Chelsea’s John Terry has undoubtedly been one of the best defenders the English game has ever seen - not just in this season - but also throughout the entire course of Premier League history. He has been a mainstay member of one of the strongest defenses in the country in 2014/15, only conceding an impressive 22 goals across 27 games of top flight domestic action.

Even at the grand old age of 34-years-old, the fearless Terry has been a defining pillar underpinning Jose Mourinho’s success with the Blues this season, easily outperforming England’s other senior centre-backs in the form of Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.

In light of Terry’s strong form at the back this season, does the Chelsea captain deserve one last chance with Roy Hodgson’s national set-up, or is the former Fulham and Liverpool boss right to leave the ever present John Terry out of his illustrious national plans?

The case for John Terry being re-instated into the English national team initially seems a strong one. He is quite clearly the best defender available for Roy Hodgson should the England boss perform a dramatic u-turn on his previous decision to rule him out of the international game – and with several TV pundits regularly singing the praises of Terry and putting his case forward – it seems the legendary Chelsea man does in fact have a great deal of support over such matters.

There is also a distinct lack of available captains for Hodgson to call upon these days, with his current choice Wayne Rooney not exactly being blessed with the best leadership ability, even at the mature age of 29-years-old.

Many believe that the England team should simply be made up of the best English players plying their trade in Europe’s top flight. As Terry definitely goes down as one of those, perhaps reinstating him with the Three Lions should be a real no-brainer for Roy Hodgson if he wants to improve the team’s fortunes in the lead-up to Euro 2016.

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Having said all of that however, England would still be best served by leaving John Terry well away from their future plans. Yes - he is better than what the team already has, and yes, he offers leadership ability to a level that most captains currently playing in world football would be envious of – but with everything that has gone on with John Terry off the pitch throughout his career – does England as a nation really want to be led by such a character?

Whilst his already publicly reported extramarital affair, with the ex-girlfriend of former teammate Wayne Bridge, certainly doesn’t shine the former England captain in the best light possible, it remains an event that simply still comes with a great deal of ambiguity to this day. For that reason, such personal stories alone shouldn't prove a defining factor for John Terry should he want to be re-installed within the national set-up.

When coupled with the fact that he received several strong racial abuse claims from QPR’s Anton Ferdinand in the past though - John Terry ‘the man’ simply doesn’t seem like the perfect leader after all. It remains hard to believe that the England captain at the time would ever be found guilty of any such wrong-doing.

For the fact that such incidents have involved former England teammates, such as Wayne Bridge, and albeit indirectly Rio Ferdinand, John Terry simply doesn’t deserve another chance to lead the line for England. Some allege he has ‘snotted’ on opponents in the past - check clips of an altercation with Carlos Tevez for the evidence – and has simply not been the flawless role model that England captains of old really used to be.

Think of Bobby Moore and then compare him with John Terry…

The Chelsea man has had his chance before with such duties, and if England were to recall him now of all times, it would simply send the wrong message to the rest of Roy Hodgson’s squad. Playing for your national team is about more than what happens on the pitch.

As the future of the England national team nevertheless looks pretty bleak without him on board however, calls for John Terry to be reinstated will always come with a certain degree of strength behind them, regardless of his obvious problems in the image department.

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