By Chris Wright

The following is copy-and-pasted verbatim from a Chelsea forum, in which former Chelsea youth player Sam Tillen – who now plays his football in Iceland – writes candidly about his experiences as having John Terry as his club captain during his formative years.

I’ve no idea when it dates from, but the article has been translated directly from Icelandic so it may not scan properly in places. That said, it’s perfectly legible and presents Terry in a rarely acknowledged light. It may just add another dimension to your monochrome view of a man so often vilified by all and sundry (hands up, Pies have been as guilty as anyone else on that front on occasion)…

As football fans, we don’t get a lot of opportunities to judge a player’s persona, all we get is stuff from the newspaper and other medias and of course how the player acts on the football pitch. It’s normal that our feelings towards them are based on those things, since we don’t know them personally. But unfortunately this can be very deceiving.

Sometimes reporters can have a lot of propaganda. They could have had an argument with the player, be friends with his ex-wife or support a rival club. When a player steps on the field on a Saturday the whole world watches him play under the pressure of his life. Players, managers and supporters have all been waiting for this moment – kick off.

It’s abnormal to judge people’s behaviour under these circumstances. Do you think that when Gary Neville wins a game of hide and seek with his daughter he yells at his wife “Come on!!!!” while he holds on to his shirt like he did in front of Liverpool supporters at Old Trafford? I think not.

When you are around the training ground you get to see the players in their true form. Some of them surprise and charm you while others dissappoint you. This would also be the case if you meet someone in real life. The fact that footballers are famous does not make them any different. They just have talent in a specific field just like doctors or architects. Some of them are good people, others are not.

The year 2002, I was 17 and had been injured for eight months. I usually had to train twice as much to be in form. I trained with several players during rehabilation and since John Terry was facing injury as well I trained a lot with him. We trained together for three or four weeks before he began to play again and prove himself as the number one center-back in the first team.

After this, John always observed how I was doing with my injury and he wished me good luck for my first game after 11 months of rehabilation. Unfortunately in that first game I got heavily injured again and had to go to surgery three days later. When the physio came to visit me he said that ‘JT’ had asked if I could get vacation and he even asked Graeme (Le Saux) if they could use the ‘discipline fund’ (money collected if a player comes to training late and such) from the first team to pay for my vacation. I couldn’t believe it.

After staying home for ten days, I went to the training ground and John was there. He asked how I was doing and then said “Me and Graeme have arranged for you to go to a vacation, you can go wherever you want, with your friend or your brother, you deserve something good. Just think about where you want to go, this isn’t your money! Just let us know how much it costs and we will arrange it.

I didn’t know what to say other than ‘thank you’. I talked to the youth and reserve coaches and they told me it was probably best for me to take the vacation. One of the reserve coaches said that I still had that ‘hospital color’ because I was as white as a ghost. I lost a lot of blood in the surgery and it showed in my face.

My mother had also just had surgery so she could use a a little break from work. That’s why I wanted to take her with me. It was October so I needed to find ‘some place hot’ like John advised me to do.

The one place close that was hot enough was Southern Spain and because this wasn’t my money I didn’t want to take advantage of the generosity from John. So, the next day during practice I said to John “Is it okay if me and my mother go to Sevilla over the weekend?”

His answer was, “Come on Tills! You can go wherever you want for free, why do you want to go there? It won’t even be hot. Look at it again, go to the Caribbean or something, you can sit at the beach without having to worry how much it is going to cost, we will make sure of it.”

So I went and checked again and found a good offer for a trip to Tobago. I talked to my physio for a few days and he said “It’s fine, just talk to JT.” I still felt for bad spending other people’s money, I had never done that before. So naturally I was a little nervous when I was talking to John, telling him about the trip I had in mind.

And what did John say? ”No problem, good choice! Just give me the info and we’ll pay it.” He arranged everything and the day before I was leaving for the trip he called me over in the dressing room. “Tills, your going tomorrow, right?” He went to his pocket and took out £100. ”Here, some pocket money to spend”. I said that I couldn’t accept it. He asked again and again I refused. Then he stood up and said “you’re not going anywhere until you accept this!”. I had no choice.

When I came back from the trip, I was renewed and a large part of the reason was that I was finally ready to play football again, 6 months after my surgery.

In my first game after the injury (in the youth team) we were playing Crystal Palace at our training ground. The first team wasn’t suppose to have training until 3pm but our game was at 10am. John came to see me play, 5 hours before his training. He came just to see if I would get through the game, which happened. He certainly didn’t have to do that, but he did.

