Gary Neville has penned an opinion piece for The Telegraph this Friday in which he insists that Chelsea must do everything in their power to keep John Terry happy and at the club.
Neville argues that players older than 31 are being badly managed in the modern game, and that the role of a leader in the dressing room is being undermined. He points to Liverpool's handling of Steven Gerrard as an example of poor management, citing a reason as recently as last weekend for arguing why he should still be at the club:
Steven Gerrard should still be at Liverpool. There is no way he should be kicking a football for LA Galaxy. At Liverpool on Monday night, Jordan Henderson went off injured with his team 1-0 up. Why could Gerrard not come in those circumstances to do a job, to provide control and experience? Staleness is a crime in football, but in a 23-man squad you need two or three stalwarts who manage the changing room, are good pros, set the standards around the club.
Neville then explained that he thinks experienced pros shouldn't be moving to the MLS, but accepting a reduced role at their clubs, and the manner in which he said it will not please fans of the MLS, as he seemed to be rather condescending towards the league:
Terry doesn’t need advice from me, but in these situations I would always say: relax, enjoy what’s to come, realise that 25 games for Chelsea is better than 45 for the Orlando Owls or the Tasmanian Tigers. Equally Mourinho has to be happy with it and know the player will not be disruptive.
The Orlando Owls?
Clearly the former Manchester United right-back isn't a big fan of the league then.
While he certainly does have a point, he has failed to factor in the fact that sometimes the veteran player would welcome a change of scenery, and Los Angeles or New York can be an incredibly satisfying place to live and work, and some players will still want to play every week late into their 30's.
Robbie Keane still sulks when Bruce Arena rests him, and he's 35, so has Gary Neville been a bit disrespectful to a growing league that is gaining more and more pulling power? Or should Gerrard still be a Liverpool player?
via The Telegraph.
