is a disappointing and conservative choice. Why? Perhaps because, for all his achievement as captain of Chelsea, where he has led an all-star international cast through the most successful period in the club's history, his presence as a first-choice player, let alone captain, perhaps exposes the weakness of options open to Capello. Or is Capello showing a lack of imagination? Make no mistake, Terry, despite that tear-drenched escapade in Moscow, is a true Chelsea hero. And not because of a moment of human fallibility as victory beckoned which usually elevates an Englishman into national deity. He has been a rock and a true leader as his team have dallied with true greatness. For England, the story is somewhat different. Terry is yet to truly convince on the international stage. His best period as an England player came as the junior central defensive partner to Sol Campbell at Euro 2004. Terry was playing as a result of the absence of Rio Ferdinand, serving a ban for missing a drugs test. And perhaps the best central defensive performance at that championship came from Ledley King against France when Terry missed that game through injury. Should players like Jonathan Woodgate and King have been able to build on their youthful promise, then Terry may not have been anything like first choice. Both Woodgate and King, when fit, possess the pace and class on the ball that Terry, for all his last-ditch heroics, does not. At international level, composure and ball-playing ability is important. Terry cannot match Ferdinand in this aspect. It is a shame for England that King and Woodgate, two players who have similar attributes to Ferdinand, have never been able to stay fit enough to cement a place. Terry does not even possess the pace that Sol Campbell, a similar player in terms of aerial power and forcefulness, could call on at his peak. Following the World Cup in 2006, Terry was the choice of most to be McClaren's captain as Beckham stepped down. His competition for the role was not particularly strong; Steven Gerrard played poorly in Germany, as did Frank Lampard. Ferdinand still bore the stigma of that ban. England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 amid some shaky defensive displays, though Terry missed the last two matches through injury, an increasing concern over the last couple of seasons. Terry and Ferdinand have been contemporaries since their days in youth football. Ferdinand, two years older, has taken longer to mature but is now the heir apparent at Manchester United, having marshalled a miserly defence that has usurped Terry's Blues as the premier force in England. Given the choice, Ferdinand playing at the top of his game is superior to Terry playing at the peak of his powers. At United, granting the player extra responsibility has seen that maturity flourish yet further. In the absence of Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, Ferdinand has been entrusted by Sir Alex Ferguson with the armband. His level of performance has increased in proportion to greater responsibility while Terry has always used to playing with an armband. In choosing Terry, Capello may have prevented himself from seeing the best of Ferdinand. The chance to see Terry play without the burden of captaincy and with the desire to prove himself has also now gone. To use the example of Beckham, not being club captain does not preclude you from being inspirational in leading your country. In the case of Steven Gerrard, could Capello have unlocked the enigma of the Liverpool skipper, still yet to shine for his country? In going for Terry as captain, an England revolution that will shake up the status quo now looks some way away. Capello's choices so far have been conservative and too reminiscent of the decisions made by unlamented and lampooned predecessors to convince that England are heading in a new and exciting direction. ________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ So this twit makes Rio sound like God. Albeit one that missed a drugs test (a fact that is clearly and clerverly glossed over). The way this article goes, this....person....would pick his captain on sheer skill alone? A captain needn't be the best player on the pitch (although skill does matter), but he MUST be the one players respect and listen to. He must be the one to inspire his team-mates and get the crowd going. Does JT do all that? Yes. Does Rio do all that? Not by half. So Rio is fast. Big whoop. So he can play the elegant pass. Whatever for, that's the midfield's job. But without a solid partner, can he carry the whole defense when the chips are down? Can he keep a sinking ship afloat? Is he a good role model for kids? Thoughts on a card

Given injuries and pre-season form the above team pretty much picked itself. However, is Mikel around or is he going to Beijing? I know he came to Malaysia, so I assume he's not in the Olympics. Let's pick the bench then shall we (based on currently available players) Carlo Alex Ballack Mikel SWP

Is it normal for a manager to say what formations he may play on the opening day? I know Scolari's experienced and all that, but is he giving away too much or nothing at all?

I'd like to see a left-sided winger. If Kalou makes the transition to forward like we all expect him to this season, we'll need another young winger.

Well, information is power. That's a good place to start. Read widely and thoroughly. And most importantly, have fun. Some of the recent posts have been downright rude (you know who you are). Loz's attempts at elevating his...stature....notwithstanding, I sometimes shudder at the language used by some individuals in the league. This is supposed to be fun. Hey Michael, can I make a bid for one of the sacked managers players? Would be a shame if some of them went to waste

Has he? Really? I'd rather see the back of him (and a nice cash windfall), but if he stays then I will have no choice but to support him. I've never booed a single Chelsea player, infuriating as some of them may have been, and will cheer when he scores. But really, my estimation of him has gone through the floor.

Met a Ghanaian working here in Malaysia recently who had a Chelsea tag around his neck, said that in Ghana, Essien is a big name and that's why he follows Chelsea. Same can be said of most Ghanians I suspect.

Are you sure its not permanent? In that table, loans are indicated as "Loan". His move was marked as "Free" So which is it?

Drogba is pretty much a gonner, Sheva is also quite likely. Therefore we will see either a) Anelka...New Guy (first choice) Anelka...Di Santo/New guy....Di Santo (early cup matches, games of lesser importance) If Anelka is to be the first-choice man up front, then an intelligent poacher like Huntelaar may be in order. Earlier I said that Sheva is also a likely departure. However, for reasons, if he stays on, he may be the initial first choice partnership with Anelka, until New Guy beds in

No player is worth that much. Plus I doubt he'd be able to live with the pressure....

Can we then go in for Micah Richards? Would solve A LOT of problems in defense and midfield. What about their young midfielders Ireland and Johnson? They've looked good too. Maybe better than Sidwell at any rate. On SGE, I can't decide whether or not he'll be good for us. He was crap with England when it mattered, but his past record with clubs is magnificent. HOWEVER, his time with City wasn't so stellar and they failed to last the pace. That alone speaks volumes regarding his motivational and man-management skills in the English game.

I wasn't aware his mom went to games. I know his dad did, but not his mom. That will certainly factor in to his decision. The Lampards appear a close-knit group, and Frank has been mentally conditioned from young to stay focussed on his football. I believe he will rise up, and play for his mom, even though she's not physically there anymore. As you have said, everyone's been good to him, so there's no real professional complaint that could force him to leave. Hopefully he stays.

Eh? I missed those I guess. Well in that case, replace Ferreira with Belletti, Essien with Maka and Ballack with Malouda and we have a pretty good team anyway.... Ok, for discussion's sake, lets assume that those 3 don't leave...

This post deals with 2 issues regarding next season. 1) Do you think the passing of Mrs Lamps have an effect on Frankie Jr staying? I believe his dad is still around (Wiki doesn't say anything) so would that motivate him to remain in England, to keep an eye on his dad. Most average people have a tendency to do that, staying/coming home to look after the remaining parent after the other has passed away. Will Frank do the same? No doubt he's expressed his desire to remain at the club beyond this season, but will his mom's passing strengthen his resolve to stay? 2) What do you think of the following XI: ........................Cech Ferreira......Alex........Terry........Cole .........................Mikel ................. Essien.....Ballack Kalou....................................Cole .........................Anelka The above list is the best XI I could come up with from players NOT being linked away from the club, even the slightest. These players have not been rumoured to be wanting out and have not be all that atrocious to begin with, so I'll assume they're staying. A testament to the depth of our squad perhaps, that line-up certainly looks like it could win games quite a bit. Beyond that of course, we've got very little cover, so shopping is in order, but TBH, i'm very optimistic about next season. How many teams out there can go through a season like what we have experienced, piss off half the squad, and without spending a single dime, technically send out a full squad of internationals to play next season? Very few I tell you. What does this mean? For me, it simply means that as far as team re-building is concerned, its not a major overhaul, short of a major system-revamp. I like the look of the above squad, and if the club handles things well, we'll have even more of the current squad being retained. The ones I'd like to see leave are: SWP, Ben Haim, Drogba, Sheva, Pizarro, Belletti, Sidwell That's 3 forwards, 2 defenders and 2 midfielders. We'll need to replace them with a forward, a defender and a winger, with Di Santo, Sinclair and Boularouz joining the first team. Yes I want to give Boula another chance. We all know what he can do, so why not? Thoughts?

If its one thing we've been good at this season (luck aside) is our fabulous away record. Newcastle are much improved, but its still the same squad with only one new addition - Michael Owen. Same squad, same weaknesses. Even the manager is a familiar face. Chelsea know that the league is still winnable, but they need to work till the end for the chance to still exist. We'll be up for Newcastle, and I'm confident of a win.

Cech, Terry, Carvalho, Joey, Lamps and Essien - first choice Carlo (no offense, but it'd be a crying shame to keep him on the bench for most of the season - send him home to Lazio, their keepers a dinosaur), Bridge, Maka, Kalou - second choice

As you can see, the clips have already been put to good use. Thanks Mod

Well you'll have a chance to fix that tomorrow. Good luck

But lets face it at least we've no delusions of grandeur, unlike some underperforming teams still on the first page of the Fifa rankings.

Yes its quite strange, even your friendly games weren't that successful. I noticed your form isn't that bad compared to some other teams so you shouldn't be getting hammered. Did you sell of some big names?

Buddy, the Liverpool forum is that-a-way *points to nearby sewer* @ Enrico: You have no idea how much that rankles.....

All this talk of Lamps leaving has left me with a question: Is there anyone in the squad capable of replacing him? At the moment, I have 2 strong alternatives and one softer option. The 2 strong ones are Joe Cole and Ballack, while the soft alternative is Essien. All 3 have good passing, but Cole and Essien are more mobile. Ballack has had about equal number of off days this season as Lamps has and we've done quite well when it happened, so it won't be a complete shock to the system. Thoughts? Anyway, I'm all for Rijkaard to come in. I believe he speaks good English and can work well with Ten Cate. Capable of creating balanced squad and isn't completely daft defensively. However, may have grown a bit spoilt having Eto'o, Ronnie and Messi for practically every game. Still a top coach methinks. As for the players we may bring in (and those on the way out), I don't have much to say, save a "thank you" applaud for Drogba. It was fun while it lasted Cheers.

Yes, your shocker against Osgood2 wasn't a friendly. Loz must be laughing his socks off!

While it is true that Malaysia takes a very dim view to Isreal (not going to elaborate, I hate religious-based politics), the government came out early on and said that sports and politics were NOT going to mix (this time). For Chelsea fans, this is a great chance to see our heroes (damn few left) up close. Yes a bit of noise was made about this, but we are NOT Indonesia or Thailand. No bombs will go off. No riots. No protests. No one will bat an eyelid and there will still be more people at the stadium cheering on Chelsea then our sorry excuse for a national team (ranked 170th in the world now). Roman is Jewish as well, and he docked in one of our islands and met the PM and all that. No problems there. Its all a big hoo-ha for nothing. AG may not even be around by that time, neither may TBH. Sod it (yes I'm in a foul mood).

20 years from now, when asked about his best ever moment as a football player, John Terry will answer something like: "Lifting the EPL title for the first time in 50 years." Wonder what Per will say? "I trained with Joe Cole occasionally."? Poor kid, hope he picks himself up and goes on to be a great manager like JM.