John Terry: Marmite’s dream but a mother’s nightmare

A slogan that can’t be argued with: You either love it or hate it. And it’s true; no one sits on the fence when it comes to Marmite. Some consume it by the bucket load, and for others, even the name causes a reaction in the body forcing it to recoil in disgust.

If by chance the marketing gurus from Marmite were looking for an icon who encapsulates their renowned slur, look no further than John Terry. For many the mention of his name is swiftly followed by an expletive, some even go as far to fabricate him using YouTube. For the rest, he is a footballer and the conversation ends there. There is no character assassination, no dressing down of the man’s morals; as long as he’s leading his Chelsea and England teammates with gusto what else matters. To the masses, he’s still a loved man.

Unfortunately Terry’s endeavours go a little deeper than being a good comparison to a sandwich filler’s punch line. But despite, I imagine, countless meetings with Chelsea’s media moguls it appears he hasn’t worked that out yet. You might like Marmite, you might not, ultimately it doesn’t matter. Regrettably, the reasons for not liking Terry do matter. The ever growing list of alleged (because he denies any wrongdoing) moralistic faux pas needs to stop. He mustn’t forget the nation’s youth dote on his every word, mimic every action. He mustn’t forget that his job doesn’t end when he retires to his multi-million pound mansion after training or the final whistle blows on Saturday afternoon. Every move, every text, every drink, every foul mouth tirade caught on camera is scrutinised.

His latest incident involving a supposed racist remark aimed in the direction of QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, younger brother of his England teammate Rio, is a prime example of Big Brother in action. It wasn’t until a YouTube clip posted hours later that this snowstorm even surfaced. Of course if Terry is found guilty he must lose the England armband. But won’t the damage have already been done? Won’t the mothers be wishing their son or daughter didn’t want to be him? Because now Terry’s apparent slip of the tongue is reverberating around school corridors and playing fields while this investigation rages on. If only one child is heard imitating Chelsea’s leader the world is worse for it. And the same goes for any other copycat behaviour from his past; I say again, alleged misdemeanours. Terry and the rest of his professional sporting fraternity must clean up their act or risk poisoning the next generation of superstars, sporting or otherwise. Newton’s third law states: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Let’s hope this only applies to science.

The finger can’t just be pointed at Terry; the last few months have seen a relentless conveyer belt of off and on-field mishaps. Household names across football, cricket and rugby have reasons not to be proud, sparking a conversation that goes way beyond the ifs buts and maybes. Are the icons, that every kid shines a light to, undoing all that is good about sport? Perhaps that’s the headline of my next instalment.

Mr Marmite may have found the brand its perfect ambassador (of course he’s not perfect, he’d be a horrendous figurehead) but unless Terry’s tainted reputation takes a sharp upturn there will be plenty more scenarios that mirror this allegation – and the world will be worse for it.

Whether he is guilty or not is immaterial, the damage has already been done – just ask the mothers.

Foreign imports paper over cracks in England's foundations

On the eve of yet another Test Series, this time against Bangladesh, there is the unfamiliar aroma of sweet, smelling roses wafting out of the England Cricket Team’s dressing room.

Because although plenty of question marks still surround the squad in all forms of the game, in terms of results, they are on a high.

Recapturing The Ashes; defeating South Africa on their own patch in the limited overs format; a drawn series against one of the world’s best test-playing nations; a draw with Twenty20 World Champions Pakistan and most recently a 3-0 whitewash over the ever-improving Bangladesh side.

Looking at those results more closing; yes, compared to previous Australian teams it wasn’t the strongest, but winning any Ashes series is rare as history tells us.

Leaving South Africa without losing is an achievement that shouldn’t be underestimated either.

The weather did play into our hands a little in the 50-over competition, and our determined tailenders did untwist the knickers of the so-called specialist batsman in the test matches, on more than one occasion.

However, if you’d asked the England Football Team to play Spain in a best-of-four on their home patch and they returned without suffering overall defeat, I reckon most fans would be pretty chuffed.

With regards to Bangladesh, winning on the sub-continent has never been England’s strong point so let’s at least allow them a pat on the back for that.

We haven’t lost to them yet, but The Tigers are on the up; exuberant, talented and young – a cocktail for success.

