John Terry’s retort at Robbie Savage this week is flawed in so many ways and is a clear indication that recent media criticism of Chelsea has got right under their skin.
At the heart of Terry’s mud-slinging is the suggestion that only someone who has had a good playing career has credence to speak and criticise. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of plenty of his colleagues who weren’t up to scratch when they crossed the white line; Jose Mourinho for one, chuckle chuckle, to echo Terry himself.
A look at the list of managers who have bagged multiple European Cups even throws up a few spanners in the Chelsea captain’s argument. The following all appear at the top of the list of European Cup/Champions League winning bosses. They may have “played at a bad level throughout their career” or “not had a career” but are they still qualified to hand out a bit of stick when it’s due?
5…
Ottmar Hitzfeld:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 2
Domestic Cups: 1
The German won 2 European Cups at the helm at Bayern Munich and only 2 managers in history have won more. But 2 league titles as a player with FC Basel of Switzerland probably won’t cut the mustard if the German wants to qualify as a Terry-basher. Certainly he has a prettier mantelpiece than Savage, but it only gets worse from here…
4…
Bob Paisley:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 1
Domestic Cups: 0
One of only 2 managers to win 3 European Cups, Paisley is regarded as one the game’s greats. Dropped for the 1950 FA Cup Final which Liverpool lost 2-0, he said the experience helped him learn how to drop players and eventually he became one the most successful managers of all time. So even being a loser helps sometimes.
3…
Brian Clough:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 0
Domestic Cups: 0
Clough famously won the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest in the 70s, and despite scoring over 200 goals in his career, finished with no medals.
2…
Sir Alex Ferguson:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 0
Domestic Cups: 0
The former United boss and world renowned expert of the game once said that Chelsea badly miss a player like Terry when he doesn’t play. But surely these words mean nothing to Chelsea’s lionheart, given that Fergie’s Second Division medals with Falkirk and St Johnstone are all he has to show for an underwhelming playing career.
1...
Jose Mourinho:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 0
Domestic Cups: 0
Terry’s own manager had little or no career on the football pitch. Another with 2 Champions League trophies as a coach, but brief spells at Rio Ave, Belenenses and Sesimbra fall way short of Robbie Savage’s 537 appearances and League Cup victory in 2000.
Mediocre careers clearly did not prevent the above from being astute readers of the game. The world of punditry and journalism may well be littered with many unqualified opinions, but there remains a credible pool of critics, some of whom never even played the game.
So the question remains, who has the credentials to criticise the Captain, the Leader, the Legend of Stamford Bridge? Whoever meets his standards, a man paid as well John Terry, and a man of his experience, should have the nouse to ignore swipes from the likes of Robbie Savage and let his feet do the talking on the pitch.
But maybe it’s time to deduce that Terry has reached that stage of his career when his feet are no longer able to do his talking for him.
At the heart of Terry’s mud-slinging is the suggestion that only someone who has had a good playing career has credence to speak and criticise. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of plenty of his colleagues who weren’t up to scratch when they crossed the white line; Jose Mourinho for one, chuckle chuckle, to echo Terry himself.
A look at the list of managers who have bagged multiple European Cups even throws up a few spanners in the Chelsea captain’s argument. The following all appear at the top of the list of European Cup/Champions League winning bosses. They may have “played at a bad level throughout their career” or “not had a career” but are they still qualified to hand out a bit of stick when it’s due?
5…
Ottmar Hitzfeld:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 2
Domestic Cups: 1
The German won 2 European Cups at the helm at Bayern Munich and only 2 managers in history have won more. But 2 league titles as a player with FC Basel of Switzerland probably won’t cut the mustard if the German wants to qualify as a Terry-basher. Certainly he has a prettier mantelpiece than Savage, but it only gets worse from here…
4…
Bob Paisley:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 1
Domestic Cups: 0
One of only 2 managers to win 3 European Cups, Paisley is regarded as one the game’s greats. Dropped for the 1950 FA Cup Final which Liverpool lost 2-0, he said the experience helped him learn how to drop players and eventually he became one the most successful managers of all time. So even being a loser helps sometimes.
3…
Brian Clough:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 0
Domestic Cups: 0
Clough famously won the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest in the 70s, and despite scoring over 200 goals in his career, finished with no medals.
2…
Sir Alex Ferguson:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 0
Domestic Cups: 0
The former United boss and world renowned expert of the game once said that Chelsea badly miss a player like Terry when he doesn’t play. But surely these words mean nothing to Chelsea’s lionheart, given that Fergie’s Second Division medals with Falkirk and St Johnstone are all he has to show for an underwhelming playing career.
1...
Jose Mourinho:
European Cups: 0
Top Division Titles: 0
Domestic Cups: 0
Terry’s own manager had little or no career on the football pitch. Another with 2 Champions League trophies as a coach, but brief spells at Rio Ave, Belenenses and Sesimbra fall way short of Robbie Savage’s 537 appearances and League Cup victory in 2000.
Mediocre careers clearly did not prevent the above from being astute readers of the game. The world of punditry and journalism may well be littered with many unqualified opinions, but there remains a credible pool of critics, some of whom never even played the game.
So the question remains, who has the credentials to criticise the Captain, the Leader, the Legend of Stamford Bridge? Whoever meets his standards, a man paid as well John Terry, and a man of his experience, should have the nouse to ignore swipes from the likes of Robbie Savage and let his feet do the talking on the pitch.
But maybe it’s time to deduce that Terry has reached that stage of his career when his feet are no longer able to do his talking for him.