Chelsea assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, has said that he thinks it is time for the abuse of club captain, John Terry, to come to an end.

Terry has been receiving jeers ever since it emerged that he had an affair with the girlfriend of former team mate, Wayne Bridge, at a point in the not too distant past.

However, Terry has been playing as well as he ever has been and Wilkins seems to think it is time the fans started applauding him for getting around a difficult situation and keeping up high performance levels.

He said: “I would like to think the abuse would stop. It’s served its course. But it’s happening and John’s just getting on with the situation. I’m not too happy about the abuse, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“He’s dealing with the situation in the only way he can – committing himself to the cause. He’s an exceptional captain and we’re delighted to have him on board. He leads these players on the pitch in fantastic fashion and scored the second goal which was a great goal.”

“This was another superb performance from him.”

Terry himself added: “The armband means a lot. Chelsea have been very supportive, the players as well. It has been a good week, good to get away with England, play well and then come back here and prepare for this game.”

Chelsea are looking very good this season and they are still in with a good chance of winning on more than one front. If they do go onto get some success then a large part of it will be down to the role Terry has played.

The point is that people have been saying that it is impossible for other players to put their trust in someone like Terry who clearly ignores the meaning of the word, respect, at times for other clubs and other professionals.

It may be a long time until Terry gets his captaincy job with England back. He may actually never get it back if Fabio Capello stays as the England boss for as long as Terry continues to play.

It is clear he is very grateful for all of the support he has been getting at Chelsea. There are a number of other clubs that probably would have taken the situation a lot more badly and could have shown him the exit signs.

The recent goings on in Terry’s life seem to slowly going away but the fans are a hard bunch to keep happy and suppress. It will be a long time before the chants stop as Wilkins wishes them to do so.

This is something that Terry will just have to go on and play with. He has proved that he can cope and he has now played against Manchester City, for England and still captained Chelsea and it does not seem to have influenced the way he plays football.

Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, is demanding focus ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League run in.

The manager has been under a lot of pressure and scrutiny in recent weeks because the fans have been saying the club doesn’t seem to be going any where under his management.

Liverpool have not been playing attractive football for a very long time and Benitez is demanding the focus, which is the only thing that has kept them in with a shout of securing a Champions League place for next year.

He said: “Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa will be very dangerous so we cannot make many mistakes. We know last year was really good in terms of points in the league (86) and now we are in a different and more difficult situation because the expectations were very high.”

“It is really difficult because we have three or four teams really close. We have to keep this momentum and prove, show everyone else, we are good enough. I prefer to be positive and we will play well and continue to win.”

“We had problems on the right side (against Blackburn) with Mascherano playing full-back, which was a difficult decision. All the teams have good and bad moments, but they still have to carry on and go forward. If you analyse some games we have had too many injuries with big names unable to play.”

It is very difficult to see Liverpool hanging onto the fourth place position, which they have made their own for so very long. There are too many sides around them in better form who are capable of causing a huge upset and breaking into the top four.

Liverpool also do not look like a side who are in full sync with each other. There are too many injuries appearing in too many areas of the side, which will cost the team when the points are totted up at the end of the year.

The situation for them is quite a complex one to sort out. The ownership problems that once plagued the club do not seem to be a problem any more but the weakness of the over all squad definitely is.

There is still too much reliance on too few players at the club and it will take everyone pulling together to make the situation look much brighter for the club.

The problem is that Liverpool are playing the sort of football that a lot of lower league teams are well known for. When you use this style against a team that knows it inside out, it becomes very hard to win games and rack up points.

Benitez talks of focus and this means focus in every aspect of football. Liverpool will have to produce moments of pure quality, which have been lacking if they want to be the side that hangs onto that final Champions League position. It is a race that is certain to go right down to the final day of the season.

Former England player and current legend, Chris Waddle, has said that Theo Walcott does not understand the game enough at international level.

Waddle is speaking ahead of the World Cup this summer and there is still a big chance for someone in the side to step in and make the right and left wing positions their own.

