Forget John Terry: here's 11 footballers to restore your faith in the game

By Michael Calvin

Published 23:01 06/02/10

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It’s time to take a shower, to sluice away the stench of the sewer.

It’s taken a strong ­stomach, and blind faith, to wade through football’s ­effluent.

The temptation has been to surrender to the suspicion the game is not worth the effort.

Only natural, really.

The England squad resembles a care in the community programme.

Club owners have ­abandoned the pretence of affinity with fans who ­bolster the bottom line.

Players inhabit a world of casual betrayal, pliable ­principles and silly money.

The supporting cast ­includes the vice squad, ambulance-chasing lawyers and insolvency specialists.

And yet all is not lost.

There are good people around representing the right values. Here’s a dream team, 11 men who ­provide us with a reason to believe:

Phil Neville
Dr Jekyll to his brother’s Mr Hyde. An old school pro whose diligence, commitment and consistency makes him Merseyside’s favourite Manc. We’ll forgive him those silly monogrammed gates to the mansion he sold at a massive loss. He’s paid his dues.

Dirk Kuyt
A deserving case, ­especially since it evens the score on derby weekend. Kuyt is a whole-hearted player with a keen social conscience. He and his wife Gertrude, a former geriatric nurse, fund programmes for disadvantaged children in Holland and the third world.

Geoff Thomas
A destructive player who turned cancer into a constructive experience after a bone marrow transplant from his sister saved his life. The ­charity founded by the former Crystal Palace captain is ­seeking £20million for a ­nationwide network of blood nurses and testing centres for leukaemia drugs.

Neil Harris
Another cancer survivor ­determined to make the most of a second chance in life. Millwall’s record goalscorer is an inspirational advocate for his Everyman charity. A front man for the NHS campaign to highlight ­testicular cancer, he personally counsels sufferers. Diagnosis, he tells them, is no death sentence.

Jason Roberts
The Blackburn striker uses his Foundation to promote football among under-­privileged children in the Caribbean and the UK. It also offers practical help, ranging from special needs education to funding for heart surgery.

Jimmy Armfield
The embodiment of what an England captain should be. Kindly and knowledgeable, he is a great communicator. The statue they are building in his honour at Blackpool is minimal recognition for a ­gentle man who does ­unheralded community work.
The Jimmy Armfield CBE Collection - amazing unseen pictures and Daily Mirror match reports from our archives  

Graham Taylor
Proof there is life after ­managing England. He’s joined the media circus, which once blighted his life, but ­follows his heart. Helped rescue ­Watford, the club where he made his name, by becoming chairman in ­response to the threat of ­administration.

Eddie Howe
Aged 32, but looks 16. The youngest manager in the Football League will be ­head hunted if he achieves the miracle of getting Bournemouth promoted. Sharp and ­sufficiently resourceful to overcome the handicap of a season-long transfer embargo.

Terry Brown
Winning is not all that ­matters for the AFC Wimbledon boss. He tutors new players in the significance of representing a club that had its birthright stolen. Scourge of hypocritical Premier League managers.

Chris Powell
More, much more, than one of Sven Goran Eriksson’s one night stands. The PFA ­chairman, pressed into service in the Leicester defence at the age of 40, is learning the ropes as player coach. He exposes the myth that nice guys finish last.

Fabio Capello
We couldn’t leave him out, could we? At last, an England manager who understands the meaning of leadership. A breath of fresh air.