Ancelotti's reality check

I'd love it if Man City managed to price away Terry and dismantle Cheslki... but doubt that he would go there (not before they play in the Champnions League at least - perhaps never)

A few things arise out of this. Firstly, John Terry seems to be using the trasfer speculation to his advantage in the same way another 'club stalwart' Steven Gerrard did a few years ago. Gerrard was going to Chelsea until Liverpool gave him a huge payrise. Terry looks as if he is going to try the same trick, which is ironic given how much stall both players set on their 'Liverpool/Chelsea til I die' image (delete as club as appropriate).

Secondly, Ancelotti is surely a very risky proposition as a manager. You could argue that in his time with Milan he should have won more than he actually did. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate that he won the Champions League twice, but one league title only with such a big club?

The one thing Milan and Chelsea do have in common is that the players of each are starting to knock on a bit! https://www.loserscomesecond.com/

I always wonder why a player under contract 'has' according to the media state that he wants to stay. Shouldn't the fact that he is under contact and hasn't said he that he wants to go be enough?

It's only a journo that thinks silence has to be an ominous sign. How many times did Ronaldo say he was staying at Utd Phil? Terry could come out and say anything, and you lot would twist it to suit yoursels, so he may be thinking, why bother?! You look for anything slightly ambiguos and jump on it.

I can't be the only one that thinks that the £25 - 30million plus is a decent deal for John Terry?

Yes he's only 28 but he's an old 28, he's been a first team regular for 9 seasons and his style of play means he's put a lot of miles on the clock, he's got maybe three seasons left tops, and £25million will buy you a lot of defender, Terry's OK but after his contract wranglings a couple of years back and rumblings of discontent with managers, you have to wonder if he'll become what Raul and Shearer became at Real and Newcastle, where efforts to satisfy one "talisman" undermined the whole club.

I'd snatch City's hands off frankly, but then I'm not a Chelsea fan watching him week in week out.

I can see fans of other clubs enjoying the prospect of Chelsea being financially bullied by Citeh! If I were not a Chelsea fan I'm sure I would be relishing that as well, although I doubt it will happen.

Chelsea found that having the deepest pockets did not always ensure the biggest signings, and most of the real 'marquee' names stayed at their clubs. e.g. Ronaldinho, Henry, Raul, Kaka, Adriano.

The players that Chelsea did spend big money on, like Drogba and Essien, tended to come from clubs that were not truly rivals; Marseilles and Lyon. Or they were players who were, up to a point, expendable, like Veron - we would never have signed one of United's trophy players.

As has often been noted Roman's cash has yet to entice a truly world class player away from a big club. I'm guessing that City will find the same problem, having money and being able to spend it on who you want are poles apart.

As for John Terry, he is - I am afraid to say - a typical present day football player; venal and self important. I'd always have him in my team because he is a fearsome leader, but I have to agree with what has been posted above, this is an attempt to put more money in the Terry bank account each week.

good article phil

it is now down to the player ro confirm his intentions

i agree phil - snatch city's hands off

The John Terry saga is purely a media creation. He could be spending days making official denials, the press would still be stirring up things anyway. He's probably just decided to enjoy his holdays and forget about the circus.

Chelsea should let Terry go only if they can buy a big replacement from a (relatively) minor league and pocket £20 million profit. If not - and that will be tough - they should surely be getting some hot new medical inputs like AC Milan seem to have. I mean Maldini played until he was 40 and he was a brave soul too. There might be 10 good years in Terry yet...

Don't want him I doubt many City fans do.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Clearly, Terry isn't worth £30m, but what's stopping Chelsea selling is the indignity of having their captain poached by the latest moneybag upstarts who, as yet, have achieved nothing.

Chelsea tried it themselves with Gerrard, but got knocked back twice, so it will be interesting to see if Man City can succeed it targeting top players from more successful clubs. When the Abu Dhabis first took over there was talk of buying up the likes of Ronaldo, Torres and Fabregas, so this is the first real test of that level of ambition. Robinho is a great player too, of course, but that was different because the player was desperate to get away and Real Madrid were keen to get rid.

Your not the only chad. i'd bite city's hands off for 35mil! terry is a good defencder and an even better leader but that money for the john terry's of this world is incredible. he's not exactly the youngest and i think the pace of the premiership will catch up with him in the next couple of seasons. even though city are accumulating a good squad i doubt they will challenge chelsea for the title, so therefore chelsea wouldn't be selling to a main rival. take the cash and invest in younger talent, they still have alex, carvalho, who doesn't look likely to move now, and michael mancienne and ivanovic coming through. if the money is there, take it and invest in one or two younger prospects. although i can't see terry leaving for a team that aren't going to be playing european football!

I honestly think Chelsea will be the favorite to win the league next season. Reason is simple, they haven't lost any key players yet and not likely either. While Man United losing key players and Liverpool will very soon as well.

I have to agree with what I think the majority of level minded posters have been saying. Exactly what is there for Terry to say.

There is a status quo and why should he comment that the status quo remains?

Phil, I think you are your ilk (and I don't mean that quite as disrespectfully as it sounds though I am growing increasingly frustrated with a media that likes to write about it's own stories) would very much struggle to explain to us why Terry should say anything? Who makes the agenda here? You the media, or the people actually playing, running and supporting the game?

This time last year Phil, you can probably recall that I said of Scolari "he will be the next Christian Gross" - Scolari wasn't a yes man much like Gross.

