John 'lion heart' Terry Retires From International Football

BaZ87 · 23 Sep 2012 at 20:44

Just breaking on twitter that he's retired. Has he done this himself before the decision is taken out of his hands?

BaZ87 · 23 Sep 2012 at 20:57

He claims his position in the team was made untenable by the charges brought against him by the FA. Other than losing the captaincy (which isn't new to him), I'm not sure how his position has been made untenable - he's been allowed to play on and both Capello and Hodgson have stuck by him.

I suspect he's using it as an excuse to retire either to save himself for Chelsea and/or because he fears he'll lose his place in the side. Whatever the truth is, Mark Halsey's relieved.

BaZ87 · 23 Sep 2012 at 21:06

Tummy said:
He really wasn't that good.

He was very good and while he's not as good now and a fair few mistakes have crept into his game, worryingly he's better than any other CB available to England.

BaZ87 · 23 Sep 2012 at 21:12

mmj_uk said:
I guess Roy will be on the phone to Rio begging him to come back now.

I'd be surprised. One good thing to come from this is that if/when Ferdinand isn't called up, the theory that his exclusion was because of Terry can be put to bed.

It's breaking now that several other Chelsea players are retiring from International football too. Apparently they want to spend more time with their families rather than travel the world, knowing that Terry will still be in London.

BaZ87 · 25 Sep 2012 at 11:20

foxrocks said:
I think when they're calling up someone who, at the time, was Liverpool's reserve right back instead of Rio, it's probably fair enough to draw that conclusion.

Maybe at first thought but when you looked at the make-up of the original squad and how it had changed when Jagielka was previously called-up, it was clear that Kelly was being brought in as cover for Johnson with Jagielka and Jones 3rd and 4th choice cb's.

BaZ87 · 25 Sep 2012 at 19:07

Shamikebab said:
Well couldn't Jones have been reserve right back?

It all depends on where Hodgson saw Jones playing. If you think back to the original squad annoucement, Hodgson confirmed he picked Jones over Ferdinand as the 4th CB. Therefore when Jagielka replaced Barry, a replacement for Cahill had already been made so when Cahill pulls out, Hodgson's decision is whether to bring in additional cover for Johnson (Jones obviously provided that even though he was picked as a cb) or another midfielder. An additional cb seemed too much.