Terry criticism is a crying shame (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Terry criticism is a crying shame

1:04pm Sunday 1st June 2008 in Sport By Blake Richardson

Refresh my memory. Who was it that missed the spot-kick for Chelsea that handed the Champions League trophy to Manchester United? John Terry wasn’t it? No, of course not, it was Nicolas Anelka, but for all the coverage Terry has received in the aftermath you would have thought he was the only Chelsea player to have messed up?
Of course Terry’s miss was a decisive one, as it would have clinched the title for the Blues, but I find it incredible that the media attention has been trained solely on Terry and his tears while Anelka has been allowed to walk away unscathed.
That Terry was inconsolable after the match was met with derision in some sections of the press. News reporters and columnists who know jack about football and what it means to the players and supporters suddenly thought they were Henry Winter.
Terry was pilloried for showing his emotions and told to act like a man in future. Only when a relative dies can you shed a tear, apparently. It’s only a football match, it’s not life or death, and so on and so on…
Codswallop! On the one hand footballers are criticised for being prima donnas, only interested in the money and never showing any passion. When they do show passion to succeed, and with a ferocious intensity their armchair detractors could never come close to replicating, they are criticised again. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
These commentators do not inhabit the pressure-cooker world of professional footballers, who have fought their way to the pinnacle of their sport against unbelievable odds, so how can they possibly know what it felt like to be John Terry that night?
Why not put them all in a room with him for ten minutes and lock the door. One man would exit with a smile on his face, the others with tears streaking down theirs. Cry-babies!
And do they honestly believe Anelka’s po-faced reaction to missing from the penalty spot is preferable?
There was no emotion in his face, no passion and no sign of regret. Unfortunately, there was also no publicity.