But Chelsea have got the biggest yes man of the lot and perfect for Ambramovich. Carlo experienced the owner mentality at Milan, can he hack it in the Premier League and Europe(where he excels the most) with this aging Chelsea side. The signing of Zhirkov is shrewd but thats Roman flexing his own agenda there.

I won't go as far as last year in what I said about Scolari but Ancelotti won't have it easy. A few bad results and like Scolari it could turn sour for him.

Do Manchester City actually expect the likes of Kaka, Terry or Eto'o to want to play for them? Or are they just making these offers in an attempt to unsettle the bigger clubs?

They only got Robinho because he'd burnt his bridges at Real and Chelsea couldn't match their offer. Aside from him, the players they've signed have been from clubs of similar stature.

The attempts to sign superstars on silly wages seem to be nothing more than a PR exercise- to give the impression that they're some sort of European super power, while the club are actually signing the likes of Bellamy and Santa Cruz.

Why isnt this blog as gushingly full of praise as when you write about Man Utd, Phil?

Ageing Chelsea team with a new manager who might struggle to adapt to the Premier League so quickly after the slower paec of Serie A... got a feeling it'll be between Man Utd and Liverpool for the title again this season.

And another thing regarding those who suggest (fans and media) that Terry could simply send an email from wherever he is holidaying (by the way, do YOU lot deal with work issues when on holiday?), even if he were to do that, do you think that the press would simply publish the email and that would be the end of it or do you think it is more likely that a journalist will print bits of it and then just decide whether he believes it or not and still leave doubt in the air to give himself something to write about in the future. I think I know what the answer to that might be.

'but no journalist of my acquaintance fabricates stories'

You're not mates with many tabloid football writers then i take it Phil?

Given the bond between club & player i would be surprised if Terry was to hold Chelsea to ransom on a new deal. Surely the desire to finally lift Europe's top prize would be reason enough to stay?
As for Terry's silence, the man is on holiday so why should he do anything but enjoy it. The media can speculate as they always will but it means nothing.
Chelsea are likely to sacrifice domestic success in pursuit of the Champions League they so crave. Ancelotti's record in Europe suggests that Chelsea have made a shrewd appointment and ultimately that, no matter the wages available, Terry is at the right club

Sure a lot of Chelsea fans would blink at £35million too... Alex has came onto a game.. Carvalho was always a better defender.. Ivanovic, although young, looks to be a player.. He doesn't deserve more money or a new contract as he only got a new one fairly recently (last 18 months) if I'm not mistaken.. I would horse him for £20mil.. 35-40 I would give him a piggy back up the road

I'm sure Boro will let Chelsea have Huth back as a replacement :)

Phil

It is too easy to simply suggest the media have invented this story. It may seem strange to many critics out there, but no journalist of my acquaintance fabricates stories.
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Man City made a bid and it was rejected. What more is there to say? Well, the media may not have made the story but they're doing a damn fine job of perpetuating it wouldn't you say.

As to the second sentence, how do you explain the often contradictory rumours that are published daily on the BBC website? Either someone is telling porkies, or some journalists are extremely gullible and are inadvertently doing the bidding of players and agents.

Come on Phil, don't treat us like fools.

"Chelsea themselves confirmed on 3 July that they had "completely rejected" an offer from Manchester City for John Terry."

oh so that must mean that John Terry is falling over himself to sign for man city then, his club REJECTING a bid for him.

This is a complete non story, if John Terry was trying to manufacture a route out of chelsea then why would he choose man city? If his club wants him to stay why would he choose to leave them for a club below them in the current pecking order and years away from challenging for major honours?

Trying to sign Terry is like trying to buy someone else's child. It's just wrong.

There may well come a point when the money is impossible for the parents to ignore in the oft times vulgar world of pro football. However does anyone honestly believe that he would ever be even remotely happy and settled at MCFC, in the heartland of his enemies up north and play for us like he plays for his spiritual home Chelsea FC......Not a hope in hell.

To answer Phil's question about what fee would make Chelsea fans consider letting Terry go, for me the answer is simple. There isn't one.

Sometimes there is more life than money (cue comments have Russian rubles etc) and for me I would rather have Terry in our team and as captain than have £50m sitting in the bank.

Personally I think that once Terry has returned from his holiday and reports back for training he will hold a press conference or issue a statement to say that he has no intentions of leaving Chelsea....

For purely footballing reasons I can not see Terry going to City, he would be giving up a team capable of challenging for the league, Champions League and FA cup for a team that at best hopes to break into the "Top 4" and has no Europian football.

With a world cup to think about how would it look if the countries captain gave all of that up to move to a club purely for financial gain (and don't give me all that "The Project" nonsense)... If Terry did this I think he would very quickly lose the England captaincy which if nothing else I don't think he would risk.

I think the sale of Terry would, ultimately, benefit Chelsea. It may take a year for them to come to terms with but then with the lack of continuity in the managerial position surely the realistic Chelsea fans expect another 12 months before they can consider ascending to dominance again.

If I was a Chelsea fan I'd be much more worried if the vultures were circling above one Michael Essien, who I believe to be truly irreplaceable at Stamford Bridge.

