JOHN TERRY admits he ‘misses it every day’ as he reflects on launching one of the most famous playing careers in Chelsea history 23 years ago.
The former England centre-back came on as a wide-eyed sub aged 17 after Chelsea went 4-1 up late in a home League Cup tie against Aston Villa.
And by the time he left Stamford Bridge in 2017 he was their third-highest appearance maker ever, on 717 games, with five Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph.
Player-manager Gianluca Vialli had just completed a hat-trick in the 85th minute when Terry replaced Dan Petrescu to see out a 4-1 win against Villa on October 28 1998.
By 2001 he was their player of the year and captain.
And 78-cap JT marked the memory of his four-minute debut by posting on Instagram: “On This Day 1998 I made my debut for @chelseafc. I Miss It Everyday…”
But although his dogged defending made him a favourite with Blues’ fans, his stint at Stamford Bridge was dotted with controversy.
By far the major issue was being banned for four matches and fined £220,000 for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in October 2011.
Terry denied the claims and had been found not guilty in court, where the case has to be proved to a higher level – beyond reasonable doubt.
Two years earlier he had been the subject of THREE bids from Manchester City, underlining his status as one of the Premier League’s all-time greats in defence.
Terry saw out his playing days with a season in the Championship in 2017-8, including play-off final agony against Fulham.
He then spent three years as a Villa coach, before departing over the summer to “develop my aim and objective of becoming a manager”.
And in the past few days betting on him taking over at newly-rich Newcastle have tumbled from 66-1 to 8-1.
But Paulo Fonseca and Lucien Favre remain the favourites to replace sacked Steve Bruce.
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https://www.sportingexcitement.com/football/premier-league/liverpool-want-leicester-winger-harvey-barnes-and-real-madrid-flop-luka-jovic-transfers-amid-mo-salah-contract-fears
