John Terry

made a superb clearance off the line yesterday, but once again, has that moment of brilliance overshadowed the errors that continue to blight his game at international level. With the better teams to come, do his brief moments of 'defending-for-the-cameras' outweigh his lack of pace (leading to the defence playing very deep), ability to be easily turned (eg. Stern John yesterday!!!!) and his often reckless diving in. Very good player for Chelsea where he is offered protection and a very good leader. But if you look beyond the meaningless platitudes thrown his way - commanding, dominating, strong, brave.....etc he is by no means a top international defender and WILL cost England goals in this tournament.

By brief comparison, Ferdinand is widely acknowledged to have all physical attributes and reading of the game of an international CB. While he often lacks concentration at club level, he steps up his game at international level and really looks like one of the best defenders around. His pace and ability on the ball, the key attributes at this level, set him apart from Terry.

Posted By: The Adjudicator, Jun 16, 11:50:14