When by brother Joe was in the youth team, John paid for driving lessons for every single player in the youth team because he knew how expensive it was when you only get £80-a-week in wages. The youth players just had to tell him how much it cost and John paid it the next day.

At that time, when the youth players were cleaning the first team players’ boots, everyone wanted to get one of the ‘sharks’ – John, Frank Lampard, Jody Morris, etc – because they gave the highest christmas bonuses. Some players didn’t give any bonuses even though the youth players had cleaned they’re boots for six months.

John didn’t only give high bonuses, but he even paid for the youth players fines if he thought they were being treated unfairly. Of course, he told them not to tell a soul.

John has never forgotten what it was like to be a player in the youth team and he is the perfect captain. He was always available if you wanted to talk to him. He always asked every youth player how they were doing in the team. If he heard that you played well in a match, he congratulated and encouraged you. He really had an interest. He never forgot the young players.

He was always monitored the youth players, including me. For instance, he found an agent for me that I signed with. When youth players traveled with the first team he always made sure that they got their bonuses, that made a lot of difference in their paychecks.

He helped them adapt and welcomed them into a new environment. On the pitch and the training ground he was magnificent, he had an heart like a lion. He trained after practices, always did that little extra. We really looked up to him.

It wasn’t just the youth players either. There are endless stories of his kindness and generosity, stories that never left the training ground. One of them stands out: We had an old masseuse called Al. One day his car broke down for good. He said that he couldn’t attend training sessions anymore because it was very difficult for a man of his age to use public transport.

One day after practice, John told him to go to the parking lot and close his eyes. When he opened them he saw a brand new car. John had asked every player in the first team to chip in to buy Al a new car. The old man started to cry. This all happened before Roman Abramovich and before John was a superstar and started making big money.

Last year Al got seriously sick and had to be in a hospital. When John found out, he immediately contacted him. Al was flattered to hear from him, and his wife was delighted that John had taken the time to think about him. John visited Al regularly until he passed away and John, of course, attended his funeral.

Marcel Desailly – the Chelsea captain before him – didn’t do anything like the things John did. He couldn’t care less about the young players or anyone else in the club for that matter.

As a player he was impeccable, but as a captain he did nothing and wasn’t even close to what John is. In my first and second year in the youth team it was our job to get signed shirts from players from the first team, those shirts where then sent to fans or to a charity.

We all stood in a row in the hallway before practices when the first team players walked passed us and then they signed the shirts. When Mr. Desailly came, he usually pretended to be on the phone so he didn’t have to do anything. We were like “Marcel, uuuuuumm, Marcel, could you please…..” and then he was gone. Disappointment.

Some players cause you a lot of disappointment when you meet them personally. They also do that in daily life. John has, of course, had a few problems off the pitch that have gotten a lot of press, but I will always remember how he treated me when I was a teenager.

No one else would have done that or even thought about doing it. He is no saint, but there is a reason why Chelsea fans, players and staff look at John Terry as a real leader.”

Cockle warming. Take from that what you will. I’m sure it won’t go along way to adding any perspective or depth to the vast majority of people’s opinion of the man, but it’s certainly refreshing to hear Terry’s name mentioned in a positive context once in a blue moon.

Spotted on The Shed (Via the talkchelsea forum)

                          

By Chris Wright

I think I may have an idea why Chelsea are stuttering a bit this season; if this video is anything to go by, their training sessions are utter chaos!

Firstly we see some assorted slapping from everyone present, then Fernando Torres exacts revenge on John Terry for an earlier buffeting by wrestling him to the ground. It’s quite something to behold, like Shadowfax trying to mount some kind of man-sized rodent.

What follows is some lovely dancing, Josh McEachran struggling to get into a Horrible Histories book (quite literally), a bit of long-range buttock bruising, a Norman Wisdom-esque Juan Mata dropping his phone and to top it all off – full of confidence after downing his captain with a suplex - Torres attempting to repeat the feat on poor Raul Meireles, duly nicking his luminous yellow handkerchief in the process…

Will the fun never end?!

Video: Chelsea TV

                          

By Alan Duffy

“You see this smile on my face? It’s only for the cameras, okay? I genuinely despise you”

Currently doing a spot of pre-season training in Spain with new club Shanghai Shenhua, Le Sulk, Nicolas Anelka, has described the hell he had to endure during his final days at Chelsea.