The batting line-up, which in previous years looked as threatening as the England Rugby Team’s backline, now appears to boast some match winners, especially in the One-Day team.

Craig Kieswetter has the sort of mentality and ability to fill Marcus Trescothick’s empty shoes and Eion Morgan is growing into a class middle order batsman with every shot in the book.

Kevin Pietersen’s form is a worry, nonetheless, when in full tilt, he is the most destructive batsman in world cricket and I have every faith in him returning to his imperious best.

Jonathan Trott didn’t have the best of times in South Africa, however, his entry on to the international scene was sublime; a hundred on debut in an Ashes decider – that is dreamland stuff.

Now if you notice there is a common denominator here, none of these players are a product of the English game.

I have no problem per say with this, although, it does worry me the introduction of so many foreign imports is masking the lack of quality coming through the county system.

When Ravi Bopara was on that wretched scoring run during the Ashes and eventually succumbed his place to Trott, it was a tossup between him and Mark Ramprakash, hardly an embarrassment of riches.

No offence to Ramps, it’s not exactly building for the future.

Moving on to Bangladesh, 29-year-old Michael Carberry now seems to be the next man in line.

Again, fair play to him, because at Hampshire he is rejuvenated. Shane Warne tells us he knew all along (when Warney says something, it is normally proved right).

Carberry aside, you don’t hear the Sky Sports pundits telling us about the long line of English batsman queuing up outside the selector’s door.

Michael Lumb, James Taylor, Andrew Gale and Peter Trego all made the recent Lions’ squad, but realistically are still very much on the international fringes.

It may sound like I’m harping on about the lack of true international standard batsman and ignoring the bowling attack; unfortunately this is the nature of the beast, the men with the willow in their hands always take more flak.

Also Ajmal Shahzad, Steven Finn and James Tredwell have all given a good account of themselves in recent weeks on the bowling front.

It is joked we are becoming the South African B Team, before long we could represent a World XI, which would be no bad thing.

Admittedly, calling on the likes of Morgan and Kieswetter is great, and judging on ability the slots are rightfully theirs, but just imagine the scenario if they had not participated, for whatever reason, in the last eight months of cricket.

One, we might not have won The Ashes; two, the South African experience would not have been such a successful one; three, our 100% record against Bangladesh would not stand.

Having players of this calibre to call on is great, nevertheless, in my opinion, they are masking problems closer to home – this country is currently severely lacking up and coming talent – especially in the batting department.

At last a worthwhile England friendly

When pondering my next post, inevitably thoughts turned to last night’s friendly at Wembley, England vs. Egypt.

I had the topic set in stone even before kick-off; something along the lines of what a waste of time this friendly was, and what did it tell us we didn’t already know?

In actual fact, it was one of the most worthwhile warm-up matches in recent memory.

Let’s get the John Terry saga out of the way first.

The anticipation of whether the lad got booed overshadowed the build-up to the game. It wasn’t a question of if he got shunned, more by how many.

But praise the Lord, the Wembley faithful came to their senses. Yes, there were sections of the crowd who jumped on the booing bandwagon, but as I say only sections.

And as the match wore on, the echoes of disapproving fans eventually disappeared like a fire’s embers going out.

Maybe the footballing nation has remembered John Terry, when on form, is one of the best centre backs in the world. I agree his performances have suffered of late, but is that surprising considering the circumstances?

Matthew Upson is a capable deputy; however, in terms of class he would be in the middle set while Terry is a top set A grade student.

Time to put the Terry tale to bed don’t you think (accidental pun)? Because the truth is, our chances of lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy are greatly enhanced with him present.

The negatives from last night: Theo Walcott, on current form, isn’t good enough to don the Three Lions’ training top let alone the full jersey. His first touch, final ball, awareness and tracking back were a far cry from the night in Croatia when he turned from zero to hat-trick hero in the blink of an eye.

At the start of the match the Arsenal winger looked as though he was treading water, by the end of the first 45 the youngster had well and truly sunk.

Wes Brown is another who if lucky enough to get a plane ticket to South Africa, should sell it on eBay fast – the guy’s a liability.

