Two Cents on John Terry

Image from The Guardian

Last March, for a reason that escapes me, John Terry said; "I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea", which was a nice way to say "A lot of people think I'm a huge, filthy bastard." If these racism allegations surrounding him turn out to be true, he won't be anyone's cup of tea and it'll be confirmed that he's not only a huge, filthy bastard but also a racist one too. I'm not exactly a fan of Anton Ferdinand, I see him as a extremely poor version of his completely overrated brother Rio, however racism allegations can never simply be ignored if you don't like the player involved. I'm just disappointed that the player firing these alleged racial slurs out is a player I used to love watching.

Way back when Terry wasn't a racist or a teammate-wife-shagger, he was an incredible defender. He was never the quickest, but made up for it by reading the game well and positioning himself perfectly to cut out the cross/make the tackle. He still does all that stuff occasionally, but let's face it, he's a shadow of his former self. What little pace he had disappeared rapidly as he aged, and subsequently, so did his positioning. This is all natural stuff though; Alessandro Nesta isn't exactly a whippet, and look at Rio's positional play now. What's really worrying for Terry and everyone involved around him though is that his concentration looks absolutely shot to pieces.

Now, he's forever making mistakes. Mistakes that may have gone unnoticed had he not been partnered with David Luiz, who's attitude toward defending is akin to a toddler's on vegetables. Terry has looked incredibly unreliable since the departure of Ricardo Carvalho - who was an brilliantly subtle defender at Chelsea - in 2010. Gradually, his frailties - on and off the pitch - have came to the fore hand-in-hand, and his latest one threatens to completely ruin his reputation and standing in the game. Racism is a moronic, intolerable and detestable thing, and if Terry is guilty of calling Ferdinand "a fucking black bastard", then a fine or a ban as punishment simply won't suffice.

I want to see some unprecedented punishments rolled out. I want to see him handed such a severe wage cap, he might as well be living on Job Seeker's Allowance money. I want to see him forced to coach black kids. I want to see him broken down. I want to see him striving to clear his name and rebuild his career. I want to see him humiliated, exposed and full of regret. But most of all, I want to see him look Drogba, Sturridge, Anelka, Cole, Mikel, Essien, Kalou, Malouda, Lukaku et al, directly in the eyes and tell them, individually; "I am a racist." See how he handles that.

The problem is, none of this will happen. He won't be punished severely enough because I doubt anything will be proven.

Ashley Cole says he didn't hear anything. Clint Hill will testify against Terry (apparently). The FA want to hear from Branislav Ivanovic. A nigh-unsolvable mess. It's essentially one man's word against another with a collection of people chipping in - which isn't exactly conducive. The only positive thing to come out from the entire situation is that everybody seems united on just how despicable racism is.

And that's surely got to scare the shit out of John Terry.