Should Sam Allardyce bring John Terry back for England? Three arguments for and against

England boss Sam Allardyce was asked this week whether he would consider re-calling John Terry for the national side.

“I don’t know what the political side of that might mean, if there is a political side,” he said.

“I’ll have to have that conversation, if I feel that John Terry may be a possibility.

“He may be. I think it depends on what John said.

“Maybe if I get the opportunity, I might have to give him a ring. But until I come to that selection or that process, we’ll wait and see.”

Cue the rush of back pages proclaiming the second coming of JT.

So is it a completely ridiculous idea? Here’s three reasons why it would never work – and three why it might not be as crazy as it first sounds…

Why it’s bonkers

1. He’s getting on a bit

He’s 35 now. He’ll be 37 when it comes to the World Cup in Russia in two years time. Even for a grizzled centre back that is pushing it for a team that will be going with ambitions of making the latter stages.

He’s just not the same player he was four years ago – and he’ll be creaking even more in two years time.

2. It’s just too Big Sam-ish

When he was appointed a lot of England fans feared the worst. For all his use of sports science, Prozone and his army of backroom staff, Allardyce is seen as an old school, tea-cup throwing, Racing Post reading, “we’ll be playing four four fucking two” type of boss. The kind of coach who would send his players out into a top international match with the instructions: “Just fucking run about a bit!”

And the trouble with picking old stalwarts like John Terry is that it only serves to reinforce the view that Allardyce is a coach of yesteryear. A man with no new ideas. A man whose first thought when given the biggest job in the country is to bring back a blood and guts, old school defender, who hasn’t played for England for four years.

And Allardyce is not a man with no new ideas. He’s not nearly as last-century as his public image might appear – but calling up Terry would not help.

3. John Stones

England can now call upon Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Gary Cahill and the big hope for the future, John Stones at centre half.

Should a player with a very limited remaining shelf-life like John Terry stand in the way of the development of a player like Stones? A man being groomed to be at the heart of England’s defence for the next decade surely has to be in the team now.

On the other hand…

1. Experience

We don’t want to stray into ‘you’ll never win anything with kids’ territory here, but there are few active players with as much experience as John Terry. He’s been playing at the very top of the game for the last 15 years. In that time he’s captained the side to four league titles, five FA Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League.

He is a man who knows how to win – and how to help younger players around him keep their heads. Think how useful that kind of battle-hardened know-how would have been when Roy Hodgson’s side were running around like headless chickens as the clock ticked down against Iceland.

2. If anyone can, Big Sam can

Youri Djorkaeff. Jay Jay Okocha. Stig Tofting. Emerson Thome.  Stelios Giannakopoulos. Fernando Hierro. Bruno N’Gotty. Ivan Campo. We could go on.

In the mid 2000s Allardyce set about turning Bolton Wanderers into a regular top ten Premier League outfit – and he did it using a familiar template of revitalising the careers of players who were seen as past their best.

For a few years he was like a one-man AC Milan fitness lab, getting players well into their mid-30s and beyond to perform time and again.

If anyone can get something out of Terry as he approaches retirement, it’s Big Sam.

3. He’s not finished yet

Terry played 33 games last season for Chelsea. He played nearly 50 the season before as Chelsea won the title, and almost as many the season before that.

We know how ruthless Jose Mourinho is in his pursuit of winning – just look at how he sidelined Petr Cech in favour of Thibaut Courtois – yet he kept faith with his captain right until the end.

Indeed, had Terry not left the England set-up four years ago there’s a very real chance he would have still been in the squad – and even gone to the Euros.

And while we’re on the subject of his age, Portugal didn’t do too badly with 38-year-old Ricardo Carvalho (Terry’s old defensive partner at Chelsea, remember) in the team.

Verdict

In reality, John Terry returning to the England set-up is very unlikely. Allardyce was asked the question, and rather than rule it out there and then he gave a diplomatic response to keep his options open.

Nothing wrong with that, but really, Terry’s time with England has come… and gone. Time to move on.

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