John Terry puts the ball back in Chelsea’s court as contract stand-off continues

Fighting his corner: Terry appeals for a penalty at Stamford Bridge
Getty
James Olley8 February 2016

Chelsea’s unwillingness to offer John Terry a new contract looks even more baffling when the club are in the midst of an identity crisis as deep as this.

These are uncertain times at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea continue to tread water in the Premier League, buoyant enough to avoid relegation yet nowhere near the high water mark of the top four.

Jose Mourinho’s ghost is yet to be exorcised — nobody planned for life after the second coming. Guus Hiddink’s calming influence has helped assuage the discontent of a group of players, many of whom appear to be biding their time as they wait to see what the summer entails.

Some are playing for their futures but it is a surprise Terry is among them. Of course, the centre-half should bear some responsibility for Chelsea’s dreadful title defence — he played in seven of their nine League defeats to date — but to dispense with his experience and passion at a time when the club are mired in mediocrity would be foolhardy.

Every now and again, Chelsea remember they are a team that were crowned champions nine months ago. Their victories against Crystal Palace and Arsenal bore the hallmarks of champions and on both occasions Terry epitomised their character and resolve. They need plenty of that now as they lurch towards mid-table obscurity while throwing the dice in cup competitions hoping their number comes up.

Manchester United looked the more assured footballing side yesterday — and that is saying something given their travails under Louis van Gaal — but Chelsea roused themselves sufficiently to avoid another chastening defeat, with Terry’s contract situation a prominent subplot all afternoon.

There is often a sense of showmanship in Terry’s forays forward and at times during the second half here he chased the ball around like a puppy with a tennis ball in Battersea Park. But in a team widely criticised for lacking sufficient hunger for the fight, Terry’s gallivanting stood out as a beacon of defiance and he indirectly helped Chelsea salvage their pride yesterday.

His presence was sufficient to pull Daley Blind out of position, allowing Diego Costa to break through and round David De Gea for a stoppage-time equaliser that cancelled out Jesse Lingard’s excellent opening goal and preserved Hiddink’s unbeaten record in his second spell as interim Chelsea manager.

The game ended as it began with Chelsea fans singing their captain’s name and the 35-year-old was typically calculated in his post-match television interview in which he reiterated the current stand-off over his contract and made a pointed reference to those supporters who cannot comprehend the club’s stance.

“They’re the best fans in the world,” he said. “What they’ve done and given for me as a young 14- and 17-year-old boy... I’ll never forget.”

John Terry's career in pictures

1/14

Terry did not comment on the issue in his programme notes — probably on the club’s insistence — but there was a reference to his time as a Blues ball boy. The underlying message is clear: I am Chelsea through and through, I have no desire to leave and the club are forcing me out.

Lucrative offers from the Middle East, China and the United States may have tempted him into a career-ending payday and this could all be a Machiavellian scheme to paint his exit as the club’s decision rather than his own but it does not feel that way at present.

Terry’s tactic of going public will not ingratiate him to the club’s hie rarchy but whatever their relationship, Chelsea are simply not in a position of strength to jettison a player so ingrained in their DNA.

He is clearly not the force of years gone by but his immediate importance could be underlined should Chelsea’s worst fears over Kurt Zouma’s knee injury materialise.

An initial prognosis will be delivered following a scan today but immediately there were fears he would miss the rest of the season after hyper-extending his knee when landing awkwardly.

Terry is still probably the best centre-back Chelsea have and both Zouma and Gary Cahill look weaker players without him. Matt Miazga must be some player if they are prepared to let Terry leave.

Terry would surely be of benefit around the place beyond the summer, too, given the transitional times ahead. United, of course, are in the midst of their own future-planning with Van Gaal particularly confrontational when questioned about ongoing rumours linking Mourinho with his job.

The late goal didn’t help — perhaps Chelsea’s players have done something for Mourinho this season, after all. Hiddink avoids any such concerns given he claims to have no designs on securing a permanent role at the club, which also gives him the chance to swerve definitive judgments on Terry’s contract.

“We dealt with this issue last week,” he said. “Let’s see what happens. He explained himself he is focusing on the games in a tough week coming up. He is not focusing on this issue.”

Quite the contrary — Terry is in fact focused on that very issue. The club must do more.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in