Petit queries England absentees

• turbo_drift

  30 Nov 07, 18:46

  
  Terry trained with the England squad ahead of the Croatia match
  
  World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit says John Terry and Ashley Cole should have played in England's crucial Euro 2008 game against Croatia at Wembley.
  
  The former France and Chelsea defender said leading players were "thinking only of themselves" as England went out of the tournament with a 3-2 defeat.
  
  Terry and Cole were deemed not fit to start but both played three days later in Chelsea's 2-0 win at Derby.
  
  "I'm talking about very important defenders," Petit told a radio channel.
  
  "Can you imagine me not playing a big game for my country and then three days later I play for my club?"
  
  The loss at Wembley ended England's hopes of reaching Euro 2008 and signalled the end of coach Steve McClaren's reign.
  
  England captain Terry had been out of action with a knee injury since 16 October and did not make the match-day squad against Croatia, while Cole was on the bench but was not used by McClaren.
  
  "It was very interesting last Saturday to see players like John Terry - who is the leader of Chelsea and England - wasn't part of the Wednesday game and he was playing on Saturday," said Petit, a 1998 World Cup winner with France.
  
  
  
  "It was very interesting to see also Ashley Cole playing against Derby and he wasn't featuring last Wednesday as well.
  
  "They were not in the national team and they were playing for their clubs three days later.
  
  "So before looking for excuses somewhere else, putting the trouble on foreign players or managers, people have to be honest.
  
  "That's what fans want to hear from players: 'We failed and we are responsible for that.' We are not looking for excuses.
  
  "I think people are thinking only of themselves, not for football and not for the fans."
  
  Chelsea boss Avram Grant said the decision not to risk Terry had been taken by England's coaching staff.
  
  "It was on the border(line), I think, with John Terry," he said.
  
  "England needed him badly but when you play an international and you have not played for five weeks... it was the right decision by McClaren."
  
  Terry agreed, saying the England match had come just too soon after his recent operation.
  
  "I had long conversations with Steve McClaren and wanted to be part of it. I was very close," he said.
  
  "But I had only done a bit of running on my own at the (Chelsea) training ground, trained with the youth team and then went over to England, so it was probably about a day's full training.
  
  "I would always play if asked, but you have to think of the bigger picture, and if I'd had to come off after 50 or 60 minutes because of the injury then I would have been no good to anybody."
  
• omgukilledkenny

  2 Dec 07, 18:01

  Terry To Petit: How Dare You Question My Attitude?
  
  John Terry has broken his silence on Emmanuel Petit's recent controversial comments, saying the Frenchman has "no right" to question his commitment.
  
  Speaking to The Sun newspaper, the Chelsea captain opined that Petit's comments were out of order. "I'm really disappointed, especially since I played with him at Chelsea for about three years.
  
  "He should know more than most what I'm like, my character and how much I fight to play," said Terry of the Frechman.
  
  "That was the case with my recent operation and the Croatia game. I managed to squeeze in two training sessions before the game. One was with Chelsea's youth team and the other was with England. That was after surgery and five weeks out.
  
  "I was not 100 per cent but gave it a go," Terry continued, obviously incensed by the comments. "I was in constant touch with Steve McClaren and the England medical team, informing them of my progress. Even Chelsea knew how much it meant to me to play for England despite it being such a risk.
  
  "But it was decided I would be doing neither myself nor England any favours by playing and I agreed to sit it out."
  
  "How can anyone question my attitude?" he demanded. "Especially someone who did not play in Israel for personal reasons when 17-year-olds travelled," he added, referring to Petit's one-time refusal to travel with the Chelsea squad for a Uefa Cup match on grounds of it being too dangerous.