JOSE MOURINHO’S DECISION to substitute John Terry at half-time of the Man City-Chelsea game yesterday attracted no shortage of controversy.
Terry was in inspired form last season as the Londoners comfortably claimed the Premier League title, but like the rest of his teammates, the former England international has endured a difficult start to the 2015-16 campaign.
And the Chelsea star is not the only big-name player to be unexpectedly hauled off, as the following list illustrates…
1. Jack Charlton taking off Liam Brady before half-time
(Liam Brady and Jack Charlton failed to see eye to eye)
Before anyone had ever heard of Andy Reid, Stephen Ireland or Wes Hoolahan, a substantial section of the media ardently called for Liam Brady to be made an integral part of Jack Charlton’s Ireland side. During a friendly with West Germany ahead of the 1990 World Cup, Brady was picked to start by Charlton. Despite being routinely cited as one of the greatest Irish players ever, the Arsenal legend was substituted after just 35 minutes, as his international career came to an ignominious end.
2. Ali Dia coming on for Matt Le Tissier
With Matt Le Tissier having to go off injured, Graeme Souness opted to bring on new recruit Ali Dia early on in a Southampton-Leeds match. ‘George Weah’s cousin’ was so bad that he was substituted himself after just 53 minutes, and Dia was subsequently exposed as a fraud.
3. Arrigo Sacchi taking off Roberto Baggio against Norway
(Baggio is substituted against Norway)
After Italy were reduced to 10 men following Gianluca Pagliuca’s sending off, they looked to be in serious danger of exiting the competition at the 1994 World Cup group stages. However, after Arrigo Sacchi made the bold move of substituting Roberto Baggio — the team’s best player who was struggling with an ankle injury — the Italians rallied and secured a much-needed 1-0 victory.
4. Graham Taylor ending Gary Lineker’s England career
(Gary Lineker dejected after being substituted)
With England drawing 1-1 against Sweden at the 1992 European Championships, coach Graham Taylor made the controversial decision to take off Gary Lineker and bring on Alan Smith. The English ultimately lost 2-1 and Taylor was consequently heavily criticised for his decision, as Lineker’s international career came to a sad end.
5. The Sol Campbell-West Ham debacle
(Campbell had 45 minutes to forget against West Ham)
After a disastrous 45 minutes, Sol Campbell was already at a low ebb when he saw a member of the crowd make the gesture of a gun in his direction as he was walking off the pitch. He subsequently refused to appear for the second half and disappeared from the club for a few days.
6. Tim Krul comes on for Holland in the dying seconds
(Tim Krul celebrates with Dirk Kuyt)
It takes a particular brave manager to make an audacious decision in the last minute of a World Cup quarter-final. But then-Dutch coach Louis van Gaal did exactly that, when he replaced number one goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen with Tim Krul as a penalty shootout with Costa Rica loomed. Nevertheless, fate dictated that Krul ultimately played a pivotal role in helping Holland progress, saving two penalties, and LVG’s decision was hailed as a masterstroke.
