Chelsea captain, leader, legend John Terry is currently on a sinking ship and no one is giving him command. What better time to return to Chelsea?
Aston Villa will be relegated unless the Premier League is called off without relegation. In any situation that does involve relegation, it is very hard to see the Villans bouncing back even the small amount they need to for survival.
Chelsea was all set to play the Birmingham side before the world stopped for COVID-19. There were strong rumors that if Villa did not get a result, Dean Smith would be sacked. There were weaker rumors, but rumors nonetheless, that Chelsea’s own captain, leader, legend John Terry would be appointed to succeed him either temporarily or permanently.
That game was supposed to be played nearly a week ago. Since then, it has been revealed that the Premier League will not restart at least until May. There would be few times better to go ahead and pull that trigger and make that manager swap. It has not happened and there is no indication that it would happen now despite the layoff. Terry is on a sinking ship and there would be few other times more ideal to bring him back to Chelsea.
It has long been desired by many Chelsea fans to see Terry return. There has been some fear over a dynamic of Terry and Frank Lampard together in a dressing room but that should be a low level fear at best. Lampard has not had any clashes with his own staff but at the same time, everyone knows who is making the decisions at the end of the day. It is a team effort, but one where the buck has to stop somewhere.
There is of course the idea that Terry would not want to play second fiddle regardless. Terry wants to make his own way in the managerial world and learn as he goes. There surely cannot be much left to learn at Villa, especially if he is not set to be their full blown manager sooner rather than later. Of course, Lampard is wet behind the ears himself so that may not be the learning environment that Terry is looking for either.
Also, it is worth dispelling the notion that Terry would come in and improve Chelsea’s ailing defense. Obviously the quality of player at Aston Villa is much different than at Chelsea, but the fact remains that Villa has conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season.
But Terry adds a whole other dimension to Chelsea, not unlike Lampard did. If the two were able to feed off each other, then it could be a beautiful partnership. For Terry, it would get him away from a club that will go down and allow him more opportunities in the future if he were still so inclined after returning.
And there is not even anything that says Terry has to come in and be a first team staff member. The academy may be a technical back step, but at least he would have his own team if someone else were to move up or away. Sometimes taking steps “backwards” are necessary to make bigger ones forward. Erik ten Hag went from first team management to Bayern Munich II and it arguably was the making of him. Terry might experience something similar were he to return, regardless of capacity.
If Smith was truly down to getting a result against Chelsea or leaving, then he would have been sacked by now. Maybe Terry would have replaced him, maybe not. But with all quiet on that front, Terry can recognize that Aston Villa is going nowhere fast. There would be few better times to bring him back and reintegrate him in blue. It may take some shuffling, but it would be a key move for the Blues when (if?) the season resumes.