Waddle was an England regular who played in some of the toughest club and country competitions in the world. He will know better than most the qualities needed to read the game at the highest level.

He said: “People keep saying he’s young but Wayne Rooney understood the game at 16, 17. I’ve never seen any difference in Walcott since he was at Southampton and broke into the team at a very young age.”

“I’ve never seen him develop. He just doesn’t understand the game for me – where to be running, when to run inside a full back, when to just play a one-two. It’s all off the cuff. I just don’t think he’s got a football brain and he’s going to have problems. Let’s be honest, good defenders would catch him offside every time. I just don’t know whether he studies the game, learns the game, or what. He’s at a great club where they play fantastic football week-in, week-out, and I’m just surprised he’s never developed his game.”

“I’m surprised Walcott was in the squad. He doesn’t play a lot of football, he hasn’t done anything. he hasn’t done anything for a long time and I think Croatia was a one-off. I just think he’s got a lot to learn. I’ve been more impressed by Adam Johnson at Manchester City than Theo Walcott.”

Waddle’s comments about Johnson at Manchester City will be echoed by many people within the current football community. It is a little strange how a player who was set to join Real Madrid at one point cannot be good enough to play for his own country.

Walcott is a decent player but the point is he still has a lot to prove on the international stage. Johnson needs a chance and he could be a fresher and surprising choice for England’s World Cup squad this summer.

It is a nice problem for Fabio Capello to have and the boss will be hoping that competition for places continues to stay fierce. The one thing he will not want to happen is a spurt of injuries, which threaten to dent the spine of the side.

You cannot be a bad player if you can score an away hat trick in international football. Walcott needs to work hard and remember that he has a top line manager in Arsene Wenger to go to advice for at Arsenal.

It’s difficult to call all of the midfield positions for England’s squad, which will go to South Africa in June. Walcott and Johnson may well end up both going. Watch this space over the coming months.

Here we go again. Another needless round of international friendlies, another needless round of inevitable injuries.

I know who my money is on to come back from the midweek ‘friendly’ exchanges with a niggling injury at the very least – Fernando Torres. Rafael Benitez’s decision to include his star striker in the squad against Manchester City last week may have come as a boost to most Liverpool fans, but for me the timing could not have come any worse.

His 15 minute cameo appearance during the Eastlands stalemate was all the encouragement Spanish national team boss Vincente del Bosque needed to include him in his squad to face Les Bleus at the Stade de France on Wednesday, one of 30 worldwide international matches that day.

They say lightning never strikes twice, but it was in this very stadium that former Reds player Djibril Cisse suffered the second horrific leg break of his Anfield career and for Torres, the lightning never seems to stop.

‘El Nino’ has more often than not come back from international duty with some form of injury, usually related to his troublesome groin. True, the Spaniard has never suffered injury on quite the same level as former France international Cisse, but the omens do not look good.

An unfit Torres has already won ‘pool games this season, most notably against Manchester United, but in truth he was never going to make a difference against City – a woeful game of few chances which saw both sides conjure up a measly one shot on target each.

Delaying the 25-year-old’s return until Sunday’s win over Blackburn, in which an unfit Torres proved a match winner for the Reds once again, could have been hailed as a masterstroke by Benitez – as the Spain squad had already been announced and del Bosque would have been none the wiser of the striker’s availability.

If Rafa wasn’t so stubborn, he could learn a thing a two from his nemesis Alex Ferguson who has been protecting his top players from being involved in pointless international friendlies for years, and he gets away with it.

It’s as simple as delaying a return or releasing a fake injury statement, but it can save weeks or even months on a player’s fitness. Some might say Torres needs the minutes under his belt, but I for one would much prefer to see the Spaniard play 75 minutes in a reserve game at Prenton Park than have him travelling to Paris to be left open to hefty challenges from a host of eager Frenchmen playing for an undeserved World Cup place.

It could be a poor physio in their national set-up or it could just be coincidence, but something is not quite right and I fear for Fernando’s fitness every time he ventures off with his compatriots.

