John Terry

[Captain Ahmed 528]

Extending Terry contract a little victory in Chelsea's turbulent title defence

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Chelsea Football Club have not got many things right this season, but they managed to save their best for last. The belated offering of a new contract to John Terry, which has now been signed by the club captain, was a rare spot of positivity at the end of a chastening campaign.That it took so long to come to fruition and that it cast a long shadow during the final few months of the season, however, is frustrating. With so many other issues to be concentrating on such as re-instilling team spirit, climbing the league table, progressing in the cup competitions and securing a new manager, it was a shame that the uncertainty over Terry's future was allowed to distract from those efforts.In almost every news conference that interim manager Guus Hiddink faced, he was posed questions about his captain's contract, highlighting the huge interest in the issue from fans and media alike. When the focus should have been on the football and the squad pulling together, there was always this niggling problem in the background that gnawed away at the collective.The blame for the situation lies with both parties.After having a meeting with club director Marina Granovskaia and technical director Michael Emenalo in January, Terry was informed that no extension to his contract was currently on the table. The ostensible reasoning was that they did not want to impose a player on the new manager, whose identity was then unknown, without their consent.Terry, being equally adept at handling internal politics as he is dealing with opposition strikers, decided to force the issue by making this private conversation public. It was a clearly calculated move designed to put pressure on the club hierarchy with the support of the fans. To be fair to Terry, it ultimately worked, though his positioning will no doubt have left some of those on the club board with a bad taste in their mouths.

The club's initial stance seemed to be an understandable one. Without a new manager in place, one who was destined to oversee an overhaul of the squad, it seemed prudent to allow that new manager to make the decision on whether a 35-year-old of Terry's enormous influence would be part of his side. The flaw in their approach was the fact that they had signed Branislav Ivanovic -- age 32 and enduring the worst season of his Chelsea career -- to a contract extension a week before Terry's situation came to light. The thinking appeared to be conflicted.Regardless of how this phoney war began, both parties embarked on a course of brinksmanship. Under pressure from the fans, the club capitulated, though not without calling Terry's bluff. Although no details of the contract have been released, the fact that Terry did not immediately accept suggests that a sizeable pay cut and the possibility of his status being diminished could be part of the deal. That theory was enhanced when he subsequently referred to the "different role" that he had been offered.Whatever the nature of the contract, the fact remains that he is still the best defender at the club. He was far from perfect this season but continued to be the most reliable, and it was plain to see how much better the back line performed when he was on the pitch. With so many talented defenders on the club's books, especially with centre-backs Jake Clarke-Salter and Fikayo Tomori excelling in the younger age groups, it would be invaluable to have an icon such as Terry to look up to and learn from. Those points alone should have made the decision to keep him on an obvious one. Factor in the dearth of leadership on the pitch when he has been absent and it becomes a no-brainer.

For incoming manager Antonio Conte, the retention of such a key figure should be of huge benefit. He will need a lieutenant that he can rely upon to act as a conduit between the coaching staff and the players as he tries to get his message across, a role that Terry has played for a number of years. Having spent 21 years at Chelsea, Terry commands huge respect inside the club and forging a strong bond between manager and captain will go a long way to resurrecting the team from the ashes of this turbulent campaign.That said, Terry has proven that he is not a man to cross, a trait shared by the equally stubborn Conte. There have long been whispers that the club captain has undermined various managers throughout the past decade, and should Conte and Terry fail to strike the right chord, then it could prove to be a combustible relationship that might affect the team's overall fortunes.Ultimately, keeping Terry on board is the best public relations move that the club could have made following a disastrous title defence. The supporters have made it abundantly clear in the past few weeks that they desperately wanted him to stay, not least via the very public demonstration of their affections during and after the 1-1 draw with Leicester City on the final day. That the club and the player have reached some middle ground is to be applauded, though it is hard to shake the feeling that the same circus is likely to stir into action at some point next season.

ESPN

 

 

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

[Captain Ahmed 528]

Il Captain One

[Leif 6,006]

His body is perfectly built, I don't know how he finds time to build his chest like he has. He's a freak next to everyone else - 

 

 

[Melanicus 5,208]

Captain. Leader. Legend.

 

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

 

[Gilvorak 3,734]

I think we can carry John Terry if he was surrounded by 3 quality defenders. With Ivanovic, Matic & Cahill on the field he's just as big a liability.

[Hybrid Angel 2,130]

7 minutes ago, Gilvorak said:

I think we can carry John Terry if he was surrounded by 3 quality defenders. With Ivanovic, Matic & Cahill on the field he's just as big a liability.

At this point I'm not even sure I would take JT over Cahill which is sad enough. Cahill can at least run.

[Hostedenis 556]

13 minutes ago, Hybrid Angel said:

At this point I'm not even sure I would take JT over Cahill which is sad enough. Cahill can at least run backwards.

 

fixed that for you

[Styles 9,790]

Giving him a new contact set us back another year.

[Unionjack 7,531]

I'm sorry. I love the guy and he symbolizes alot of the best things that I want in a Chelsea player and nobody in the world could ever doubt his love and comitment to Chelsea.

But we gotta keep sentimentr out of team selection IF we are ever going to get out of this shite our defence is in.

It's time we gave him a hug and either stick him in management or let him join Lamps and Drogs.

[Gilvorak 3,734]

Looks like I'm not the only one worried about Conte claiming he could play into his 40s like Maldini then.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

33 minutes ago, Gilvorak said:

Looks like I'm not the only one worried about Conte claiming he could play into his 40s like Maldini then.

I like to think he's saying that to appease the fans who crave John Terry at Chelsea. It's an absurd statement and if Terry is here in a playing capacity into his 40's then I give up . However I do think he'll be here in a coaching capacity at least. It was JT himself who said his contract states a "different role" when he was offered. Conte attempted to backtrack on this, but it was clear as day at the time what it meant. 

[Jase 43,479]

15 hours ago, Styles said:

Giving him a new contact set us back another year.

If only we are as ruthless with players as we are with managers.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

The last few posts in this thread makes me cringe.

A slow RB, and 2 slow CBs is always going to be a mess. But if you have to pick one of the 3 Terry starts every time. When Happy is back (or indeed if we bring in Koulibaly) along with a little pace we'll look much better.

 

I really hope Conte lets Aina grow into RB; I can't watch Ivanovic any longer.

 

[Pizy 17,860]

He looks like exactly what he is: an old man in football terms.

Like Lampard at the end, like Gerrard at the end, like Rio Ferdinand at the end. JT was already pretty slow at his best but now looks completely shot. He can't turn and recover which leads to what we saw against Bremen yesterday. He gets exposed.

Against the other top managers like Pep & Mou who are masters at exploiting specific weaknesses in opponents I'd be terrified if JT, Cahill, and Ivanovic start. They'd both target the center of our defense and with players like Zlatan, Agüero, Mkhitaryan, De Bruyne, etc, they'll embarrass us. Remember those humiliating thumpings we got last season by City? It would be a repeat of those.

He should be a squad player who plays early end FA Cup games, League Cup games, and a PL match here and there. 

[CHOULO19 24,332]

What makes the last couple of pages funny is that he is still our best available CB and the second best defender in the entire team

Yes he is not good enough to be starting for us anymore and OF COURSE we need several signings in defense, but how in the world is HE alone the one setting us back when he is still better than every fit defender at the club bar Azpilicueta?! 

The board and management have shockingly failed to sign badly needed top defenders since Luiz left. That can't be pinned on JT. 

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

9 hours ago, Jason said:

If only we are as ruthless with players as we are with managers.

Tell it to Lamps...