Replacing John Terry More Difficult Than Replacing Jose Mourinho at Chelsea

For a club often derided as having no history, Chelsea have become somewhat comfortable in their ways.

It’s now 13 years since Russian oil billions started pumping into Stamford Bridge, changing the Blues forever. Nothing was the same after Roman Abramovich’s takeover, but since then things have been very familiar. 

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Chelsea became a club of stalwarts. Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho came to define the King’s Road side, giving a face to a club that might have been otherwise characterless with such squad turnover. But nobody embodies what Chelsea are now better than John Terry. 

Indeed, the 35-year-old might well be the most illustrious figure in Chelsea’s 111-year history. West Ham United have Sir Bobby Moore, Manchester United have Sir Bobby Charlton and Chelsea have Terry. To place him in such company, providing context for what he has achieved with the Blues, is not an overstatement.

But, as things stand, Terry is set to leave Chelsea as a free agent at the end of the season. The centre-back’s contract will expire in the summer, and after an 18-year association with the club, he will be ushered out the Stamford Bridge back door. It all seems a little undignified for someone of his standing and stature.

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Of course, his departure isn’t quite certain yet. Terry revealed after a 5-1 FA Cup win over MK Dons in January that an offer of a contract extension had yet to be put in front of him, per Dominic Fifield of the Guardian. Chelsea could still make an offer, as interim head coach Guus Hiddink has intimated since.

Per Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, Hiddink said:

"

I have had some conversations with him in the past days. He is entitled after his contract is ending to make up his mind.

On the other hand I don’t want to overvalue the attention we are giving it, the club wants to have the dialogue... to have an open door still. It was a bit surprising (to hear Terry speak publicly) but he’s completely entitled to do so.

There was no specific decision made yet, it’s early. You have to see what happens with the management.

"

But if Chelsea do intend on letting Terry leave to play elsewhere at the end of the season, they must recognise how difficult replacing him will prove.

He might not be at the peak of his powers, despite his rejuvenation during Chelsea’s title-winning season last term, but the former England captain is more than just a player for the Blues.

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He is their spiritual leader. Terry is just as important in the dressing room as he is on the pitch, maybe more so in recent years.

His departure will leave a power vacuum at the club, leaving them short of a figurehead. In a way, the centre-back has become more important than whoever sits in the dugout at Stamford Bridge. Replacing Terry will prove more difficult than replacing Mourinho.

Not that finding someone to succeed the Special One will be easy either. Upon his second coming at Stamford Bridge, the former Real Madrid boss spoke about building a dynasty, proving that he could sustain something over a spell of time longer than just three years or so.

Modern-day Chelsea are moulded in the identity of Mourinho more than any of the other 13 coaches that have taken charge of the Blues in the Abramovich era. 

But nonetheless Chelsea is still Terry’s team. Those who have gone up against the defender—most notably Rafael Benitez—have come out on the losing end, with the Stamford Bridge dressing room very much the veteran's domain. To win over Chelsea, you must win over Terry.

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Some might look upon this as a negative. It could be claimed that no player should ever hold so much sway at one club and that Chelsea are doing the right thing by wiping the slate clean for whoever comes in during the summer. Mourinho’s permanent replacement will have a complete mandate and free reign with the club’s squad. That’s something no manager in over a decade has had. 

However, for all his undoubted influence and power—and undeniable character flaws—Terry’s presence at the club should only be considered a good thing.

In times of trouble—of which there have been plenty over the years at Chelsea—the centre-back has been a driving force, calling upon his natural capacity as a leader and motivator. Without him, the Blues could lack not just leadership but direction in a wider sense.

Chelsea should be wary of ridding their team of valuable experience. Look at how Manchester United suffered when so many of their senior figures left the club in quick succession. Without the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, the Old Trafford club lost their identity—the same thing could happen to Chelsea without Drogba, Lampard and Terry. 

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It’s understandable that the Blues should seek to find a long-term successor for Terry, with Mourinho identifying Everton’s John Stones as the man for the job last summer, per the Daily Post. After all, the former England skipper is well into the twilight of his career and could be finished at the very top of the game. He is no longer the man for the big occasion.

But that doesn’t mean that Terry wouldn’t have value as a fringe member of the squad—or, more significantly, as a figurehead on the bench and in the dressing room.

If the Blues are keen on hiring Drogba as a member of their coaching staff—as they were in January, per Sam Jones of the Evening Standard—then Terry should also be part of that thinking.

For whoever comes in as permanent manager in the summer, the defender could act as a liaison between the new coaching staff and the playing squad.

Terry’s worth shouldn’t be underestimated. It might not be until he is gone that his true standing at the club is comprehended.