England are missing John Terry in defence, admits Roy Hodgson

Posted Thursday, March 31, 2016 by theguardian.com

John Terry, who retired from internationals in 2012, would still be a good option at centre-half for England, said Roy Hodgson.

Roy Hodgson has admitted England are missing John Terry’s presence in the centre of their defence as he tries to prevent it from being the team’s weak point when they head into Euro 2016 with growing concerns about John Stones’s suitability for the job.

England are missing John Terry in defence, admits Roy Hodgson
England’s John Stones must learn quickly from slip of achilles heel

Hodgson has met the former England captain – “I had a long chat with John the other day,” he said. “He’s a lovely fella” – and acknowledged that, if circumstances had been different, Terry would have been the ideal candidate to partner Chris Smalling, his first-choice centre-back.

"There are, in my opinion, no left-sided centre-backs who are English and playing in the Premier League who are at least at the level of the ones we are choosing,” the manager said. “That’s a fact of life and there is not much we can do about it. We haven’t got the left-sided one but there is nothing I can do about that unless suddenly in the next five weeks some brilliant English left-sided centre-back appears on the scene – and I don’t anticipate that.”

Terry retired from England duty in acrimonious circumstances in September 2012 after claiming the Football Association had made his position “untenable” in the fallout from his trial for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in a Chelsea match at Queens Park Rangers, in which he was cleared. There is a new regime at the FA now but, having indicated behind the scenes at one point that he wanted to return, Terry has since reiterated he will not change his decision.

All Hodgson knows is that Terry, at 35, still ticks the boxes of what he needs before this summer’s tournament. “Yes, who knows?” he said, smiling. “Because he retired so long ago he doesn’t feature in my thinking too often but I can’t deny that is a valid point. He is a left-sided centre-half.”

Instead the role could conceivably be filled by Gary Cahill, one of the players behind Terry in the pecking order at Chelsea, after an unhappy night for Stones in the 2-1 defeat by Holland at Wembley, when it was the Everton defender’s slip that led to the Dutch team starting their second-half comeback.

Hodgson had spoken before the match about the importance of Stones cutting out his habit of over-playing in defence and urged a player coveted by Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City to understand “when you are a centre-half at a top, top club you can’t afford to make a lot of mistakes in every game”. Stones has lost his place in the Everton team and Hodgson is aware the 21-year-old will face some pressing questions.

"That’s what playing for England is about and unfortunately John will have to come to terms with that,” Hodgson said. “It’s hard enough getting away from it in the Premier League, playing for your club, never mind when you play for England and it happens at Wembley.

"For me a slip’s a slip. I don’t know that I, as a football coach and an ex-footballer, will put quite so much importance on the fact that he slipped. But I can’t change the way people consider it. Sometimes people have had careers ruined by being unlucky. I would put that slip down to misfortune but, if I analysed his 90-minute performance, I don’t think I would criticise him too heavily.”

Stones also received backing from James Milner, England’s stand-in captain. “If I was him, I’d be taking it as a compliment in a way,” Milner said. “He has played so well that he has put himself on a pedestal and people are interested in him. When you are playing well you are up there to be shot down.”

England have conceded four goals in two games but Hodgson said it was important to analyse the nature of them, pointing out that the first one came against Germany directly after Jack Butland had fractured an ankle and the second goal for Holland originated from what appeared to be a clear foul on Phil Jagielka, who had replaced Smalling.

"I think it’s harsh to say those things,” Hodgson said, when it was put to him that his team might be vulnerable at the back. “If we were conceding a lot of goals because the opposition were creating chance after chance after chance, I think it probably would be valid. If you analyse the goals we conceded, I don’t think the point is valid.”