A certain irony strikes me beyond what you note, Phil! I do wonder if the signing of Robinho from under Chelsea's nose last year may wrankle slightly and some brinkmanship may be at work here. If Citeh cannot prise JT away from Chelsea (and I suspect they won't) they learn a lesson that chelsea have learnt that no matter how much money you may have, attracting top players from a range of countries is not always possible! Has Kenyon told Cook at City to make an offer and the Board will consider it? Has City tapped JT up to get a sense of 'interest'? JT's agent is also very quiet in this so I did wonder if City's attempts are nothing more than 'disruption' of a rival. Two can play at that, and Chelsea have some experience of that. Big money does not always get you the best players - just hikes the price of good ones

Can I just say, as a resident in Italy of some 10 years experience, that "mercurial" is not a word to describe Silvio Berlusconi. Vain? Yes. Arrogant? Yes. Self-aggrandizing? Most definitely yes. Honest? You can decide. But mercurial? Most definitely not!

I almost remember word for word that you were equally impressed with Scolari. And, with the emphasis on 'good English' on both, albeit varying, occasions. Why's that?

Carlo has a huge task on hand. It's like squeezing the last bit of juices from the Lampards and Drogbas to fill the CL trophy with! Don't think it'll happen.

Chelsea won't sell Chelsea. I mean Terry. You know why now. I gave it away.

A little observation. This article didn't have too much 'heart'.

Ancelotti's reality check alright! Surely by now he knows Terry pushed Mourinho and Scolari out the door. Ancelotti probably sees that Carvalho, Alex, and even Ivanovic are better players, but Terry is the local fellow so he has to play or Ancelotti may suffer Scolari's fate when the Brazilian opted to partner Carvalho and Alex in defense.

Terry is merely one overrated defender with lots of clout in the club. Abramovich let the wrong man go in Mourinho. Chelsea ain't winning anything of note without Mourinho and Terry still in the team remember that!

There is no way, no way at all, no way in a million, trillion years that John Terry will ever leave Chelsea for Man City or, for that matter, leave Chelsea at all.

If he did leave for Man City, it would be for the wrong reasons - money.

But I get the impression that if you cut John Terry he'd bleed blue and only one blue - Chelsea blue.

footy_analysis...

I find it amusing how you begin your post with this assertion;

... there is no way, no way at all, no way in a million, trillion years that John Terry will ever leave Chelsea for Man City or, for that matter, leave Chelsea at all....

And then back-track like John Terry dealing with a long ball to;

...If he did leave for Man City, it would be for the wrong reasons - money...

On the face of it this story should not 'get off the ground', everyone knows JT is a 'one club man' -or at least he has always given that impression. Even if Man City could tempt him away with lots of 'lovely money' - would City fans ever see the 'full on' John Terry that Chelsea fans do at present? On the other hand since his 'slip' at the crucial moment in Moscow, then whilst he remains at Chelsea and they remain 'potless' in the Champions League, it will always be a tale of 'if only'. Also his body has taken some hammer in recent years and there has to be a point at which he must consider I can't keep getting battered like this - so just maybe JT is considering the unthinkable!!! -good blog Phil

I seem to remember Ronaldo wasn't for sale at any price either not so long ago...

Parties on all sides of modern football transfers (players, agents, managers and club spokespeople) are all savvy enough to use the media to their own ends. The old 'not for sale at any price' line is fairly regularly followed by a juicy sale shortly afterwards.

Not saying it will definitely happen in this case, as I'm not sure how many people outside of Man City and their supporters really believe they can pull this off in the short term. We'll see.

So sometimes I suspect the media do exaggerate the story (I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and won't say 'invent') but equally I suspect they are sometimes 'leaked' stories that have little foundation but to serve the purposes of the leaking party. The main loser of course - the football supporter who wants to know what is actually happening.

Who could replace Terry though? Im struggling to think of able replacements who would be available, & thats why Chelsea would be foolish to sell him. He's a world class defender (hopefully can justify that next year with England!), a leader & scores goals. Theres obviously Ferdinand & Vidic, & Jagielka's a class act, but Terrys as good as anyone in the premier league. Who are the top defenders in Italy & Spain at the moment Phil or anyone else? A few years back there were plenty of Italian & French defenders we all knew about but now we only seem to hear about the attacking players, & no-one really jumped out during last years champions league... any suggestions?

Outrageous! Terry is deffinatly in the top 5 defenders in the world and i think we all know he could walk straight into barca's madrids united's ect squads anyday and still be paid more than what chelsea are paying so why would he choose man city?
All this media attention is doing him good anyway for all those glory hunting united fans who insist on ferdinand and vidic being better than terry will see this and realise they will never recieve a bid £30,000,000 + for either of these 2 players. John terry chelsea's and premier leagues number 1!

Phil, money is irrelevant if you can't spend it on a better player. There's no point selling Terry and then buying a lesser play to replace him - that just doesn't make sense.
Chelsea have great players in every position - which is why it is so hard buying players at this level - because there are so few out there who could improve the team.
The only reason Chelsea would consider selling one of their best players is if they wanted to leave. It's like Ronaldo at Man Utd - they didn't want to sell him even at 80 Million because even that won't help find a player to improve their team. But Ronaldo wanted to move - that was the difference. I doubt Terry wants to leave. He grew up at Chelsea in the same way Gerrard did at Liverpool. It's much more difficult to prize a player away from a club who grew up there. Whereas a player who was signed from abroad is likely to feel much more transient. I think Man City are wasting their time targeting Terry.

Phil, Why do you always blog about Man United all the time?

