SHEARER: England's Build-Up A "Disaster"
By Matthew Jones
October 10 2003
Former England captain Alan Shearer has spoken out about the lead up to tomorrow's showdown in Turkey. England are preparting for thier Euro 2004 Qualifier game, but Shearer has described the build-up as "a disaster".
Shearer told The Sun, "The last few days have been a disaster. Nobody has come out of it with any credit.
"But the game is bigger than any individual and more important than any individual.
"There have been mistakes from all over. The whole week has been messy and it has not been healthy for the game at all.
"But let's try to be positive now. This has shown just how united the squad are.
"They can say 'Right everyone is against us, we are going to stick together' - and they will come out on top.
"The players are still obviously aggrieved Rio's name has leaked out and rightly so.
"Everything that is done regarding doping and drug testing should remain confidential until someone is proven guilty.
"How it leaked out, I don't know. But it should not have come out.
"But now it has come out the FA has taken its stance - and that is right. Rio did miss a drugs test.
"And the FA have done something like this before when Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate went through their court case a couple of years ago.
"They were not allowed to play for England while they were under investigation - and, remember, Lee was eventually cleared of all charges."
DO YOU AGREE WITH SHEARER?
Leave your opinions and discuss this story on our Message Board!