FourFourTwo

JOHN TERRY 13

-

Chelsea’s ‘Captain, Leader, Legend’ earned enough in his 19 years at Stamford Bridge to spend the rest of his days living on easy street, but his trademark will to win drew him to the West Midlands, and threw him into the midst of a promotion battle.

“I don’t think I would ever want to go into a season where I’d go, ‘I’m happy if we stay up, or I’m happy if we finish halfway up or do better than we did last year’,” he said at his unveiling last summer. “I think that would be really unambitiou­s. That’s a big reason why I signed. I wanted to be winning more times than losing.”

Those who hoped he’d live to regret those words – and there are plenty in that category – have been disappoint­ed. After a few early wobbles, Terry’s been an imposing presence in the heart of Villa’s defence as they look to return to the top flight.

“John is a natural leader of men on and off the pitch,” enthused Villa gaffer Steve Bruce, a childhood hero of the ex-england captain. “He’s a wonderful footballer, but what he’s brought to the dressing room is even more important. He knows what it’s like to play at the top level – all of the youngsters here can learn from him.”

Not that Terry’s been flanked by wet-eared pups in Villa’s backline. His regular defensive partners are James Chester (29), Neil Taylor (29), Ahmed Elmohamady (30), Alan Hutton (33) and Chris Samba (34) – all with Premier League experience.

Whether he stays at Aston Villa next term remains to be seen – after all, if they go back up, they won’t be winning so often...

 ??  ?? ASTON VILLA POSITION DEFENDER AGE 37
ASTON VILLA POSITION DEFENDER AGE 37
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia