UEFA have confirmed they WILL allow John Terry the privilege of lifting the Champions League trophy as club captain - if they beat Bayern Munich next month. Meanwhile, the Football Association have cancelled the traditional pre-match handshake as Chelsea face QPR because it would pit Terry against Anton Ferdinand, the man he's accused of racially abusing. I'm asking when will football's authorities wise up to the fact they're accommodating, rather than punishing Terry?
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John Terry epitomises everything that's wrong with modern football. Let's face it, he's a very ordinary defender, and at the last World Cup he looked horribly exposed when he didn't have Chelsea's foreign stars surrounding him to make up for his shortcomings.
ReplyDeleteWhy is he so powerful? That's the key question. As Jonny said, he had a pivotal role in Capello's departure. Whoever manages Chelsea long-term (and I think Di Matteo has earned a shot at the job regardless of what happens in the FA Cup and Champions League finals), they need to gradually prepare for a time when he's no longer playing. Are successive managers being allowed to do this?
A key figure in all this is Roman Abramovich, who seems to me to be the chairman from Hell. While the rest of us who aren't suitably qualified to manage a football club make do with a 'Football Manager' type computer game, Abramovich goes and buys a big club and constantly interferes in its running, treating it like a toy.
All the evidence suggests that Abramovich is more loyal to certain players than he is to ANY manager. He signs players the managers clearly don't want, with a well past his best Andriy Shevchenko being the most glaring example.
Abramovich is also loyal to Terry, for reasons best known to himself. His influence not just in the dressing room, but also in the boardroom, is a major factor in how the club is run.
But this doesn't explain why the FA are so soft with him. Terry can be sure that Abramovich will stand by him, no matter what. Is the FA afraid of a clash with Abramovich? I am not sure.
I'm old-fashioned. I believe chairmen should focus on the financial side of things and developing business strategies. I believe managers should pick the team, oversee training,motivate players, and make the best of the transfer funds made available to them, and I believe players should do as their managers say and play to the best of their ability.
Can you imagine Sir Alex Ferguson allowing Terry to have that kind of influence at Old Trafford? Or any other player, for that matter? Of course not!
The FA needs to get its act together, not just with regards to the way it treats Terry, but with the way it operates in general. It could start by removing board member Sir Dave Richards (who is also Premier League chairman). He turns 70 next year and will be compelled to retire then, but they would do well to get rid of him far sooner. He took Sheffield Wednesday to the brink of financial ruin, he was a total disaster during his nine year spell on the board of World Snooker, and his recent oafish comments in Qatar epitomise just how damaging a presence he is.
I agree with your line of thinking, Marcus. One of the problems with the modern game is that not everyone is onside and pushing in the same direction. It creates vacuums of power, and people like John Terry fill it with their agendas. Dave Richards is an oaf and I think he's the boss because he's from Sheffield, original home of The Rules. He has no other qualification I can see.
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