Gary Lineker: John Terry may look strong but he is only human

01 March 2010 10:27
Fabio Capello must be tearing his hair out. Not only is he withoutthree of his first-choice defenders for the game against Egypt onWednesday, but the fourth John Terry is clearly feeling thepressure of having his private life played out in the public eye.[LNB]You can't say anything other than Terry is going through a bad patchat the moment, probably because he is all over the place emotionally.[LNB]Mistakes against Everton and Inter Milan have come in recent weeksand yesterday was a horror show for everyone at Chelsea, includingtheir captain. [LNB]This is not time to panic about the World Cup Terry has enoughtime to come through the glitch but even so, Capello will be deeplyfrustrated with all that has gone on. [LNB]Old pals axe: Wayne Bridge (left) has given up on his World Cup dream but Terry has also been struggling sincehis affair became public knowledge[LNB]He doesn't have many friendly games in which to find the right blend for South Africa. [LNB]There is little he can do about injuries to Glen Johnson, RioFerdinand and Ashley Cole, but to have Terry affected by something thathas nothing to do with football must leave the Italian despairing.[LNB]I don't think it is coincidental that Terry's form has dropped sincethe revelations about him and Wayne Bridge's former girlfriend. Youneed to be in a good place off the pitch to be in a good place on it.People can say playing football can be an escape but the game isdifficult and complicated at the very top level even when things arefine.[LNB]So if you have distractions in your life, it will have an impact I don't care who you are.[LNB]Terry may look strong and commanding but he is still a human beingand he will have all sorts of emotions going through his head:contrition, regret, whatever.[LNB]   More from Gary Lineker... Gary Lineker: Martin O'Neill is the man to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United20/02/10 Gary Lineker: It's simple - Terry and Bridge are England's best option now13/02/10 GARY LINEKER: The England captain must have the trust of his players06/02/10 Gary Lineker: Has Sir Alex Ferguson lost faith in Manchester United's £31m record buy Dimitar Berbatov?30/01/10 GARY LINEKER: Arsene Wenger can bury the myth that to be champions you have to spend millions 23/01/10 Gary Lineker: Something is rotten at Liverpool16/01/10 GARY LINEKER: Manchester United must be worried if City can afford to splash £10m on ageing Vieira09/01/10 GARY LINEKER: Why managers have to start caring about the FA Cup 02/01/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE The microscope has been on him for weeks and he's making mistakes wehave not seen before. It could be due to a lack of concentration or alack of confidence but something is clearly not right.[LNB]He missed a couple of headers against Everton recently and that isunheard of for Terry. In normal circumstances, he would never have letDiego Milito come inside him to score for Inter Milan in the ChampionsLeague. [LNB]And yesterday compounded it all, a ridiculous game that had you fearing for Roberto Mancini's job approaching half-time but at the end left question marks over Chelsea.[LNB]Should Terry be left out against Egypt to clear his head? I don'tthink so. Capello will not want to put in a completely different side,and Terry just has to get his head down, concentrate and get through it however hard it is. [LNB]As for Bridge, you saw by him not shaking Terry's hand how badly he feels towards him.[LNB]I can understand why he has pulled out of the next squad but if Iwere him, I wouldn't close the door on the World Cup yet. It is such amassive thing for a player he could end up regretting it for the restof his life. [LNB]Capello has left the door open the sensitive and correct thing to do and maybe time will help change Bridge's mind. Football history has shown dressing-room dislikes are not insurmountable. On City's 4-2 win itself, the victory is great news for Mancini, who absolutely has to finish in the top four to keep his job.[LNB]Chelsea will hope that Petr Cech's injury in midweek does not cost them the title.[LNB]Henrique Hilario was hopeless yesterday. In midweek against Inter, he could not kick the ball outside his own box it was like watching an under-12s game. I'm surprised Chelsea don't have top-class cover in goal. Maybe Ross Turnbull will get his chance Chelsea certainly can't have Hilario playing like that every week if they are going to finish ahead of Manchester United and Arsenal.[LNB] [LNB]Rooney can join the list of iconic No 10sI took along a couple of shirts for Wayne Rooney to autograph for charity after I interviewed him for the BBC this week.[LNB]It told me a lot that his eyes lit up when he saw the No10 on one ofthem. He said it was his favourite number and he had even asked FabioCapello if he could wear it for England.[LNB]There is something iconic about the No10 jersey in world football thenumber worn by Pele, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Baggioand Michel Platini. [LNB]It denotes that you are the team's conductor, the leading light. I'msure that's why Rooney is so keen to run out at the World Cup wearingthe No10 shirt.[LNB]What struck me sitting down with him at Manchester United's trainingground was his confidence, the inner belief and inner strength he hasat the moment. [LNB]For some players, demanding to wear the shirt of Pele and Maradona and I wore No10 for England at two World Cups but I'm not comparingmyself with those two! would be seen as foolhardy arrogance. But whyshouldn't Rooney aim to be compared with greats like that? [LNB] Tens moment: Rooney deserves the shirt[LNB]10 out of 10: Pele is maybe the greatest of all[LNB] He has the talent to achieve anything. I don't think he has a fearful bone in his body and that is great news for England. [LNB]Rooney is already a world star, his recent performances put him up withCristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. If he can take that form into theWorld Cup, why shouldn't he be the first English world player of the year?[LNB]It will be interesting to see how Fabio Capello plays him against Egypt on Wednesday night.[LNB]Up to now, the England manager has put a big striker, usually EmileHeskey, to take the physical pressure off Rooney. But I have a feelinghe may try to push Steven Gerrard up to support Rooney to see if theyform a similar type of partnership to the one Gerrard and FernandoTorres share at Liverpool.[LNB]Capello will be pleased the World Cup starts in June, not next week.Without Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson or Rio Ferdinand, the defence hassome problems. [LNB]But the one player we cannot afford to do without is Rooney, proudly wearing the No10 on his back.[LNB] [LNB]Three Leicester players made their debuts on New Year's Day in 1979 Bobby Smith, Dave Buchanan and me.[LNB]Bobby and Dave both scored in a 2-0 win against Oldham, and I had a stinker. Memories of the day it all started for me came flooding back this week when I heard that Bobby had lost his battle with cancer at the age of 56.[LNB]Nissie, as we called him, was small in stature but had real presence in midfield and stayed at Filbert Street for four seasons. He will be warmly remembered by Foxes fans and sadly missed by those who played with him.[LNB] [LNB]  Explore more:People:Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Ross Turnbull, Glen Johnson, Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Emile Heskey, Petr Cech, Gary Lineker, Wayne Rooney, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, FERNANDO TORRES, Fabio Capello, Wayne Bridge, Lionel Messi, John TerryPlaces:Liverpool, South Africa, United Kingdom, Egypt

Source: Daily_Mail