The main objectives of a defender: put pressure on the ball and when man marking, stick to the attacker like a leech, in other words, if he goes to the toilet you follow (trying to put that as politely as possible).

Well the bit-part United defender does neither and the amount of times he gave the ball away was laughable. All I can say is hurry back Glen Johnson (didn’t think I’d ever write that).

Getting back to the positives, Capello must again take credit for his half time substitutions.

Ok, this was a friendly so there wasn’t the same pressure, but he could have sent the wrong people on. Since his reign began everything touched has turned to gold – long may that continue.

Peter ‘long legs’ Crouch must now be close to the starting XI, although whether that is near enough to remove Capello’s preferred option, Emile Heskey, remains to be seen. After last night he boasts an impressive goal tally of 20 goals in 37 games. Some argue about the standard of opposition many of his goals have come against; you can only play what’s in front of you.

With two excellent finishes, especially the well constructed first, he again demonstrated a classy underrated touch.

Shaun Wright-Phillips put his hat firmly in the ring following a second half introduction, threatening with pace and an end product. He has surely leap frogged Walcott now.

Debutant Leyton Baines was solid without sparkling. He will grow with confidence, unfortunately comparing him and the injured Ashley Cole is like comparing Britain’s Olympic medal haul in Vancouver to that of the Canadians – vast. A speedy recovery is in order Ashley.

Rob Green did everything asked of him. My only issue with the West Ham shot stopper is self-belief. Does he believe the number one jersey is rightfully his? I’m just not so sure.

And Michael Carrick at last showed the kind of form that sees him control the Manchester United midfield. Not a starter, but a certain sub in South Africa.

Moving on to Gareth Barry, do you think he is the only man in the Premier League’s history to never have had a bad game? Slightly over the top I know, nevertheless, he is invaluable to England. Not likely to set the world alight but, while others’ form fluctuates from first gear to fifth; the Manchester City man is in a constant fourth.

So, on thinking the match would be a complete waste of time – after the turmoil surrounding England’s recent World Cup preparations – it appears this friendly has at least got us back on the footballing track.

Are there jobs or is attitude the problem?

Immigration is such a hotly debated subject, it has at times demanded as many column inches and airtime as exposed love rats John Terry and Ashley Cole.

So, on reading about a programme called The Day the Immigrants Left, I was keen to take a look.

The documentary, presented by Evan Davis (if you don’t know him he is the rather odd looking narrator from Dragons’ Den), aimed to explore the effects of immigration in the UK.

His case study focused on Wisbech, a town in Cambridgeshire, which since 2004 has received up to 9,000 immigrants seeking work - the majority from Eastern Europe.

To test if the town needed so many foreign workers, immigrant employees were temporarily removed from their jobs, and the work given to the local unemployed, giving the town's British workers a chance to prove they can do it.

From there, 11 British unemployed workers were recruited to go into a range of different Wisbech workplaces; including a potato company, an asparagus farm, an Indian restaurant and a building site run by a local landlord.

If you are wondering how they fared compared to the infamously hard working foreigners, the answer, on the whole, was not too well.

Only three out of the 11 who took part gave a decent account of themselves, the rest either failed to turn up, or, those that did, appeared to be more concerned with taking cigarette breaks and ‘stropping’ if the going got tough.

The lame text messages sent, and pathetic excuses given, were embarrassing and completely transparent. A toddler could have come up with better.

Also you almost sensed an air of arrogance in some quarters, turning their noses up at a perceived ‘lowbrow’ job.

This, considering some had been out of work for five years, was shocking.

Prime examples of the Wisbechs’ workers shortcomings were clear on the asparagus farm. Here they earned their keep by picking as much as possible; the more they picked, the more they made.

Over the course of a normal day immigrants averaged around 120kg, the Wisbechs between 30-50kg.

From this evidence it is understandable why the big boss man is pro an Eastern European workforce; they work like Trojans – plus it makes business sense.

And looking at it from the immigrants’ perspective, if you had the chance to come over to a country and earn far better money than your homeland, wouldn’t it be idiotic not grab it with both hands? After all, large numbers do have families to support.

A Polish friend told me, attempting to get on the property ladder at home on a standard wage would take 10 years, come to England and work solidly for two and they are able to provide four walls for their family.