Oh, wait...

Are Chelsea now a selling club? Is the man from Rome in need of money considering the economic meltdown? How the times change. Roman use to have a wallet full of cash and he bullied other clubs into selling. Now his wallet full of cash is pocket money for City and i wonder how he likes being bullied. First Robinho and now Terry. I am enjoying this Phil, I am truly enjoying this. The hunter is now the hunted. Let them feel how other teams felt when they were bullying everybody including tapping up Ashley Cole and those two Leeds united youngsters that they rendered useless. This is the year of repayment for all the ills committed by ManU(Christiano & Tevez) and Chelsea(Terry).

"John Terry is one of the top 5 defenders in the world" - and monkeys are flying out of my backside as I write this.

Frankly, if I was an ageing, overblown defender at a club destined never to win the one title they truly crave and being offered £300k a week to kick a ball about in Manchester I'd be phoning Robbie Fowler to see if he had some spare houses! Comedy money, but then again it's a comedy club - and everyone I know has a tenner on the increasingly embarrassing Mark Hughes to be first out the door in the Premier League this season.

By the way, am I the only one who thinks Ancelotti had all the comic timing of a stuffed dog?

And as for "no journalist of my acquaintance fabricates stories", you really should switch jobs and become Chelsea joke-writer.

42. At 5:27pm on 06 Jul 2009, barca4ever wrote:
Are Chelsea now a selling club? Is the man from Rome in need of money considering the economic meltdown? How the times change. Roman use to have a wallet full of cash and he bullied other clubs into selling. Now his wallet full of cash is pocket money for City and i wonder how he likes being bullied. First Robinho and now Terry. I am enjoying this Phil, I am truly enjoying this. The hunter is now the hunted. Let them feel how other teams felt when they were bullying everybody including tapping up Ashley Cole and those two Leeds united youngsters that they rendered useless. This is the year of repayment for all the ills committed by ManU(Christiano & Tevez) and Chelsea(Terry).
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Makes no sense...man city need a world class defender...terry fits the bill. In case you didnt notice chelsea have REJECTED completely the offer...

Yes, ok, the amount of money might tempt Chelski to sell given Terry's mileage and his age, but if Terry actually does want to stay, surely all this famed loyalty would be under heavy scrutiny if the club said he could go?

I don't for a minute think that Terry wants to move away from the blues, but if the club (who, don't forget are bankrolled by a man to whom money doesn't really matter, even in recession) say he is expendable, why should he extend 'loyalty', if after years of service, he is more Jaap Stam than Gary Neville ?

As a united fan I hope Terry stays he is Mr Chelsea

Nice blog.

Firstly I find it absurd that City are trying to get Terry. He's Mr Chelsea, and his number one aim is probably leading the team to European glory. Why move to a club that isn't even in Europe?

Also I'm looking forward to the prospect of Ancelotti in the Premier League. Let's see if he's up to it!

At 42 and 44

If Chelsea do sell England's Brave John Terry then it won't be because Abramovitch is feeling the pinch. His new £280 million yacht was launched in Amsterdam last week. I've actually read somewhere that his yacht will cost something like £30 million or so a year to run. Hang on a minute...

At barca4ever - what man from Rome?

As a Chelsea fan I would be gutted to see Terry leave, no matter what fee City are prepared to pay. Terry is Chelsea and we couldn't replace that with anyone else in world football. The next Terry would have to be someone who followed his footsteps.

I am confident Terry is staying though and am of the opinion that he doesn't need to make a statement to prove his loyalty but a statement nonetheless would at least clarify his position since we have no reason to doubt what he says - unlike Ronaldo who seems to have enjoyed committing to Utd time and again for the fans while knowing full well he was off to Madrid.

As for Ancelotti, first impressions are good but 1 Italian league title in 8 seasons doesn't fill me with confidence in his ability to take the premier league by storm, only time will tell...

Ancellotti is a lot more familiar with the English game than Mourinho, Wenger or Benitez were when they arrived in England, so I don't think he'll have any problem adapting. I just think the dynamics at Chelsea are all wrong. Kenyon and Abramovich need to be told what to do by the manager, not the other way round. Mourinho was strong enough to dominate them which led to his inevitable downfall. Ancellotti will have to be more cunning than a fox who is a professor of cunning to survive in that enviroment. he team he is inheriting has too many elements of outdated philosophies to enjoy immediate success, and that is what's demanded. It all seems to smack of another reputation in tatters and another big pay off a short way down the road.

.5 - Good post but id argue that Shevchenko could have been classed as world-class player who was tempted by Abramovich's millions when he moved?

Chelsea have rejected the offer but if John Terry wants to go nobody will stop him. Yes Chelsea have rejected the offer but what is John Terry waiting for to follow. This sounds like Villa all over again. Gareth wants to go to a champions league club and ended up where Man City(Who might be in the champions league obviously when Barry retires with his cool millions). 200k is tempting and footballers have allegiance to only their stomach. Kissing the badge makes no meaning. All footballers are in it to make money "Adebayor".