Benitez knows it too, he’s made no secret of his disapproval of how Torres is looked after on his travels with Spain. But the boss has played right into his countrymen’s hands and, should Torres pick up a knock on Wednesday, Rafa will only have himself to blame.

England and Manchester City defender, Wayne Bridge, has told Fabio Capello that he does not wish to be part of England’s World Cup plans this summer.

The left back does not want to be involved because of the recent scandal involving former England captain, John Terry. Many said that Terry’s former affair with Bridge’s girlfriend at the time would come back to haunt the team.

Capello had said that there was no reason why Bridge would not be in the World Cup squad as he is the second best left back in the country behind Ashley Cole. However, Bridge has taken this decision himself and it is likely to be one that many will frown at.

Bridge said in a statement: “I have thought long and hard about my position in the England football team in the light of the reporting and events over the last few weeks. It has always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful thought I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and potentially divisive. Sadly therefore I feel for the sake of the team and in order to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided not to put myself forward for selection. I have today informed the management of this decision. I wish the team all the very best in South Africa.”

Once again a football player’s actions have had huge consequences and a decent and honest player will miss out because of what Terry has done in the past.

Doubtless is the fact that Bridge will now be subjected to much criticism from all sections of the football community for taking this decision. It may be viewed as the Manchester City player turning his back on the team when he is simply making a decision based on what is right for him.

The news will also offer hope to a number of England fringe players who are good enough to snap up a squad place and will want to be Cole’s deputy by the time the team fly out to South Africa.

Among the front runners will be Blackburn’s, Stephen Warnock, and Everton’s, Leighton Baines. Whoever gets the nod is going to have a very tough task on their hands and whoever starts against Egypt next week is likely to be the favoured player by Capello.

Bridge has waved goodbye to his England career and will now be focused on winning a lot of silverware with Manchester City. City are still at the start of a very special journey and Bridge can only get better in the side.

Perhaps at some point down the line if Terry is injured or prematurely retires then Bridge can start thinking about playing for his country again.

For the time beign he should be cut some slack because it would have been a difficult decision from a troubled player in a compromised position. Bridge made the decision or his own reasons and we all need to respect that.

Ashley Cole’s three month spell on the sidelines with injury could end up bring a blessing in disguise for the English national team.

Cole fractured his ankle during Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Everton on Wednesday night and despite the doom and gloom of the news, it could give the full back a chance to rest up before the World Cup.

Predictions suggest that Cole will be fit again around a month before England play their first game in South Africa. Needless to say that the talk of burn out and fatigue will come up at some point in the near future.

If Cole’s rehab goes to plan then he will be back and fit at just the right time for England but not for Chelsea. If Cole trains hard when he gets back and does all of the small things correctly then there is a good chance he will be in the starting eleven on June 22 against the United States.

The only problem, even if Cole gets fit again, is the fact that the Chelsea defender would not have played in a high paced competitive match for three months and probably will not feature in many late games that Chelsea have this season.

England manager, Fabio Capello, said: “It’s very bad news. It is very important that we have a left- sided defender who is good. It’s very important to us that he is back.”

If Cole does not make a full return to fitness in time to play a part for England in South Africa, then the only other option is one, which has emerged as less than perfect.

Manchester City’s Wayne Bridge is the only other player who could do a similar job to Ashley Cole. He plays in the same attacking way as Cole and probably has the edge in terms of being a better defender.

However, Cole would not have a problem playing next to John Terry in the England defence and it has obivously emerged that Bridge playign next to Terry would not be ideal.

So already the headaches have started and even though there is still a long time before England’s first game in South Africa, people are already talking about the World Cup. There is no doubt that England have a much better chance if Cole is fit and raring to go.

In a strange sense, Cole getting injured now is a lot better than Cole getting injured in two months time. There is a glimmer of hope and while there is that glimmer of hope, we should not all do the typically English thing and strart moaning and rubbishing the national team’s chances because of one player getting injured.

