BSkyB’s Martin Tyler was voted Premier League Commentator of the Decade. This summer, he will be the lead commentator for ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup in the United States. On this edition of the EPL Talk podcast, the broadcasting icon joined me to talk about his preparations for the World Cup, what story lines for summer have already caught his eye, the challenges of a long-duration event like the World Cup, his view of the race atop the Premier League, the importance of seeing a new Premier League club in the Champions League, his approach to covering John Terry and Wayne Bridge at Stamford Bridge, and the performance of Kingstonian in the Isthmian Premier Division, for whom he serves as assistant coach. Don’t forget that the EPL Talk Podcast is the only Premier...

Sign if you’re sorry Chelsea skipper John Terry was the victim of a wind-up attempt to trick him into apologising to Wayne Bridge by a cheeky autograph hunter. The fan tried to convince an understandably sceptical Terry to sign ‘To Wayne. Sorry’ when he asked for his autograph! Thanks to OTP readers Tom Commins and Matt Fairgrieve [...]...

• Fabio Capello hails centre-back after victory over Egypt• Friendly was good preparation for World Cup, says ItalianFabio Capello praised John Terry's strength of character after the deposed England captain recovered from a nervous start to impose his influence on this contest and help the hosts ease to an ultimately comfortable victory.Terry had been subjected to boos from a minority of the supporters in the national stadium when his name was read out over the public address system prior to kick-off, and there were some jeers when his first touch was a misplaced pass that sent the ball skidding out of play. Yet, by the end, his confidence had visibly returned as he barked orders to his team-mates, with the barracking long forgotten and England reassured by his presence.The player...

• Capello not concerned about Chelsea defender's form• Manager keeps door open for Wayne Bridge and Joe ColeFabio Capello has challenged John Terry to still be a leader within the England squad despite losing the captaincy and called on fans not to boo the Chelsea defender against Egypt tomorrow. There are fears of a fans' backlash against Terry at Wembley but Capello echoed Wayne Rooney's words in urging Three Lions supporters not to hound the player."I think the fans have to support every moment," Capello said. "You have to understand that privately some players were not so good, but on the pitch it is different. We wear the England shirt and it is really important they help us every moment. I hope that tomorrow the crowd help us and do not boo him."The England manager, speaking...

It's the first day of spring and James Richardson is joined by the gloriously in bloom Sean Ingle, Rafa Honigstein and Barney Ronay for your latest edition of Football Weekly.We start with another weekend in the Premier League. Manchester City stunned Chelsea in the sideshow to the John Terry/Wayne Bridge handshake debate, and Arsenal emerged victorious after their brusing (and leg-breaking) encounter with Stoke. What impact will the results have on the fate of the teams invloved? Meanwhile, Manchester United picked up their first trophy of the season after they beat Aston Villa in the Carling Cup final. Will that impact on Villa's chase for fourth spot? Can Tottenham hold on to the final Champions League place? Or will Liverpool, with Fernando Torres back in the starting line-up, still...

Panto villain gets a trim Can a haircut be arrogant? Well, this one was. John Terry has been the centre of tabloid attention for weeks (Ashley Cole’s alleged indiscretions aside). The big clash with Manchester City and Wayne Bridge was always destined for intense media scrutiny, but was also potentially the beginning of the end for [...]...

1. John Terry’s decision to show off his eye-catching new haircut during his big showdown with Wayne Bridge speaks volumes. 2. Fernando Torres’ return is a massive boost for Liverpool. They looked a far more potent threat against Blackburn, even if they did nearly have to make do with a draw. 3. Chelsea are going to miss [...]...

• 'People in glasshouses should not throw stones'• City players condemn booing of Wayne BridgeJohn Terry has said Craig Bellamy may be guilty of hypocrisy following the Manchester City player's critical comments regarding his affair with the mother of Wayne Bridge's child.Terry has made no public comment about the reports of his extra-marital affair with Vanessa Perroncel, a story which cost him the England captaincy and a long-standing friendship with Bridge, but he has responded to the views of Bellamy.Speaking after Manchester City's 4‑2 victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Bellamy said of Terry: "Everybody in football knows what the guy is like. But that is off the field."Terry's retort was pithy and to the point. "People in glasshouses should not throw stones," the Chelsea...

Bridge Over Troubled Waters Much has been said recently about the antics of professional footballers. John Terry and his alleged affair with his team-mate Wayne Bridge’s former girlfriend. Ashley Cole and alleged saucy texts to various models, which has led to his wife Cheryl Cole announcing their separation in a blaze of publicity. Not to mention...

