Shamed Terry 25-1 to have the last laugh

SPORTS BETTING: A MILLION words have been written about John Terry and I have no doubt that, like me, you are bored with the whole affair (oops, an unfortunate choice of noun there).

But, whether we like it or not, the matter will not go away just yet and the focus will not be so much on England v Egypt tonight as what reaction Terry will receive from the Wembley crowd.

England fans have a history of booing their own players and there is a common theme here . . . Chelsea.

Ashley Cole has had his fair share of flak (and rightly so, many would say), but what did Frank Lampard ever do to deserve such a fate?

Terry is set for a rough ride tonight and I have no sympathy for him, but you can bet that by the time England get to the World Cup in South Africa, this recent turbulence will be but a distant memory and the nation will get behind the Three Lions.

Not that the fall-out from the Terry saga will have completely dispersed.

With his old mucker Wayne Bridge out of the reckoning – unless Fabio Capello can persuade him otherwise – and Cole struggling to recover from a broken ankle, the left-back spot is up for grabs.

The bookies obviously have faith in Cole’s powers of recovery for the Chelsea man (another with much-publicised marital problems) is 2-5 to wear the number three shirt when England face USA in their World Cup opener on June 12.

Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock is 5-1, Everton’s Leighton Baines 11-2 and Manchester City’s Joleon Lescott 8-1.

Gareth Barry is an interesting shout at 20-1 given his versatility and terrific left foot, but James Milner (25-1) and Matthew Upson (25-1) make zero appeal.

There is also an interesting market surrounding the identity of the England captain against USA.

Considering his ongoing back problems, Rio Ferdinand – the current incumbent – must be avoided at a stingy 30-100, while you can argue the same about Steven Gerrard (7-2).

Wayne Rooney is 15-2 third favourite and while I figure among those who feel our star player has enough to worry about without the burden of captaincy, he would clearly be in the running were injuries to continue to plague the aforementioned pair.

Talking of Rooney – and let’s keep everything crossed that he stays fit for our World Cup campaign – the United striker is the 7-2 favourite to open the scoring against Egypt in tonight’s friendly at Wembley.

There is no better player in the world at present than Rooney, who almost boasts the technique of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but contributes far more in work-rate and desire.

We know he can deliver against European opposition so tonight’s encounter against the recently-crowned African Cup of Nations champions will provide an interesting challenge for the United hero and his England team-mates.

England are 2-5 to win tonight, with Egypt at 8-1 and the draw 4s, and the feeling is that Capello will play Emile Heskey alongside Rooney.

The Villa target man is 7-1 to score the first goal, while Jermaine Defoe (9-2), Peter Crouch (5-1) and Carlton Cole (11-2) are expected to be on the substitutes’ bench and are best avoided from a punting perspective.

Midfield men Frank Lampard (7-1) and Steven Gerrard (8-1) were in goalscoring form for their clubs at the weekend and a split stake between the two could be the way to go for a touch of value.

But we started this week with John Terry and that’s where we will finish.

The fickle finger of fate could provide a sting in the tail for punters and would you really be shocked if the centre-back popped up with a header from a set piece?

You can back him at 25-1 for the first goal and I wonder what the crowd reaction to that would be . . .




RECOMMENDATION: Split normal betting stake between Frank Lampard (7-1) and Steven Gerrard (8-1) for first goal v Egypt.