Both he and Brazilian centre-half Alex weren’t too keen on signing new contracts with the Blues, much to the anger of manager Andre Villas-Boas, who, according to Mr. Moody Pants, punished his two wantaway stars like a pair of naughty school-kids.

Anelka said:

“Ever since I was punished they put me with the youngsters. I’ve got all the kit and equipment that professionals have but they put me in a separate changing room — that’s football for you. One day, you can be there scoring goals and doing all you have to do for your club but the day you leave there is no pity.”

“That’s why the day you do decide to leave you have to do what you have to do and have no sadness either, because there are no friends in football. That’s the truth. It’s sad to say but that’s the truth. It’s a collective sport but it’s also very individual.”

However, the former Arsenal man, who has all too often failed to make the most of his talent, says he’s exceedingly happy with his new club.

“Shanghai is Asia’s New York,” he explained. “I love the way they live here. I often come here on holiday. This is my last contract.”

I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Nic. Another strop and you’ll be off on your travels again, I should coco.

                          

Much like the first-string’s executive decision to stop playing after 45 minutes, it seems like the Chelsea media bods also forgot to bring their ‘A’ game at the Bridge yesterday…

I distinctly hope that someone in the club’s marketing department was flogged with barbed wire until the first light of dawn for this grave dereliction of duty. If the internet has taught me one thing it’s that spelling errors should be punishable by extremely fatal death.

Via Imgur (Thanks to Pies fan Spatchcock for the nudge, sincere apologies for pinching your ‘A game’ pun!)

                          

By Chris Wright

“ANTON!!! I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NECK!!!”

It can’t have escaped your attention that John Terry is due to stand trial on charges of racial abuse for shouting ‘you know what’ at ‘you know who’ on July 9th, i.e, one convenient week after the Euro 2012 tournament conveniently draws to a close on the first of the month. How convenient.

Anyway, Terry is facing pressure from all sides to hand in his England captaincy at the door and even declare himself unavailable for selection ahead of Polkraine for fear of wading into the tournament with – to use Reading striker, pundit and 5 Live’s go-to black gentleman Jason Roberts’ turn of phrase – a ‘toxic’ atmosphere in the dressing room, a quote used in almost every news report I’ve read today.

Quite why we should be taking Roberts’ word as gospel over anybody else’s is as yet unclear as he isn’t directly involved with the court case in any capacity, nor does he have any experience of the current England dressing room. Or any previous England dressing room for that matter. I think I know why we’re being asked to treat his personal opinion with such veracity, but it’s probably better if I don’t say it out loud. It might be deemed racist.

Several high profile voices have echoed Roberts’ sentiments (Damian Collins MP and Piara Powar, an exec for ‘Football Against Racism in Europe’ to name but two), questioning the morality of allowing Terry to lead England out in Donetsk on June 11th -  though the BBC Sport team have reason to believe that Teflon John will resist the calls for his armband once again, quoting a ‘source close to the player’ as saying: ”[Terry] won’t stand down. He is sure of his innocence and thus feels it would be wrong to do so.”

And so, it appears we have reached an impasse.

My verdict? Terry should and almost definitely will remain captain for Euro 2012. He’s a vastly experienced, international calibre centre-half and NOT A LIFE COACH. You want pointers on morality? Ask the Dalai Lama. You want a back-four marshalled to defend a corner against France in the opening game? His Holiness is going to be less than useless. Better get John Terry. The court case and the football are mutually exclusive entities. It’s sometimes easy to forget that.

We know he’s an abhorrent swine, he’s proved that time and time again. I know it, you know it, you can be sure the England pool are aware. The outcome of his latest dalliance with the authorities isn’t going to change that particular universal constant. He’ll be the same abhorrent swine after his trial that he was before. It just so happens that he’s a swine with a useful knack of being able to defend wholeheartedly and command a defensive unit during international football matches – hence his bank balance.

You could quite feasibly argue that Terry shouldn’t be a first-choice centre-half for England given the options available to Fabio Capello and therefore shouldn’t be on the pitch at all – but he will be. That’s almost certain. And there’s no strictly non-football-related reason why he shouldn’t be.

I’d like to make it clear that I’m not condemning or approving anything Terry may or may not have done – just pointing out that, if we’re genuinely adhering to the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ maxim that underlines the nation’s penal system, then there’s no need to impose any counter-productive (be it footballing or otherwise) punishment or sanction on Terry until July 9th.

Until then, he is an innocent man in the eyes of the law, and should be treated as such.