If there's one capitalism-red-in-tooth-and-nail aphorism that I'd like to expunge from the English language, it's that ugly, untrue US apeshit about 'nice guys come last'. It's been wheeled out again over the John Terry/Wayne Bridge drama, where Bridge's withdrawal from the England team has been taken as an indication that, unlike Terry, he hasn't got it in him to succeed at the highest level and Terry's 'mates' have been letting it be known that he was always regarded as something of a 'bottler' in the dressing room.Forgive me for just a little whooping and cheering yesterday, then, as bottler Bridge gave tough guy Terry a lesson in dignified, focused and disciplined football while the ex-England captain continued with the schoolboy calamities that increasingly characterise his current...

Chelsea 2 Man City 4 Premier League result 28/02/2010 Manchester City took 3 points away from Stamford Bridge today in over 17 years, with a riveting 6 goal match taking Man City into fourth position.It was unfortunate that this exciting game had an element of tension with the well publicised John Terry and Wayne Brudge friendship bust up. In the team meeting prior to the match kick off, Wayne Bridge did no shake John Terry's outstretched hand which then led to the Chelsea fans booing Bridge for the entire match. All typical pantomime stuff really - Wayne Bridge was a perfect professional about the whole occasion and showed that he has match sharpness after his knee injury. England calls, Mr Bridge - we need you!At the end of the match, Sky Sports congratulated Carlos Tevez and Craig...

• Terry sacked as captain after failing 'to set an example'• England manager will ask Wayne Bridge to reconsiderFabio Capello has told John Terry that the Chelsea player will never captain England again while he is in charge and says he has not given up hope of Wayne Bridge returning to international duty.The England manager stripped Terry of the honour following revelations of the defender's alleged affair with the mother of Wayne Bridge's young son.The speculation surrounding Terry's relationship with Vanessa Perroncel proved to be so hurtful for Bridge that he now feels his position within the England squad is "untenable" and has no longer made himself available for international duty.Capello is still hoping Bridge will change his mind. However, the manager has made it perfectly...

When watching Manchester City’s fantastic 4-2 Victory away to league leaders Chelsea, one thing was paramount in that game and it wasn’t Wayne Bridge V John Terry,  Two red cards, Manchester City’s flowing football, Shay Given’s commanding goal keeping or Roberto Mancini’s great man management and control of the game. It was Gareth Barry. I lost count of the amount of times I heard Martin Tyler said “…And Chelsea can break now, they have Anelka to the left, Drogba on the edge of the box, but Gareth Barry once again breaks down the play.” Despite giving away a needless penalty, Barry was everywhere today picking up the ball from his solid back four and spreading the play so the often narrow Chelsea were caught out by Adam Johnson and...

Of all the preposterous and fanciful predictions that were made before this match, everything from handshake boycotts to Wayne Bridge coming on as a substitute after two minutes, none featured Chelsea finishing with nine men and being comfortably beaten by Manchester City.The visitors just did not appear to have that result in them, yet it is important to stress that Chelsea were falling to their first home defeat of the season even before indiscipline began to cost them players. City were winning 2-1 by the time Juliano Belletti was sent off after conceding the penalty that gave them a third. Only the final goal, Bellamy's second after Michael Ballack had left the field for a second yellow after a foul on Carlos Tevez, was a result of Chelsea being undermanned at the back. To their...

And who can blame him Wayne Bridge decided against shaking the hand of John Terry as Manchester City faced Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this lunchtime. Captain Shay Given led the Citeh players along the line of Chelsea’s players and Bridge, the penultimate Citeh player, did not take-up John Terry’s offer of a handshake. And Bridge had the [...]...

As bizarre as it may sound, if Manchester City could play against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal each week, they’d be in a better league position than they are now. City continue to look flaccid when they play teams such as Stoke City, but always seem to be up for it when they play powerhouses such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. The difference between City and other teams is that on the big days when you need it the most, they have key footballers who play with heart, namely Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez. We saw how incredibly passionate and dangerous they were earlier in the season when they almost beat Manchester United at Old Trafford. And we saw it again Saturday in a very exciting second half when City beat Premier League title favorites Chelsea 4-2 at...

Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy score twice as Manchester City come from behind to defeat Chelsea after Wayne Bridge refuses to shake John Terry's...

Priorities are everything in the newsroom, the Editor will push to the front the story that is most read on-line. Which for News International readers are – in order of priority: Wayne Bridge refusal to shake John Terry’s hand at Chelsea this afternoon. 52 people dead in Chile after the earth shook. Model Shayks’ long legs in full display. I...

