Calling the shots: Roy Hodgson has made his decision

We have to be fair to Hodgson. This was an extremely difficult decision on an extremely sensitive issue. But for other football reasons? Really? Only when it came to making a straight football choice between Terry and Ferdinand. He did admit it came down to a choice between the two.

‘I had to decide who do I want with the younger centre halves,’ he said. ‘The experienced Terry or the experienced Ferdinand.’

He just never admitted it was for any other reason than a football one. ‘Everyone knows a situation has arisen but I’ve tried to put it as far from my mind as possible,’ he said. ‘But I don’t want to say something I regret about a player.’

At the same time he said he had no moral issue selecting Terry, rightly pointing out that the 31-year-old remains ‘an innocent man’. He added that Terry had already been punished twice on moral grounds, having been stripped of the England captaincy before the last World Cup and before this summer’s European Championship.

‘The moral judgment has been made on him twice in the past,’ said Hodgson. ‘He lost his captaincy with Fabio Capello on a moral decision, if you like, and his captaincy with England on a moral decision. Basically, I wanted to take a group of players who I think give us a chance of doing well in the tournament. I decided John Terry should be one of the centre halves. I hope he can put the other matters to one side.

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