                          

By Alan Duffy

Swansea City 1-1 Chelsea – Premier League 31th January 2012

A last-gasp Neil Taylor own-goal saved Chelsea from another disappointing defeat on Tuesday night, after Swansea gave the home fans another superb display of pacy attacking football.

Ex-Chelsea man Scott Sinclair opened the scoring for the Swans late on in the first half, unleashing a superb strike which left Petr Cech helpless. The home side had plenty of chances to increase their lead, with Danny Graham guilty of more than one bad miss.

After the break, the visitors pushed for an equaliser, but saw Ashley Cole sent off after the England man picked up a second yellow for a rash challenge on Nathan Dyer. However, with the game all but over, it was the unlucky Taylor who would deny his side a notable victory, deflecting a Jose Bosingwa effort past Michel Vorm.

They may have managed to eek a point out of the game, but AVB’s side look anything but assured of a top four finish.  The Swans, on the other hand, continue to blossom at the Liberty Stadium.

Photos…

Highlights to follow…

Photos: PA

                          

Here’s Chelsea’s latest acquisition, promising young Belgian winger Kevin De Bruyne (who definitely has a whiff of the ‘The Sherminator‘ about him), holding his new uniform aloft for the cameras at Cobham after signing from Genk for £6.7 million earlier today…

The 20-year old will now return to Genk on loan for the last half of the 2011/12 season, before joining up with Chelsea properly as of the summer.

Hands up, I’ve not seen De Bruyne in action bar a few minutes of highlights, but £6.7 million seems like a bit of a steal for Chelsea considering his glowing reputation as part of Belgium’s new breed.

Anyone out there any the wiser?

                          

By Alan Duffy

Considering all the pre-match hype concerning Anton Ferdinand and John Terry’s long-awaited reacquaintance, you would have thought that the game itself might have fizzled a bit more. However, instead, it was a flat affair, with Juan Mata outstanding out for all the right reasons, and Daniel Sturridge making a name for himself for all the wrong ones.

With The FA having decided to ditch the usual pre-match handshake and therefore sidestep any Terry/Ferdinand shenanigans, it was straight in to the action, with Mata looking the most likely to score. However, the first half was largely bereft of clearcut chances, with only the Spaniard and Joey Barton conjuring up a couple of rare strikes on goal.

The Blues started the second-half well, eager to break the deadlock, with Sturridge going close before the visitors claimed a penalty after the England man was challenged in the box. Referee Mike Dean waved that shout away but soon after he was pointing to the spot when Sturridge dived after the softest of touches in the box from Clint Hill. Mata converted the spot-kick to give Andre Villas-Boas’ charges a 60th minute lead.

With 15 minutes to go, Brazilian dynamo Ramires was stretchered off with suspected knee ligament damage but the Blues held out to earn themselves a spot in the fifth round of the Cup.

Keep eyes and ears peeled over the weekend to see just how many UK media outlets use the word ‘dive’ when referring to Englishman Sturridge’s appalling ‘fall’.

Photos…

Highlights…

Photos: PA

                          

After completing his £4.2 million, three-year move to the French capital earlier in the week, former Chelsea centre-half Alex was officially unveiled by Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes yesterday.

Question is, what’s he so worried about? I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that Leonardo’s other hand may be straying ‘south of the border’ behind that there jersey…

Photos: PA

                          

By Chris Wright

While his club are urging him to, there is still a fair old wodge of uncertainty as to whether Anton Ferdinand will shake John Terry’s hand before QPR’s FA Cup tie against Chelsea at Loftus Road on Saturday.

As you will be all-too-well aware by now, Terry is due to attend a hearing at West London magistrates court four days after the match on charges of racially abusing Ferdinand after referring to the QPR centre-half as a ‘farting black klutz’ or something similar when the two sides met in the Premier League back on October 23rd of last year.

Like the ridiculous farrago that saw Wayne Bridge come over all sorry for himself and refuse to shake Terry’s hand a couple of years ago, Ferdinand is reportedly ready to duck the Chelsea captain’s offer of a handshake when the two squads pass each other before kick-off – which all seems a little selfish and short-sighted as far as Pies are concerned.

As Sepp Blatter – the president of FIFA no less – will tell you, all racism can be settled with a gentlemanly handshake. Is it not in the interests of the greater good that Ferdinand and Terry put an end to all of the game’s ills once and forever?

That said, personally, I wouldn’t shake Terry’s hand. You never know what you might catch.