A counter argument: is enough of the money earned by the immigrants being put back into the British economy?

The knee jerk reaction is no, which may be correct; however, trying to quantify numbers is a whole different ball game.

Saying all this, it would be completely unfair to say it is a representation of the whole British public.

Obviously, you have to take into consideration the people who are not able to work, those with health issues and the people that really can’t get a job.

All I’m saying, is for the able bodied it is a matter of putting in the hard yards, irrelevant of the level or type of job.

In fact I’d have a cheeky flutter on there being a strong positive relationship between hard work and success.

My conclusion: the jobs are there for people who are capable and willing; unfortunately it is the attitude hindering progression.

Immigrants are not taking all our jobs – they are just willing to work themselves to the bone – something employers would be stupid to ignore.

(Watch The Day the Immigrants Left on BBC I Player).

The Power of Sport

The sure signs of enjoying an outing at the cinema: being glued to the seat while the credits come to an end; the lights come up; the friend who was kind enough to accompany you says he needs to leave because he has work early next morning.

Well, that was me the other night, after watching Invictus.

Personally I found the film truly inspiring.

Not only because you saw a man step out of a cell after 27 years and forgive everyone and everything, but because it showed a clear indication of the power of sport and how it can bring a nation together, in this case, divided by the colour of its skin.

The film does not focus too heavily on the political goings on; more Mandela’s belief that the 1995 World Cup could be the foundations from which to start the re-building of South Africa.

In the years leading up to the tournament, the Springboks weren’t exactly hot favourites; however, the leadership of Pienaar changed that.

He wasn’t how I imagined, not necessarily a man of many words, but when he spoke, people listened.

And so it proved, as the host nation defeated defending champions, Australia, in the opening match to avoiding England and New Zealand in a tricky route to the final.

Back then though, the rugby team was not well supported.

White people were behind the team, while black people cheered anyone who played against the Springboks. However, as the tournament progressed this changed.

By the time the final whistle sounded, skin colour was immaterial; people were hugging in the street and drinking in bars rejoicing in victory.

Proof sport really does bring a nation together.

Two good examples closer to home; look at the 2005 Ashes win and the moment it was announced we had won the bid to host the 2012 games. Trafalgar Square went bonkers; jubilation, hysteria, strangers hugging, screaming, kissing, even people in tears.

It almost seemed like the thousands of people gathered there were one big happy family, which was exactly what Mandela wanted.

He knew it wouldn’t solve everything - but it would break down barriers - and so it proved.

I know sport doesn’t always bring joy, think of the countless summers spent watching the England Football Team fill you with hope and then take it away faster than you can say David Beckham.

Saying that, even defeat brings a sense of togetherness, at least we all wallow in our own self-pity collectively.

I’m in no way saying play sport and everything will be fine but I think you can see what I’m trying to get at.

And in a world never far from its next disaster, I say let’s get down the park and have a kick about, because if you break it down, that was the simplicity behind Mandela’s plan.

(The facts and opinions from this blog have not only come from the film but research prior to its release. From my research Clint Eastwood attempted to portray the actions in this film as accurately as possible).

Give Babel a Chance

Last night Liverpool were about as sharp in front of goal as a blunt kitchen knife - that was until Ryan Babel took off his tracksuit.

It is not the first time this season we have seen a similar story unfold, when a team comes and parks its travelling bus in front of the Liverpool goal, they are bereft of ideas.

Dirk Kuyt, as much as he has good qualities, like running around a lot, is never going to make an opposition defence lose a night's sleep.

Albert Riera's final ball wouldn't look out of place in the Blue Square Premier; Alberto Aquilani looks about as creative as a plank of wood, is that 20 million tag weighing heavy on his skinny shoulders?

Javier Mascherano does what he is good at but Steve Gerrard, the one-man band, looks like a lost sheep without his buddy El Nino; don't even get me started on the potent striker that is David Ngog, so he scored last night, I could have buried that chance.

The problem Liverpool has is they have no one running from deep with the ability to terrorise a defence.

Players such as Aaron Lennon, Matthew Etherington, Craig Bellamy to name a few, have been invaluable to their teams this season and it shows when they don't play - just look at Spurs' recent troubles when trying to execute the knockout punch.

