Post by QPR Report on Sept 5, 2009 6:36:19 GMT
Pathetic!
Guardian/Mikey Stafford
England players are too honest to dive and should wise up, says John Terry• Virtuousness hurts us, says England's captain
• 'Players should be more cynical when fouled'
John Terry believes England players are too honest to dive, sometimes to their own detriment. In the build-up to next Wednesday's World Cup qualifier the England captain said it was clear that the Croatia striker Eduardo da Silva dived to earn a penalty for Arsenal against Celtic and that diving to win penalties is not in the English mentality.
"I can speak about the England lads and I think it is something we don't do," said Terry. "I think we're too honest, sometimes even in the Premier League you see the English lads get a bit of contact and stay on their feet and try and score from the chance they have been given.
"I think sometimes that honesty goes against us. I think sometimes as a country we're too honest. I think the Eduardo one was a dive and we can all see that and it is disappointing to see because Arsenal are a quality side and I don't think they want to be portrayed like that."
While the 28-year-old was reluctant "to single out the foreign players", he said he realised after his first games in Europe with Chelsea that their English players should be more cynical to ensure they receive free-kicks when fouled.
"As Chelsea first came into the Champions League and the Uefa Cup I think we had to adapt, because in the last minute of games we were giving away silly fouls that weren't [fouls]. I think we have to adapt to the game and if the rules are there and the referees are giving them fouls we have to play along with that as well.
"I think that is how we play, if there is a foul or a touch and you're through on goal you go down. If you stay on your feet and [the referee] realises you don't get a full contact on the shot after that, it is for the referee to decide."
Although Terry said Eduardo's two-match ban imposed by Uefa was harsh, his implication that England players are more honest than their Croatian counterparts is sure to anger their Group Six opponents. In the wake of Luka Modric's broken leg the Croatia Football Federation's president, Vlatko Markovic, this week accused Premier League players of targeting his country's leading internationals, a charge Terry emphatically denies.
"If players are thinking [of intentionally injuring players] in the back of their mind going into a game then they shouldn't be playing football," said Terry, speaking before tomorrow's Wembley friendly with Slovenia, where the victorious England Ashes team will be the FA's guests of honour.
"Certainly that is not the position. Players and English players that I know and have come across go out there to win the game and try and do everything possible to win the game."
The England manager, Fabio Capello, agreed with his captain that diving is not a problem in the English game. "I saw a lot of games in England, I saw not too many divers. This is a problem between Arsenal and Uefa, I don't understand why it is being given such coverage," he said. "I prefer sporting players, no divers."
Sir Alex Ferguson sided with the governing body, saying Uefa's decision to ban Eduardo for two Champions League matches was the correct one as it was important to communicate to players that diving would not be tolerated.
"It was a high-profile game and something has to be done," Ferguson said. "Something should be done and we hope the message gets across. I don't think any coach is proud of it when players simulate to get decisions. A coach can't be proud if his team have won that way. Nobody can be proud. A player can't be proud one hour afterwards when he sits with his brothers and sisters and father and mother."
Falling from grace
Wayne Rooney
Sparked a food fight when he dived around a challenge from Arsenal's Sol Campbell at Old Trafford in 2004
John Terry
Accused of simulation by Mark Hughes after going down under a challenge from Blackburn's Andre Ooijer in 2006
David Beckham
Booked for diving when Real Madrid played Real Betis in September 2006
Steven Gerrard
Has been accused of diving by fans of teams as varied as Milan, Sheffield United, Jamaica and Andorra
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/04/england-slovenia-diving-john-terry
Telegraph/Jason Burt
John Terry blames diving on 'foreign mentality' in Premier League
It laid him open to an accusation of xenophobia, or at the very least a sweeping generalisation, but John Terry claimed on Friday that the influx of foreign players into the Premier League had created an atmosphere in the game in which diving has become more prevalent.
The England captain chose his words carefully but in the wake of the controversy surrounding the Arsenal striker Eduardo, who will be in Croatian colours next week at Wembley, Terry referred to a "foreign mentality" which had heightened this, unwanted, aspect of football.
"That's not the way we play, we're a very honest country and it's a very honest league we play in," Terry said on the issue of diving which has been such a hot topic in the last two weeks.
"If players have that in the back of their mind they shouldn't be playing football. That's not the position. English players go out there to win the game. There's no diving, they're not trying to kick key players they might come up against. They're thinking about one thing and that's winning the game for Chelsea or Liverpool or Man United or whoever.
"Diving is something the England lads don't do. Sometimes we're too honest. Even in the Premier League, we see the English lads get a bit of contact and try to stay on their feet and score from the chance. The foreign mentality coming in is 'any little clip you can go tumbling over', because the speed of the game nowadays. I think the Eduardo one was a dive, we can all see that and it's disappointing to see because Arsenal are a quality side and I don't think they want to be portrayed like that."
Evidence exists, of course, which would strongly challenge Terry's blithe assertion with accusations being levelled against his England colleagues, such as Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard, that they have, in the past, gone to ground too easily.
Terry has, however, had reason to speak to his Chelsea team-mate Didier Drogba about his past behaviour. "Sometimes he stays down a little bit too long but sometimes slight knocks can keep players down," he said. "He's a brilliant player and it's something we've addressed and now Didier has definitely changed for the better for him and Chelsea."
Asked whether he knew which players to be wary of – because they were more liable to dive – Terry said: "You know who they are. It's not all the foreigners. It's unfair to single them out but from our mentality and the way we've grown up it's not something we've ever been into. But when Chelsea first came in the Uefa Cup and the Champions League, we had to adapt, because in the last minute of games we were giving away silly fouls that weren't."
Terry concedes that the "speed of the game" now makes distinguishing between a foul and a dive harder to make while the rules have also been changed to make contact less acceptable.
"You come up against some refs where you can't touch, not even from corners," the central defender said. "You're not physically allowed to touch your man. When I was growing up you were always told to feel your man so you knew where he was. You do that now in the Premier League and you're told to put your arms down or a penalty will be given. It's difficult sometimes. But you have to adapt."
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/england/6140240/John-Terry-blames-diving-on-foreign-mentality-in-Premier-League.html