Chelsea captain John Terry hits back at possession-only Manchester United and tippy-tappy Arsenal

John Terry

Chelsea captain John Terry will, in all likelihood, lift this season’s Premier League title. But, his side has been described as “boring” and Terry defiantly said that winning is what matters rather than “possession and tippy-tappy football”.

Last week against Manchester United, the Red Devils had the lion’s share of the possession while this weekend Arsenal fans sung a song which described Chelsea as a boring team. Terry, however, said that the reason why Chelsea are top of the table is because they’ve dug deep when other teams have not.

Terry said, “We are definitely not boring and if we do go on to win it, nobody’s going to remember the performances when perhaps it’s not been that exciting. We’ve dug deep and other teams haven’t, and that is why they are so far behind us.

“Possession is great. We could see that from the Manchester United game last week. Possession and tippy-tappy football’s great, but if you are not winning games you’re not going to win the league.”

“Until Christmas, we were the best side by far”

The former England international claimed that they were the best side till Christmas. He also praised manager Jose Mourinho for finding different ways to ensure Chelsea continue to get through matches.

“Let’s not forget the first half of the season, up until Christmas, when we were the best side by far. The football we played with [Cesc] Fàbregas and his assists, the goal at Burnley [from André Schürrle] and others after that. The play was different class,” said Terry.

“Things then went against us and the manager, being him, came up with the way to get us through games. That’s where he’s at his best. Let’s not forget we were the best side up until Christmas for sure and we have actually beaten the teams who have made things difficult for us.

“Now we are one step from where we want to be. Leicester are flying, you can see they have got a bit of wind in their sails as well, so it is going to be a really tough game on Wednesday, but it is in our hands. Not anybody else’s. We are grinding out results, we have got the quality in the squad, so hopefully we can get over the line because we are very close.”

“Defending is an art”

Terry was man of the match against Arsenal in a 0-0 draw and Mourinho described the 34-year-old’s performance on the night as his best-ever for Chelsea.

“I’m not too sure [it was my best display],” added Terry. “I got on the end of a lot of crosses and cleared a few. You can feel when things are going well and, definitely, during the game I felt it was. But to hear that from the likes of the manager, who stands there and assesses you day-in, day-out, is really nice. But I just have to keep on and keep going, because it can go the other way.”

He clarified that he respects Wenger and called him a great manager.

“Arsenal are a really good side, especially going forward, so we needed to be on it defensively, which we have been collectively. I just thought, even in midfield, tracking back late on you could see they were a little shattered a little bit, but everyone dug deep. Defending is an art.

“I totally respect Arsène Wenger [who had described defending as easy last week], he’s a great manager. But, from our point of view, I am just delighted,” Terry concluded.