At the end of last season, John Terry stood tall. Premier League trophy in hand and critics raving about his performances over the season in which he played every single minute in the league, some even called him the greatest of all time in England. The captain had bounced back to make a mockery of everyone who said he was finished.
A year on, how things have changed.
His last memory for the club is set to be looking up from the floor and at a red card.
An exit more in line with a whimper than a roar. A trend that seems to have crept in off late with the likes of Frank Lampard, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard all exiting in similar fashion.
With over 700 appearances, 66 goals and 14 titles during his career which was spent in its entirety at Chelsea, Terry, a one-club man, is a last remaining relic of an era past.
But as his career in the Blue jersey winds to a close, it calls into question the reasoning of the club behind not handing him an extension.
At 35, Terry is in his twilight of his career and had his best years behind him. Though never blessed with speed, Terry still has what it takes to play at the highest level as he had always relied on his ability to read the game, which logically could only have improved. His commitment to the cause and willingness to throw his body in the way of harm for his side, too, remains unchanged.
But it’s his presence in the dressing room and the club which is invaluable.
Over the past three years, the so called ‘Old Guard’ at Chelsea, often villainised by the pundits for wielding more power at the club than the manager and even going as far as saying they pushed the manager out of the door, have slowly given way
Lampard, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba have all left the club with Terry the last of the lot, who formed the backbone of a side that would make winning a habit since early 2000s, remaining.
And with his influence waning this season it was evident what a leaderless Chelsea would look like. Eden Hazard even came out and said they missed the dressing room presence of Drogba and Cech, who played second fiddle on the pitch in the title winning season just the previous year.
