Good riddance to John Terry: A great Chelsea player but a horrible person
By David Gate
Sunday saw the last appearance in a blue shirt of Chelsea’s controversial captain John Terry. The five time Premier League winner leaves with a medal around his neck. His performances on the pitch have been heralded as much as his personal character has been derided. You can’t ignore the ending of an iconic football career.
His career finished in the most ‘John Terry’ way possible. He led the celebrations of another title-winning season while orchestrating his own send off. Antonio Conte agreed to substitute him in the 26th minute – his shirt number is 26. His teammates assembled to give him a guard of honor. This is was, of course, all John Terry’s own idea.
His ability as a player is undeniable. (If I could deny it, I would. Believe me). Seventeen major trophies and five consecutive appearances in FIFA’s FIFPRO World XI confirm him as one of the best defenders of his generation . Never blessed with exceptional pace or strength, he dominated the opposition through flawless positioning and timing. One of the best aerial defenders in the Premier League era, he also scored 67 goals for Chelsea. This is a phenomenal return for a defender.
Despite his top-level ability his entire career was littered with controversy. This began when he was drunkenly abusing Americans at Heathrow airport on 9/11. For a few years he seemed to learn from this and concentrated on his career with only a few minor contentions marking his name. That changed in 2010 when it was revealed a year earlier that married John Terry had been having an affair with the girlfriend of Chelsea and England teammate Wayne Bridge. This led to him being stripped of the England captaincy and Bridge moving to rivals Manchester City.
The worst of his many controversies came in 2012 where he was found guilty of calling QPR’s Anton Ferdinand a “F***ing Black C***”. Misogyny and racism all wrapped up in one foul-mouthed explosion. He was fined and banned for four games which led to his retirement from international football.
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He finishes this season as a champion once more but only Chelsea fans will be sorry to see him go. Rivals will be glad to see the back of an incredible defensive talent and passionate leader. Decent human beings will be glad to see the back of ego-centric bigot who left smears upon the Premier League. A great player, but good riddance to John Terry.