Chelsea should offer Terry new contract

It’s become pretty well known in recent years that, at a certain point in a Chelsea player’s career, the club will not offer him a contract and if he wishes to continue playing, he must move elsewhere. The latest player to face this degrading ultimatum is none other than club captain and ‘Mr Chelsea’ himself, John Terry.

The 35 year old has given almost 20 years of his life to the west London club, in which he has made 475 league appearances (and counting) and lifted the Premier League trophy four times. Yet the Blues don’t feel it’s in their best interest to extend their captain’s contract and offer him the ‘fairytale’ ending he so evidently deserves.

We have, of course, seen this before.

Ashley Cole was not offered a new contract in July 2014 and despite him not quite being of the same stature as Terry, a few eyebrows were raised. It was shortly after this however, when another ‘ageing’ player was shown the door, when people really began to question the logic from the Chelsea hierarchy.

Frank Lampard joined the Blues from West Ham in June 2001 and enjoyed a very successful period as the club was re-born under Roman Abramovich. He truly blossomed under the guidance of a young Jose Mourinho and went on to make 429 appearances as well as becoming the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, a remarkable feat for a midfielder.

But, just like with Ashley Cole, the club felt that he had given all he could give and he wasn’t offered a contract extension that would have guaranteed he retired a Chelsea player.

Instead, they let his contract run its course and MLS side New York City were quick to swoop in and acquire the Englishman’s services on a Bosman. For those that don’t know, New York City and Manchester City share the same owners, and it didn’t take long for calls to be made and Lampard to be on a plane to Manchester to sign on loan for the season.

It was embarrassing from a Chelsea point of view. They had inadvertently allowed one of their greatest ever players to go to a title rival…for free.

Blues fans may quip that they still won the Premier League last season, but Frank Lampard was instrumental in City’s challenge for the crown. He proved, whether he was looking to or not, that he still had what it took to play with the best in the world.

Fast forward a year and here we are again, bamboozled by the club’s apparent decision to allow another of its living legends to limp over the retiring line at a club they don’t particularly want to be at.

No disrespect to New York City, or any team in the MLS for that matter, but if Frank Lampard was asked where he would have liked to end his career as a professional player, he would have said Chelsea, and you just know that’s the case with Terry too.

There’s even a dedicated market for John Terry’s next club in our football specials, but with New York Red Bulls the 3/1 favourites to land the centre back, you sense a u-turn isn’t completely out of the question. 

The Blues could learn a lesson from rivals Liverpool and Manchester United, who allowed Jamie Carragher and Ryan Giggs to respectfully end their careers at the clubs that they loved. More than that, they were given testimonials, an emotional tribute game that allows a player to properly say “goodbye” to the fans one last time.

This is by no means a personal attack on Chelsea though, as I believe many fans of the club would agree with my views and would want their captain to stay until his retirement.

Terry has played a bit-part this season and it hasn’t affected him in the slightest. You could see after the 5-1 win over MK Dons in the FA Cup on Sunday, he still has plenty of desire and gives his all for the club. Why would you allow a player like that to leave in such a way?

The problem arises from the one thing that Chelsea Football Club appears to be lacking in… class.

I urge the Chelsea board to do the right thing and offer John Terry a new contract, so he can end his playing days at HIS club. If nothing else, it would go some way to making up for allowing Lampard to leave but more than that, it would allow Terry to end his playing career the way he undoubtedly deserves to.