Committed Terry Left To Count The Cost

Chelsea will be second in the table on Christmas morning, and will also have to negotiate the rest of the festive period without their skipper, John Terry.

The England captain was sent off for a high and late challenge on Leon Osman with around 35 minutes of the game gone.

As a result, he will miss the Premier League games against West Brom, Fulham and the FA Cup Third Round tie against Southend.

Terry is one of world football’s most committed players. Whether you love him or hate him, you cant deny that he would probably die out on the pitch for his team’s cause.

Replays of the incident show that he had his eyes firmly on the ball when he made the tackle, but the referee saw the incident very quickly and doesn’t have the benefit of a replay like the audience at home.

Viewed quickly, the tackle looks nasty, and Terry cant have too many complaints about receiving a red card. His studs were showing, and if you have them as high up as Terry did then you are most certainly asking for trouble.

People will argue that you have to show your studs when making tackles, and they have a point to a degree.

It does appear that the sliding tackle is becoming a dying art form in the modern game. There are some game situations where it is impossible not to show your studs when making an attempt to win the ball.

But referees have been cracking down on these types of tackles for a while, and players should know that they run the risk of the referees wrath should they throw themselves into these sorts of challenges.

Players might not like what football is becoming, but they should accept it and adapt to this reality, because it doesn’t look as if this trend is going to go away any time soon.

Terry’s tackle last night also revealed the downside to his tenacity and determination.

It can of course be a great advantage to have a player like Terry on the pitch - his desire and will to win can spur other team mates on - but sometimes he displays a bit too flagrant a disregard for his own safety and as a result he gets injured more than he should.

He might feel as if he HAS to win every single tackle, header and 50-50, but sometimes it would be better if he just pulled out and accepted that he isn’t going to get the ball.

For example, in the 2007 Carling Cup Final against Arsenal, there was no great need for him to put his head that low to try and win the ball. He was lucky Abou Diaby’s boot didn’t do more damage than it did.

This dedication has led to a number of injuries and operations over the past few years that have disrupted his form.

Chelsea have the strength in depth to cope with Terry’s absence, but his dismissal is likely to reignite a debate in football circles about what constitutes a fair and legal tackle.