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August 23,
2002 (Friday) from Jonathan Woodgate Club
Terry to challenge
Woodgate for place in England defence
THE acquittal of John Terry yesterday has
cleared Sven-Göran Eriksson
to pick from an unrestricted pool as England begin their qualifying
campaign for the 2004 European Championship.
The England head coach had been bemused, and later irritated, to find
himself deprived of Lee Bowyer, Jonathan Woodgate and Terry while
they faced a variety of charges in court in the past 12 months, but
each is now ready to forge an international career.
For Bowyer and Woodgate, the summons from Eriksson may come as soon
as next month, when England play Portugal at Villa Park in a friendly
international on September 7, but, while his recuperation from a knee
operation may force Terry to wait, the Chelsea centre half ¡X who will
not be available for the match against Manchester United tonight ¡X
will win his first senior cap before too long.
At Stamford Bridge, the coaches have never had any doubt that he was
of international calibre and only off-field excesses have been a
cause for concern. They will hope the defender has learnt lessons
from his experiences in court, notably the perils of drinking in
Central London, even though he was cleared of all charges. He
sustained a broken hand in the incident outside the Wellington Club
in Knightsbridge in January, although the jury accepted his
explanation of self-defence.
Terry and Woodgate will hope to put pressure on Sol Campbell, whose
pace and power cannot always compensate for other deficiencies. A few
years ago, Woodgate was the more promising defender and won his
solitary senior cap under Kevin Keegan against Bulgaria in 1999.
Terry progressed quickly while Woodgate, who was sentenced to
community service for his part in an attack on an Asian student,
underwent traumatic upheaval to his life and career.
Now it is Woodgate who is back in the ascendancy and the Leeds United
centre half is a more mobile and accomplished passer, but Terry, 21,
will hope that his robustness can eventually make him the preferred
partner for Rio Ferdinand in the England back four.
Chelsea had planned to stand by their defender, who is valued at
around £15 million, whatever the outcome of the court case, just as
Leeds supported Bowyer and Woodgate. So deep in debt that the club
could not afford to purchase a single player this summer, Chelsea
will be hugely relieved that they have not lost Terry to a jail
sentence.
"Chelsea FC welcomes the outcome and verdict of the jury," Trevor
Birch, the club's group chief executive, said in a statement
yesterday. "We look forward to John Terry and Jody Morris rejoining
the squad." That may be true of Terry, but it is almost certainly not
the case regarding Morris, who was also acquitted.
The midfield player, 23, has been warned about his behaviour by Ken
Bates, the chairman, countless times. Chelsea have been looking to
sell many of their players this summer and Morris is undoubtedly
among them. It is doubtful whether anyone will take him, even though
he has been cleared.
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