John Terry's Time at Chelsea Is Not at an End

John Terry has endured a truly torrid time of late. First, he was hauled off at half-time during the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Then he was one of the players publicly singled out by Jose Mourinho as an underperformer before finally he was sent off against West Bromwich Albion. For a player with such an incredible career record, few periods can have gone so badly for the former England captain.

Chelsea’s recent pursuit of Everton’s John Stones and the emergence of Kurt Zouma as a viable option in the centre of defence in the last season have served to exacerbate speculation that Terry is nearing the end at Chelsea. Talk has shifted from players competing with Terry to replacing him entirely.

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His history with Jose Mourinho—Terry was a mainstay of the famously miserly defence that the Portuguese presided over in his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge—will count for little. Mourinho demonstrated that pragmatism will always trump sentimentality when he first dropped Petr Cech from the starting lineup and then sold him to Arsenal in the summer.

However, reports of Terry’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Last season, he played every single minute of Chelsea’s title-winning campaign, and although the rearguard wasn’t as watertight as previous defences under Mourinho, Terry still excelled. Despite his advancing years, he was still an intimidating and impressive force.

Terry is now 34, and although age is catching up with him in terms of his lack of pace being exposed, he is still more than capable of leading Chelsea. The best Premier League central defenders have proven themselves to have a longer shelf life than those in other outfield positions, and Terry looked no exception last season.

There’s also no denying that while Terry has endured some tough games recently, it’s extremely unlikely this is more than a blip. Given he has never been blessed with pace, for a player of his quality to degenerate as quickly as the Blues’ skipper is alleged to is simply unthinkable.

Gary Cahill, another player named and shamed by Mourinho, must also shoulder some of the burden for Terry’s poor form, as Terry must do for his.

Neither possesses considerable acceleration, which has seen the pair caught out repeatedly. Terry has looked far more composed and assured when partnered with Zouma, who is capable of covering ground quickly and bringing the ball out of defence.

Setting aside the technicalities of playing, Terry offers the team attributes that few players—not even Cech—can. His leadership is second to none, and he already ranks among the best-ever Premier League captains. As well as his talismanic presence, he is also a superb defensive organiser and deserves much credit for orchestrating Mourinho’s wishes amidst the frantic atmosphere of the Premier League.

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Terry is also the kind of player who will be galvanised by criticism rather than allowing it to impact upon his confidence. Write him off at your peril.