Are Chelsea now a selling club? Is the man from Rome in need of money considering the economic meltdown? How the times change. Roman use to have a wallet full of cash and he bullied other clubs into selling. Now his wallet full of cash is pocket money for City and i wonder how he likes being bullied. First Robinho and now Terry. I am enjoying this Phil, I am truly enjoying this. The hunter is now the hunted. Let them feel how other teams felt when they were bullying everybody including tapping up Ashley Cole and those two Leeds united youngsters that they rendered useless. This is the year of repayment for all the ills committed by ManU(Christiano & Tevez) and Chelsea(Terry).
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If what you say is true and you dislike these clubs for flexing thier financial muscle and "bullying" other clubs - then surely you must see the threat posed by City themselves who are actually seeking to operate on the same level as these clubs but possibly exceed it.
Are you so stupid that you believe the way to solve - what you clearly see as a problem in football - is to add to it? Fight fire with bigger fire?

JT is a born Londoner. Why on earth would he even consider shifting himself and his family to a place like Manchester? Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Milan - possibly. But Manchester - and to the junior club with no European football? Let's get real.

I find it odd that Chelsea should prevaricate. I suppose if Terry does not want to leave they don't want to let him know he's buyable given his belief he is Mr Chelsea. I am sure that someone realises the financial reality of getting paid to take a bad contract off the books - arguably better in a years time but the danger is Terry's decline will be even more obvious then.

Man City are seemingly determined to make buys of players whose age and profile make them mostly good sells - or mostly have 1 or 2 years left as near top flight players.

There is no business or even football reason for Chelsea not to accept apart from a possible signal to the other players and the infantile fans that many teams have too many of.

Long term if I was Terry I would rather stay and decline where I am popular. He will give everything whoever he plays for but I cannot see why Chelsea behind the scenes even if they will not say are not biting the hand off here. Except maybe the frankly silly designed to achieve the opposite of its intentions 4+4 rules that makes a dolt like Glen Johnson worth 17 million for his passport even to a team not responsible for his development.

I'm cocksure that Man City themselves are not serious about Terry's bid. They only made it to insult Chelsea and annouce their superior war chest. Terry is Mr. Chelsea; he's priceless and an inestimable jewel

I'm Chelsky fan, but emotions aside - Terry is well past his prime. I can recall at least 10 times played really poor last season. Sell him, if he wants to go we have plenty defenders to fill his shoes.

15. At 3:37pm on 06 Jul 2009, 5ForKeeps wrote:
This time last year Phil, you can probably recall that I said of Scolari "he will be the next Christian Gross" - Scolari wasn't a yes man much like Gross.


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I love this! Why do you (and alot of other people that comment on blogs) think that the author is going to read your post and take any note and think, 'wow, what a great comment, i'll remember that in the future'

Why do so many people think their comment is the best and most important, if your opinion was so well respected you'd have your own column on a website like this!

You're not so just comment and talk about the storys without making yourself seem arrogant and self important.

Look, JT is obviously going to use the City offer as an opportunity to squeeze some more dosh out of Roman......why shouldn't he? You don't think Roman can afford it? If you went in to work tomorrow and your boss told you that a rival firm had offered you a job on twice the wages, wouldn't you expect a pay rise to stay?
And before you all say "But JT already earns more than in a week than i do in a year blah, blah, winge, cry" remember that money is like everything 'relative', JT only hangs out with the super-rich, hows his missus going react if she can't keep up with the Beckhams'?

Strikes me as a nice piece of mischief by Man City. Terry won't go, but he's saying nothing so that his agent can negotiate an extra £50,000, or so, a week from Chelsea. That will de-stabilise the Chelsea wage structure and cause internal strife. The whole Chelsea wage bill will increase - and an extra x million will disapppear, with no advantage gained for Chelsea.

It's just as well for Abramovich that the oil price is increasing.

Am I the only one who chuckles at the thought of McNulty as a journalist, by the way?

Phil- the slight implication here (it may be unintentional) is that City can buy anyone they want if they really try: "Countless millions. No target out of reach. All clubs fair game."... Kaka anyone? City's lack of pedigree and image, plus the lack of Champions League football, is still going to hold them back for a while. Add to that the fact that any player who joins is tarred with the mercenary brush, and surely one can see considerable obstacles. We might have been snubbed by Ronaldinho for these image issues, but we could at least offer immediate access to the CL, a decent Premiership record in recent years (ie. consistently top 6) and London, which I think is an important lure. Perhaps I can be called naive, but I think for many footballers there is still more to it than the (doubtless sizeable) financial issue. Yes, City can bring in the likes of Gareth Barry and Craig Bellamy, but Kaka didn't go, I doubt Villa or Eto'o are much more than a show of ambition, and JT's going nowhere.

TheThirteenthGate: as yardii_boy pointed out- Shevchenko! Or what about Ballack? Crespo? Ashley Cole? Robinho thinking he'd joined Chelsea? It doesn't really matter how these players did when (/if!) they made it to the Bridge (at least half have been a definite success anyway), the fact is that Roman got them! Besides, Mourinho famously didn't want galacticos- it's part of the reason he fell out with Abramovich...

How much more tax does JT want to pay for living in Manchester?

Is it me or does anyone else think City are just plain stupid trying to sign all these A+ quality players from A+ teams. Why are they trying to sign players who are so unlikely to move, ala Ronaldinho, Kaka, Etoo etc

Why don't they try and sign great players from good clubs, I can think of countless great players that are way more likely to join; Lavezzi, Amauri, Felipe Melo, Mexes etc

It seems they're hell bent on trying to show their superior financial power, but the best players only want to play for the best clubs! Look at Real Madrid!