Now I'll agree with many of Babel's critics, that for large parts of his Anfield days, he has spent a lot of time with egg on his face; most recently being embroiled in a rather public Twitter rant.

But this boy has got the weapons in his armoury, which when released, could be unstoppable, match winning.

The thunderbolt in Lyon and the long range effort at Stamford Bridge stick out in my mind.

Also, when England played Holland in a friendly earlier on in the season, he made Glen Johnson look as average as Vedran Corluka.

He has got pace to trouble any defence and a right foot ready to be unleashed like a loaded gun.

And the difference in Liverpool's attacking threat is marked, even if the Dutch flyer's final ball can be hit or miss; at least he is getting himself into threatening positions in the first place.

So why doesn't Mr Adventurous play him?

He doesn't like him? He doesn't think he is good enough? He doesn't see potential? He doesn't regard him as a match winner?

The honest truth is I've got no idea, as Rafael Benitez is about as hard to dissect as an extract from Freud. I'm often left scratching my head.

One thing is for certain though, there is only so long and so far Liverpool can get grinding out 1-0 wins.

So go on Rafa - give Babel a chance - it might pay off.

Wilkinson's Star Wanes

There was once a time if you’d asked the rugby fraternity to pick a World XV, that Jonny Wilkinson would have been the first name on everyone’s team sheet.

Following a woeful display against a dogged Italian side he probably wouldn’t get into the fourth string team.

In his pomp he was feared for his ferocious tackling, sturdy kicking out of hand and sensational conversion rate.

What we saw in Rome yesterday was something so far from expectation it was almost embarrassing.

He has never been a sparkling runner, but we were fine with that because he kicked us out of trouble time and time again, keeping the scoreboard ticking over and ensuring territorial dominance.

However, this time it was his trusted left boot causing all the problems.

I lost count of how many times he caught the ball in his own 22, and had what seemed like an age to pick his spot in the Stadio Flaminio to put the Azurri on the back foot.

Instead, we got an aimless thump straight back to an Italian who couldn’t believe his luck.

Now it might sound like I’m giving old Jonny a bit of a battering, but the problem is when that part of his game breaks down you start asking yourself questions, well I do anyway, what is he bringing to the table?

On closer inspection not a lot.

And anyway if England wants to close the rather large gap in class between them and the Southern Hemisphere sides (New Zealand, Australia and South Africa) by the time the World Cup comes around in 2011, don’t they need to throw caution to the wind and go with the rugby trends?

The best fly-halfs on the circuit are arguably Dan Carter and Matt Giteau. These guys can equal, if not better, Wilkinson’s kicking game, as well as being able to turn a match with their sparkling side steps or a moment of individual genius.

So where does that leave us? Shane Geraghty, Toby Flood or the forgotten man Danny Cipriani.

Surely it is time these more than capable chaps took the number 10 jersey by the scruff of the neck.

Elsewhere in the 6 Nations, what a game we saw at the Millennium Stadium. Mr Twinkle Toes, aka Shane Williams, provided the x factor for Wales to leave a Scottish team sick to its stomach.

You have to feel a bit sorry for them and grumpy old Andy Robinson, but it almost seemed like it wasn’t meant to be as injuries spread through their side like the Bubonic Plague.

Although, when they manage to get over the feelings of utter despair - thanks to Robinson - improvements are clear.

Across the channel, France is looking ominous putting Ireland to the sword in the cauldron that is the Stade Francais.

With a pack to rival any nation led by the superb number eight, Imanol Harinordoquy, and a backline featuring the genetic freak (in a good way), Mathieu Bastareaud, you have to strongly consider if this is their year to sweep the board.

Talking of Bastareaud, how anyone can be as big and fast at the tender age of 21 is beyond me. He seems to have put the New Zealand debacle behind him and has a mature head on those gigantic shoulders.

As far as England are concerned there is a lot of work to be done, and although they were average against Wales, and even worse in Rome, I can’t help but think on Saturday 20^th March France vs England will be a Grand Slam decider.

You probably think I’m mad, but hey ho you’ve heard it here first.

Going back to Jonny, I want nothing more than to once again marvel at his every move and see some of the performances which built his reputation as a true English rugby great.

I’m just not sure he can.