Well, John Terry has retired from international football, stating the FA had left his position untenable. My question is, what position?

Okay yes, I know he is undoubtedly one of England’s big stars, along with Lampard and Gerrard, but lets face it, since Roy Hodgson has come in, the squad is pretty much going full circle, with newer, younger talent coming in. I know he hasn’t implemented it in the defence so much yet, but he’s starting to put players such as Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jake Livermore and Tom Cleverley in a bit more, and some are starting to feature prominently within the squad, and I can see this having a continuing rippling effect across the rest of the squad.

And the thing is, England do have some terrific young defenders they could place in the squad ahead of Terry now that he has left. Obviously, his team-mate at Chelsea, Gary Cahill is one of them. Pretty much a John Terry clone, but five years younger, Cahill is an excellent young defender who can command the area, is outstanding in the air and is pretty reliable in general. Other candidates could be the 24 year old, straight out of Stoke On Trent, Ryan Shawcross! Again, another lad who is outstanding in the air, with height being one of his main advantages, the man is a giant in the box. Other amazing young talents from around the Premier League that could be contenders are Craig Dawson, Steven Caulker, and one man not everyone might know, another young Chelsea star, Nathaniel Chalobah, who looks to be a bright young star indeed.

Another big question Terry’s retirement poses is who will be the new full time England captain? Apart from the obvious calls of Gerrard and Lampard, both of whom will be retired altogether in the next couple of years, I’m looking at the squad and thinking, Joe Hart! A man with the good old English heart of a lion style that this country loves. Very commanding, very loud, could have a lot of influence on the rest of the team.

I also think having Terry out of the squad is a fantastic piece of news, as it could be a potential morale booster to the rest of the squad. With one superpower gone, it can only be a matter of time before the egos leave the building. Ashley Cole hasn’t got long left, and the duo of Lampard and Gerrard can’t stay much longer either. So hopefully, the England squad gets revamped, reworked, and with this next generation, there aren’t so many people guaranteed a place in the team, because I think that is what’s been wrong with the team in the past few years. Too many players have a nailed down spot, so they don’t bother working hard to keep it, and if the passion and fire isn’t there, they don’t play well, which leads to poor results, and I’m hoping, that with this younger, hungrier generation of stars, we can stop that happening, and hopefully get far in a tournament sometime soon.

Comments