It was a happy scene and a united front. Then again, it was a happy scene and united front almost 12 months ago when we all gathered in Cobham for the introduction of Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Scolari cracked a few gags, spoke glowingly of the future and impressed everyone. And was gone in seven months.

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Those two paragraphs are the most important in the whole blog :) I have a passing interest in who manages Chelsea at the best of times but since their recent revolving door policy I won't be bothering myself to acquaint myself with their new managers unless they actually win something more than the FA Cup and they actually keep a manager on for more than one full season.

Might as well care about the passing of a gentle breeze or days gone by.

He's a good manager and a good prospect for Chelsea. Sadly, though, he has exactly one season (if that) to win everything, otherwise he's gone. Why bother paying any attention to him at all?

Reality???

Owen = Manchester UTD
Ronaldo = Real Madrid

Times are a changing. CITY don't have European football but they have targets and goals, a vision. Top 6 at a minimum in 2010, are they capable? Yes, they have bought proven Premiership talent in Barry, Bellamy and Santa Cruz (although 2009 he was injured). Tevez is on his way, why not Terry?

The top 4 Teams have had their time, its become boring, bring on new blood. How do you achieve this? MONEY. The top 4 have had it and continue to acrue it through the CL, its a vicious circle that one day will end, why not in 2010?

Why is it everytime a blog isnt centred around manchester united there is so many negative comment's?
Terry is most deffinatly the best defender in the premier league, the fact that a club is willing to pay £30,000,000 for him is proof and the fact he beat Ferdinand to captain England just add's to that.
He would stroll and take charge into any startin 11 and the fact people are saying he is past it is beyond me. He is 28! Does this mean Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand and samuel eto are past it? NO!
To all the glory hunting manc's on here (including phil!), Jump off the bandwagon and stop believing everything you read. Just because your star players arent loyal doesnt mean Chelsea's arent.

@Dwilson903

Except City could have bought better players than the ones they did, that would have been way more availible than the biggest names they've tried to sign.

I still think they should sign a big name but not one of the elite, Sergio Aguero wouldn't be a bad shout.

Terry has no football skill - Ferdinand went for 25m -> 30m and he can play football - getting a hoofer and cheat and disgusting role model; supporter of Drogba for 40m??

Id expect 20+ goals a season for 40m not 9 goals conceded in 38 games

"the fact that a club is willing to pay 30,000,000 for him is proof" of what?? 30m for someone who wont win you a game (very many times) - you'd expect to get goals for that - or at the very least some sort of entertainment.

There is no way that Terry is the best defender in the prem that has to go to Ferdinand and there are many better ones.

People who normally "put their body on the line" are usually called cannon fodder not essential team members

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To kick off on a different note, I thought Ancelotti presented himself very well in front of the press conference today - he showed a sense of light-heartedness and humour, but answered the difficult questions well. Although as Phil says the same could be said of Scolari, whose reign at Chelsea eventually proved ill-fated.

On to John Terry - there is no way that Terry will ever move there. And if he does, he will be branded a money-grabbing lowlife and deservedly so. He is Chelsea born and bred and has the love of the fans and players. Aside from a bigger weekly wage, why on earth would he want to go to a side that aren't even playing European football, with a lot of mediocre players and no Champions League football realistically even on the horizon. If he does go - and I can't think he will - my respect for him will be diminished completely.

Chelsea has good chance to win league this year given United is never confident without Ronaldo in recent years and Arsenal still finding its ground. JT should consider that too. Citeh just has 2 good strikers , that's not enough to win a league or even get into 'big four'.

reading from these comments,something is lacking we forget some of this players wants to pocket some money and club are after how much your brand worths.stritly business all its about business.a perhaps i dont really see j t leaving bridge and going to city.lets see how it works for him and city.if he decides to leave we still love him.personally me whatever hiis decision is.

shesh_666, I was going to respond at length to that clueless pile of drivel you have just posted there but I cannot be bothered.

Dear me.

@shesh_666

haha fail

I wonder if the JT bid is less about seriously thinking he will go to City and more about City being extremely annoyed about Sturridge. It's well known Chelsea have been after him for a long time and whilst City are at fault for allowing him to run down his contract it's possible that his head was turned a long time ago and he would have run it down anyway due to Chelsea interest.

Maybe it's a warning shot from City that Chelsea are no longer the team with the deepest pockets in the PL and they had better keep their eyes off City's promising youngsters/players............

Take your sheiky money and stick it back up your oily pipeline. The Russian may not be the richest in the world, but he certainly doesn't need anyone elses money and realises Terry is Mr Chelsea and Mr England for that Matter. City thought they could buy the kudos of having England's World cup captain, well sorry to bust your non Champions league bubble. Thanks for Sturridge by the way, City despite their money will find it hard to compete again next season. Chelsea had been top six consistently for six or seven seasons and won two FA cups, a cup winnners cup and a European super cup in that same time as well as qualfying for the Champions league before Abramovich took over...the foundations had been built! City are building on shaky ground, nothing against them personally but it's true. These Arabs seem to think money will win out regardless, The Irish have taught them some harsh lessons in the Horse racing world and I expect they will encounter similar problems in football.

The whole thing stinks, i cant understand the logic of this from any angle!

It just doesn't make much sense for Chelsea to sell. Great £40m... Roman can just add that to his billions, receiving it is peanuts. Yes you all talk about Citeh having more money than Chelsea but to be honest it's irrelevant when you're comparing billions, no one gets forced into anything, it's not even on the football scale to compare prices when the owners have that much. Unless he comes out and says he wants to move he'll stay put.