Ashley Cole will probably feel a bit lucky and even though this news is obviously bad, Cole will soon feel a determination to pay back on the luck if he does get fit and can play a part in helping England to World domination in June and July.

City of Manchester Stadium

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2ND

Kick Off 19.45 (GMT)

MAN CITY 3 v 0 ARSENAL FC

Carlos Tevez , Shaun Wright Phillips , Vladimir Weiss

TEAM LINE UPS:

Manchester City:

Given, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, Barry, Ireland, Wright-Phillips (Weiss 77), Tevez (Kompany 74), Bellamy, Adebayor.

Unused subs:

Taylor, Onuoha, Johnson, Santa Cruz, Robinho.

Bookings:

Bellamy (83)

Arsenal:

Fabianski, Eboue, Silvestre, Song, Traore, Rosicky, Eastmond (Watt 68), Ramsey, Vela, Merida, Wilshere.

Unused subs:

Mannone, Bartley, Coquelin, Frimpong, Gilbert, Randall.

Bookings:

Traore (37), Eastmond (38), Silvestre (57), Wilshere (76), Song (78), Ramsey (81

Referee- C J Foy (Merseyside)

FIRST HALF

Mark Hughes picked a thoroughly frustrated and full strength Manchester City side after a run of seven straight Premier League defeats. Arsene Wenger on the other hand stayed with the young Arsenal side that had made its way impressively to the Quarters.

City were out of the traps quicker than Vanessa Phelps at a free buffet and Arsenals young guns struggled to gain any sort of foothold in the game.

If it hadn’t been for the linesman’s flag and the ill-timed runs of Craig Bellamy the Citizens could have finished the game inside the first twenty minutes.

It was like an experienced pro bull rushing the talented but naïve hotshot as the Blues pressed high up the pitch pressuring the Arsenal midfield into giving the ball away far too cheaply.

What didn’t help was the fact that the Gunner’s back line was defending higher up than a Posh Spice mini-skirt.

Carlos Tevez and Shaun Wright-Phillips were the chief tormentors as they bamboozled the Gunners with their pace, directness and work ethic.

Time and time again Wright Phillips had the beating of the isolated Traore and it wasn’t long before the young fullback received a yellow for his troubles.

The Blues had chances through Bellamy, Tevez and Shaun Wright Phillips and Vela put the bar over the bar for Arsenal before the referee brought the first half to a goalless end.

SECOND HALF

The second period began at breakneck speed and it was’nt long before the home side took the lead. After good work by Bellamy on the left , Rosicky was pressured into losing the ball. The grateful Tevez cut in from the left wing, beat two defenders and smashed the ball into the net of the bar. Fabianski was this time helpless and it was a quality goal to open up the game.

If the first goal was quality then the second was world class, as Wright Phillips cut in from the right to fire a laser-guided missile into the top left hand corner. It was a wonderful goal and it broke he hearts of the young guns of Arsenal.

The score line could and should have been more after a couple more chances from Bellamy went astray and City were perhaps guilty of not putting a gloss on the final score.

Then Bellamy cut in between two Arsenal defenders and raced into the penalty area before squaring a perfect pass to the onrushing Weiss to smash into the net. It was a debut goal for the young Slovakian who has impressed every time he has been given the opportunity this year.

There was still time for Arsenal to equalize, after all this is City we are talking about, u they were saved by the woodwork after Mareda had beaten Given for the first time in the match.

The whistle was blown to put the young gun out of their misery and Hughes went to shake Wenger’s hand only that find that the Frenchman had childishly already left the dugout. Maybe it was something about the six yellow cards his team had surprisingly received. Far from impressed,the Blues boss waved him down the tunnel much to the delight of the watching Citizens.

A first Semi-Final for City in twenty-eight years is something to shout about, but another golden opportunity to win some silverware for the talented North Londoners is not. When will they learn?

MAN OF THE MATCH: SHAUN WRIGHT PHILLIPS- Quite literally a pain in the Arse!