How are the English players doing after the World Cup ordeal - Part 2

This series looks at how the English players have fared since coming back from South Africa to the chorus of displeasure from the public. In the last post, I wrote about the goalkeepers, now let’s turn our attention to the defenders.

John Terry
John Terry was as much to blame for England’s loss to Germany as the referee because it was his error that to the first goal and ultimately affected England game plan. Since his affair with Vanessa Peroncel broke, he has not been the same player from the tail-end of last season to now, 9 games into the new season. Chelsea may be top of the table and only conceded 2 goals so far, Terry’s defensive performance falls far short of his best. It would be interesting to see how he will fare now as his regular central defensive partner is injured for the next month with more challenging games coming up for the Blues.

Rio Ferdinand
Captain of the team but injured for the World Cup and most of the early season. We have not seen much from Rio this year but glimpses of his form in the last European outing suggest that he might be also cursed with poor form through his connection with the English team.

Matthew Upson
Played really badly against the Germans and was expose for his severe lack of speed by Miroslav Klose, Upson’s form has really gone down the drain since coming back from South Africa. His team, West Ham is leaking goals left, right and centre. He has also lost his place in the England squad and will not like make it back given that his replacement Phil Jagielka has been very impressive in the Euro 2012 qualification campaign so far.

Jamie Carragher
Carragher, who was persuaded by Capello to join up with the English team at the World Cup after announcing his retirement, might be thinking if it was the most regrettable decision he ever made. A promising legacy after great performances for England in the past was all but wiped out in the first game against USA as the American strikers ran riot over Carragher in the second half. Coming back to a Liverpool team in disarray, Carragher’s gut busting displays have not been able to save Liverpool from embarrassing defeats (to Blackpool) and finds himself currently with the team lying third from bottom of the Premier League.

Glen Johnson
At least we can all see Carragher giving his best whenever his is down playing for Liverpool, the same cannot be said about Glen Johnson. The rightback has been in deplorable form at the World Cup and since coming back. A lot of the goals have come from his lack of focus during games and allowing the strikers to come in on his blind side (against Man City and Blackpool). Whereas he could always be counted an attacking force in the past, he has not shown the kind of speed or aggression down the line for Liverpool this season. A major, major contributor to the Red’s current predicament.

Ashley Cole
The only player from the entire English defensive unit to come back from South Africa with his form and reputation intact. He may be public enemy no 1 for his acrimonious split with England’s darling, Cheryl Col, but it has not affected his form this season. His play both defensive and offensive have been sterling for Chelsea since he joined them in 2005 and five years on remain the same quality player that he is.