And has been mentioned already this is such a non-story.

I would rather have an ageing John Terry in the squad than cash in on him simply because I'd want him coaching and influencing the youngsters coming through the ranks. He is a born leader and he would make a huge difference to the future defenders of the club. And even if he's still on 100k+ a week by 34, at least he'd be earning it through coaching as well being backup to the squad. After all, I kind of expect him to carry on as a coach after his career comes to an end, he has that sort of personality. He might take a year or two out first though to commit to family matters such as raising his kids.

on a positive note despite the traumas everyone seems to be emphazize about chelsea in the past 5 years only 1 club has won more .also only one club has had more english players representing england despite being dubbed the foreign legion.

THE UNITY and loyalty that all current chelsea players have is why they are in the position they are in today and that why man city are interesterd in offering chelsea a large sum.

the fact that the weakest manager chelsea ever had avram grant got chelsea within a penelity of euro champs/premiership ... and the abilty of one manager to unify chelsea players to winning a trophy and been cheated by a reftree in euro semi seem to suggest its about the managers style not how many trophies he has won. GOOD LUCK CARLO

The media love to stir things up and ask the same questions every day. How many times must Terry answer the same question? If he says once that he is staying a Chelsea that is enough, why should he have to keep saying the same thing just because some hack won't accept the answer? If he does stay at Chelsea, which I'm pretty sure he will, then he has more willpower and loyalty to Chelsea than the papers give him credit for. Here he is, a player moving towards the end of his career and he looks to be turning down a fortune that would keep him for life. Pity Shevchenko and Deco weren't a bit more loyal to their clubs when Chelsea came knocking!!

Anyone that thinks Terry will leave must be very new to football..Terry is the pillar of the chelsea team and its just ridiculous to even question his tenure at the football club...
he is definitely the paolo maldini of chelsea- captain and leader forever!
if he leaves chelsea, i'll stop watching football and take on golf instead! and thats a promise!

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Playing beautiful football, scoring goals and winning titles need to be the theme song of Chelsea for the 2009-2010 football season. Best wishes to Carlo and his boys.




Dr. Cajetan Coelho

Perhaps John Terry is not entirely happy with the way things are run at Chelsea. He has stated he wants manager stability, he is dussapointed with lack of trophies in recent years, and when he defended accusations that he had influenced the sacking of Jose he said "If the club ever listened to me on things I want changing it would be run very differently than it is now".

As for the club decision to keep or sell, I see several issues they need to consider.

The business argument:

If Man City come back and offer in the region fo 35m or 40m for Terry, then Chelsea have to at least pause for thought.

Chelsea have a publically stated mandate to become financially self sufficient, and selling Terry at this price level would go a long way towards achieving this aim. Up till now, under RA'a ownership, Chelsea have lost a great deal of money on the buying and selling of players.

Prior to City's offer, I very much doubt Terry even featured under the asset column on Chelsea's financial balance sheet and they will have to replace Terry sometime in the future.

The footballing argument:
Terry as a player is past his best, he has put his body on the line for the club and it has taken his toll, but he is is still a great defender and as mentioned above, must be one of the top 5 defenders in the PL.

But Chelsea have a good pack of CBs in Alex, Ivanovic and Mancienne who over a couple of seasons, with supervision from an experienced Carlvalho, can be developed to fill the void. Also there are enough good CBs out there, that Chelsea could replace Terry with for half the money Man City are prerpared to spend.

The personal argument:
Terry's leadership qualities and his captaincy of Chelsea probably make up the largest % component of the fee Man City are prepared to pay to acquire him. This is what Chelsea would miss if we sold him and it could take a heck of a long time to find a new leader of his ilk. This at the end of the day is what Man City are after, and this more than anything else is what Chelsea fear losing.

Conclusion: For 35m to 40m its a very hard decision whether to sell or not,but Chelsea should view the situation as win either way!

The club should let Terry make the decision for them, if he wants to stay,then great, we still have our leader and captain, and the club should keep him, but only on the existing contract and wages.

If he wants to go, then its a very good deal for Chelsea, they get 35m-to 40m and remove their largest wage bill from their overheads.

Phil...

If they go about it the right way and plan a step by step approach into the top 4, then Man City are sureley destined to seriously challenge the likes of Chelsea, Mau U etc. City should set a target for minimum 5th place this season and minimum Top 4 the following season. Its not impossible for them to make the Top 4 this season, but by aquiring players with the lure of money and little else, the danger they face is a lack of team unity and team spirit. That is why they want Terry so badly, he has proven he can lead a team full of big egos and prima donnas.

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Have to agree Phil, City will not be a threat this season. The only world-class player they have is Robinho, sure he must be kicking himself now that ronaldo & kaka are at madrid. He would've lined up next to class players as to the barry's, bellamy's & irelands at City.
City seem to be in the same space as Spurs at he moment, similar players with the potential to break into the top 4. But surely, like spurs, they will fall short. Someone give Moyes or O'Neil a $100m, then we'd have some competition. As for now, the top 4 stays put.

As for Terry, he's a Blue through & Through. Captain for life!