If you turned on Sky Sports News at the wrong point this morning  you may think that Stamford Bridge has been overrun by slapheads. There were slapheads gushing at the prospects of selling all of their “Team Terry” merchandise. There were slapheads declaring; ‘E’s Chelsea frroo and frroo mate, we’ll saaapoooorrt ‘im evermore!”. There were slapheads sucking dummies to emphasise that Wayne Bridge is a big baby for letting “daaaahn ’is caaahnttry mate” Of course Wayne Bridge’s deserting In- Gerrr-Land was childish. How could anyone want to avoid spending time in close proximity with a person who used to be a close friend but then chose not only to break your trust, but also shit on you in such a public...

John Terry and Wayne Bridge both start as Chelsea host Manchester City in Saturday's early kick-off, with crisis club Portsmouth in action among the sides in action later...

• Members of the City squad urged full-back to go to World Cup• Carlo Ancelotti frustrated at questions over off-field mattersWayne Bridge ignored calls from prominent members of the Manchester City dressing room to abandon his plan to make himself unavailable for England, after he told them of his intentions more than a week ago. The defender has resembled a tortured soul since he and the rest of the western world found out about the affair that John Terry, his former Chelsea team-mate and best friend, had with Vanessa Perroncel, Bridge's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son.Bridge drove himself to distraction as he weighed up the pros and cons of one of the toughest decisions of his life and, as he went through the process, he used the City dressing room as a sounding board. The...

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti moves to downplay the hype around the meeting between John Terry and Wayne Bridge in Saturday's match with Manchester...

In ten years time, English football fans will look back in the annals of history and cast villainous or glorious eyes upon someone named Wayne. This pending assignment of fates will depend on the outcome of this summer’s World Cup. Wayne Bridge, as unfortunate as it is, has been in the media for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks. Embroiled in a PR nightmare-affair-driven scandal, Bridge, whilst attempting to emerge unscathed has removed his name for England contention some 100 or so days before a ball is kicked in anger.  The second-choice left back for England and first choice left back for perennial underachievers Manchester City cites his position in the squad is now “untenable and potentially divisive“. Come on folks, can you imagine a locker room with...

After yesterdays announcement by Wayne Bridge, there has been a lot of press discussion about the situation. I thought I would blog my opinion on it. Now this IS an emotive subject, and I am aware that people reading this may have experienced similar situations – so I hope that I can deal with this sensitively. Ok,...

England coach Fabio Capello hopes Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge will rethink his decision not to go to the World Cup this...

World Cup News 25/02/10 Wayne Bridge rules himself out of the World Cup Squad dor 2010In an announcement made today through his lawyers, Wayne Bridge stated his intention to withdraw from the national squad as his position had become "untenable and potentially divisive". No doubt Bridge has had a difficult few weeks since his ex-fiancee's affair with the former England captain John Terry has become tabloid fodder and it is sad to see a talented player rule himself out of such a prestigious tournament for such reasons.There is no doubt that Wayne Bridge is a good player, although his international career and his time at Man City have not quite fulfilled the promise of his performances at Chelsea. However although Ashley Cole is a doubt for South Africa with his injured ankle (thankfully...

Man City defender uses one of our Nouveau Cliches to quit international football As you might have head, Wayne Bridge has announced that he is making himself unavailable for selection for future England matches. That’s The Artist Formerly Known As Retiring From International Football to me and you. Bridge had been keeping very quiet about the situation [...]...

Wayne Bridge today declared that he is ruling himself out of contention for the World Cup.  In a short statement this morning the Manchester City defender claimed that his presence within the England squad was potentially divisive and as such, he did not wish to be selected.It would seem that Bridge has done some soul-searching and decided that it is an impossible situation for him to play alongside his former friend and ex-captain.  Fabio Capello was questioned earlier today on his return to England from South Africa and refused to make a comment.The decision also means that Capello is without his first and second choice left-backs for the Egypt friendly and attention will turn to Stephen Warnock and Leighton Baines, both of whom should get some minutes on the pitch...

…that is your elbow. As I posted yesterday England manager Fabio Capello was insistent that there was nothing wrong and that Wayne Bridge would not only be in the England squad for the friendly against Egypt next week but would be flying out with the rest of the team to South Africa for the World Cup finals. Wayne on the other hand has a different take on it… I have thought long and hard about my position in the England football team in the light of the reporting and events over the last few weeks. It has always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful thought I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and potentially divisive. Sadly therefore I feel for the sake of the team and in order to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided...

Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge makes himself unavailable for England selection and rules himself out of the World...