The phrase “For the sake of the team” should precede one of the following sentences,
• I am happy to play out of position
• I will be playing through the pain barrier
• I will be taking a pay cut
“ For the sake of the team I have decided not to put myself forward for selection” is an insult to every fan, fellow player and would be footballer in England. Wayne Bridge has decided to withdraw his service from his country, in their hour of need, based on the most selfish reason possible, pride.
I am a relentless detractor of Chelsea and thoroughly anti Terry-the-man but, as a player, he is nigh on faultless. Time after time he has put his body and reputation on the line often riddled with pain and potentially crippling cortisone. Embarrassed in the past by his mother’s thieving and his fathers grubby drug pushing he has pulled on his shirt and put his body on the line.
Wayne Bridge, despite being the second best left back in the country for the last eight years, has made just 36 appearances for the three lions and has been a nearly man at every club he’s played at. Undoubtedly gifted technically but clearly lacking in the mental strength department. When Ashley Cole is fit the left back spot is one of the least contested positions on the Wembley pitch, but, Instead of considering himself lucky Cole has fallen lame less than 3 months before the World Cup, leaving him in a chance to shine, Bridge has bottled it.
Now, instead of living out every young boys dream, Bridge will be licking his wounds at home comforted by the soothing tones of every tabloid reading house wife in the country. While you are glued to the box watching his former cohorts do battle in the searing heat of South Africa keep an eye on the other channel where poor Wayne may appear on Loose Women getting his cheeks squeezed and his ego rubbed by a coven of post-menopausal halfwits.
Bridge, encompassed by a sense of self importance that only a Premiership footballer is capable of, claims that his inclusion in the squad would serve as a distraction from the task in hand, winning the richest sporting prize on earth. While the Hollyoaks style shenanigans of Terry and Cole et al provide us with a light hearted distraction from the issues effecting real people, when June 13th arrives and England line up against USA in their world cup opener an alien invasion would be hard pushed to distract us from the ensuing 90 minutes, let alone the bad blood between two players.
Vanessa Perroncel has satisfied the urges of a number of Chelsea players, past and present, if they were pre-Bridge then his decision to have a son with her is a laughable one. If J.T is the latest in the small sided team to have had relations with the footballer hungry glamour model/waitress then what is the big deal? Women, whether we like it or not, make themselves easily available and, in turn, disposable to professional footballers. She was not Bridge’s wife she was Chelsea F.C’s sexual tension release therapist and she was a willing worker. And, I wonder, whether Bridge has ever enjoyed the illicit company of a woman married or involved with another man, my betting is that the sympathy sponge has.
Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes ended their international careers prematurely but their hands were forced by managerial decisions to repeatedly play them out of position or ignore them entirely. They had given their all to one club for over a decade, collecting all manor of trophies and accolades on the way, only to be passed over by inept managers. Bridge in comparison has achieved nothing except the boosting of his bank balance with moves to Chelsea and Man City and should his self-imposed exile continue, I for one, hope that continues.
If we win the World Cup then Wayne Bridge will continue in his familiar role as the forgotten man with Ashley Cole or Steven Warnock securing a place in world history. If we fail in our attempt then smug Bridge will be safe in the knowledge that he was not shown up by the world’s greatest right-wingers, as I suspect he would be, and, as he nears 30, planning a tell all book to bring the curtain down on his mediocre career. The sad fact is that this brouhaha will prove to be what Wayne Bridge is most remembered for while John Terry’s misdemeanours will be overshadowed, at least, by captaining Chelsea to consecutive titles.
John Obi Mikel said, “Terry is capable of putting all this fuss behind him but they are both professionals.”
It appears now that one is far more professional than the other.
