Terry nears the end but he’s still in control

CAPTAIN. Leader. Legend. PR master? Ever since news reached John Terry that Chelsea would not be keeping him beyond this season, the wheels of a smooth public relations operation have been in motion. In the same way he has been marshalling the Chelsea back line this past dozen years, 35-year-old Terry has seized control of the situation. If this was to be the end, he would go out on his own terms. So Terry made the bombshell announcement himself after Sunday’s FA Cup win at MK Dons. Terry knew he had the upper hand. Chelsea have been in undignified retreat ever since. There has already been talk of a U-turn, such was the barrage of criticism of this wretched treatment of an icon — with the diplomatic Guus Hiddink offering the olive branch. Terry knew full well that the next time Chelsea took the field he would have the fans’ unequivocal backing. It takes time for players to achieve legendary status. Terry is so far beyond that point, he was always going to get the vote of the punters. The 3,000 visiting fans at Vicarage Road were singing his name long before kick-off. In the front row of the away section, a woman defiantly held aloft a flag bearing his picture as the sides walked out. Every time he made a tackle or a clearance, there were chants of ‘sign him up’. In the BT Sport studio, Terry had the consensus too. Glenn Hoddle said: ‘If I was the manager… I’d sign him tomorrow’ — hinting that Chelsea are rudderless without a permanent boss. Owen Hargreaves said the club ‘figurehead’ was in a strong bargaining position, with lucrative offers from elsewhere bound to flood in. Terry then simply had to prove he could still cut it and his Saatchi and Saatchi-esque campaign would be complete. He just had to play like he normally does. Sadly, he was not entirely convincing at first. Watford’s forward line boasts some tricky customers and the rapid movement of Odion Ighalo had Terry on the back foot on more than one occasion. And Sebastian Prodl beat him in the air from a corner. But gradually Terry began to exude the same classic authority, picking the pockets of Ighalo and Troy Deeney as Chelsea pushed for the win. It was far from vintage but Terry can still do the job.