John Terry belongs in a different era… John Stones is now the future of England and Sam Allardyce must pick him
DON’T even bother picking up the phone, Sam.
John Terry and his England career, plus all the others bits and pieces that go with it, belong in another era.
Memories of him — some good, some bad — are more than enough, thank you very much.
The country, at an all-time low following the disgraceful defeat against Iceland at Euro 2016, ought to be spared from this.
It has reared its head again because Big Sam was asked about the possibility of bringing back Terry at St George’s Park yesterday.
In Allardyce’s defence, he was not exactly falling over himself to bring up the former England captain’s name.
If we are living in the past we might as well call on David Beckham to take set-pieces, given that England were so bad at them at Euro 2016.
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He was caught on the hop a bit, delivering a diplomatic, non-committal answer that seemed to put the onus on Terry to come out of international retirement.
For the last four years he has been concentrating on club football with Chelsea and most people, by and large, seem very settled with that.
Remember he only got a new contract at Stamford Bridge last season by the skin of his teeth.
It does not seem right to make Terry’s heart beat that little bit faster by the prospect of being picked for next month’s opening World Cup qualifier in Slovakia.
These trips, tough gigs though they may be for these frightened little rabbits, are for the next generation.
John Stones, now a £47½million defender at Manchester City, would feel pretty rotten if his place was taken by a bloke who turned his back on England four years ago.
Stones is supposed to be the future. He should be the future.
Now he is being schooled by Pep Guardiola, told to toughen up and have a bit more about him if he is to meet the City coach’s exacting standards. England, under Allardyce, must get the benefit of that.
Terry is 35 and it is stretching the imagination to think that he could be standing for the national anthems at the Olympic Stadium in Sochi or Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium at the 2018 World Cup.
It is the same for Jermain Defoe.
The Sunderland striker is itching for a recall, getting inside Allardyce’s head by reminding him that his goals kept Sunderland up last season.
Defoe scored 11 times in 18 games for Allardyce, which is a very good record for a striker playing in a team as bad as that.
He has a right to stake a claim, but JD will be into his 36th year if England qualify for the World Cup under Allardyce.
If he had the talisman presence of Roma striker Francesco Totti, then it would be tough to ignore his claims.
But he does not. He is just another English striker doing OK for his club.
Terry is a more contentious issue, especially given the circumstances surrounding his decision to walk away from England in 2012.
He claimed his position with England was “untenable” ahead of an FA hearing into claims that he had used insulting/abusive language towards Anton Ferdinand in 2011.
Terry was later fined and banned by the FA, and we never saw him in an England shirt again.
This really is a non-runner.
In his day, Terry was up there with some of the world’s finest defenders. Not Franz Beckenbauer, admittedly, but very good all the same.
He could hold his own in the company of Italian greats such as Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta or Alessandro Nesta, no problem.
In his heart of hearts, even Terry will know that the old powers are on the wane.
These days he relies on experience, perception and his ability to read of the game . . . which have always been first rate.
He could not possibly be expected to play 38 Premier League games for Chelsea and maintain the same high standard in an England shirt again.
Let us not even give him the chance.
There have been opportunities in the past to reverse his decision — the closest of which came after Chelsea won their Europa League semi-final in Basel three years ago.
It was on the plane back to England when Terry spilled his guts by admitting that he could not resist the call from his country.
Less than 24 hours later he reversed the decision.
Roy Hodgson, when he was provoked enough, would often claim that the door had never been fully shut on Terry’s international career.
Whatever the temptation, that door has to be slammed shut. This time for good.