Think u meant ronaldo there Phil, but we all understand. Why would Robinho not be classified as world class???
He's the jewel in Hughesy's crown!!! Chelsea wanted him & Chelsea don't buy rubbish.

city cant fail with this bid.. they no they cant challenge chelsea on footballing term but certianly in a financial aspect. if chelsea stall on this bid it unsettles the player and his relationship wi the new manager. if they immediatley reject it it puts terry in a strong position for a pay rise. which city would be happy with. and of course if they accept it then city have got one of the best defenders around. either way its a win win!... why not stir it up? its what chelsea used to do!

35. At 4:59pm on 06 Jul 2009, Worst firm in the world wrote:
footy_analysis...

I find it amusing how you begin your post with this assertion;

... there is no way, no way at all, no way in a million, trillion years that John Terry will ever leave Chelsea for Man City or, for that matter, leave Chelsea at all....

And then back-track like John Terry dealing with a long ball to;

...If he did leave for Man City, it would be for the wrong reasons - money...

-------------------------------------

Such is life in the world of football that one is always left with a niggling feeling at the back of one's mind that a player could, no matter how much he loves his club, leave for the love of money.......

All arguments in favour of selling Terry- good money, not getting younger, over-rated (completely disagree with this third one)- miss the point of the statement it would make. JT is a brilliant example of a player who is Chelsea through and through, a product of the youth system that so many consider to be a disgrace, an England player in a top-4 English club, and a man who, in contrast to the Mutus, Verons and Winston Bogardes (back in the day) of this world, is not content to simply sit on his ever-expanding bank account. Not only is he the absolute pride of the club in footballing terms, but he is a fans' player and it would be a PR disaster to get rid of him! He won't leave.

To answer your questions Phil, I'm not remotely worried about Man City this season. At the very best, they'll be a new version of the team that played under Abramovich and Claudio in 03-04 with less quality in the playing, coaching and managing departments. If Mark Hughes does a considerably better job than his experience and record demonstrates he should (I don't think he's a bad manager, just that this is not the job for him), then they'll push for 4th, maybe cause a few concerns for Arsene Wenger, and then everything will settle down into comfortable/boring familiarity a la Aston Villa this last season.

As for Carlo's targets: striker, winger, defender if Carvalho leaves. Zhirkov looks to be a really decent buy, but I'd still love to see Ribery arrive to prove we're still bidding for the best, and while getting Daniel Sturridge is nice and all, Pato would be ideal. I had a vague thought that maybe Carlo could somehow coax a magnificent (at least by contrast!) swansong out of Sheva (still feels a bit surreal that he's back at the Bridge), who I never thought was as bad as everyone made out, particularly given the problems with adjustment (never fit Jose's system) and injuries that he had. After this transfer window, which needs to be an immediate clinic for our problems last season, I think we should stick, wherever possible, to players under 23: Germany absolutely demolished Stuart Pearce and co at the U21 Euro, why don't we just buy their 1st XI ^^?

A final point, Ancelotti more than anyone should be able to tell Roman that any number of freak accidents can prevent your team from winning the Champions League, so maybe he could get him to stop worrying about it so much and see how things go for a bit? Long shot, but it's worth a try...

Ok Comment 97 or whatever and who's gonna read it anyway, but two points worth making - 1/ what signal would Chelsea be sending out if they sold the heartbeat of the club JT to City or anyone else, no matter what the price? A sign of psychological abeyance in football owners terms I would have said. 2/ Why dont City put in a slightly more than modest offer for Carvo - excellent defender, still a year or two in him yet, he gets a big wage for a year or two to retire upon, and old big head at Inter can whistle for it? Everyone's happy!

Never say never. I can remember Sir Alex saying that he would not sell Real Madrid a virus after they tried to tap up Ronaldo the season before last. At the end of the day, money talks. If Man City were to offer 35 or 40 million I think that Chelsea would look at it. If they offered Terry some obscene amont of wages and Chelsea were willing to sell, then I think that he would look at it. You can't really blame him for wanting a final payday.
Personally, even though I am not a Chelsea admirer, I would like to see him stay. I am not a Terry fan either, actually he is one of my more dispised players (only for the way he continually argues with officials, I do like his passion though). But I do admire 1 club players. It says a lot in this day and age when a player is willing to stay at the club he loves when lots more money is on the table. This is extremely rare. Having said this though, he is playing at a club that is in contention for trophies. This is a huge lure for players, because lets face it, we all play our chosen sport for the chance to win titles and trophies.

If Chelsea receive a bid of around £30+ million from City I would suggest they shouldn't hesitate accepting for a moment unless Terry himself refuses to move. I certainly wouldn't take that as a given for all the talk of Terry being Mr Chelsea and blue through and through. With such wage rumours being bandied about I have no doubt Terry would be capable of talking himself into such a move.

If that should happen I don't think it would be as big a loss to Chelsea as some people are making out. Though still capable on occasion of some fine last ditch type defending I think his best days are well and truly behind him. He is not as mobile as before and his ongoing back problems should be a worry (as should Rio's for Manchester Utd incidentally). I think his ageing will be far more of hindrence to him maintaining his levels of performance than it is for someone like Lampard.

Did anyone see the stats Sky Sports were showing this morning? I appreciate stats can be used to back up any viewpoint but they did make for interesting reading. Namely that over the past three seasons Chelsea win fewer matches and lose more matches when Terry is playing in comparison to when he is not. I think getting Carvalho back into the fold and on form and bringing Mancienne through carefully should be as much a concern for Chelsea's defence as keeping John Terry.