but I'll ask it anyway.

If Carvalho was fit right now would JT get a starting place on merit? I have to say that I'm not entirely convinced he should. Alex has looked very solid and Ivanovic was excellent against Carew yesterday. I know JT has been struggling with his back but the last 2 years have been a constant battle for fitness for him and he is not the player he was.

Been thinking the same.. on form JT is probably 4th !! .. having said that he was really shouting and marshalling the back 4 yesterday, really holding the line well and just making sure that with Ivanovic and Mikel

)dropping back into the back 4 on occasion) that they were in line. I guess this type of leadeship is an excellent strength.

Nice to have somee excellent cover in the centre of defence though but I wouldnt worry too much if he picked Alex and Ivanovic more often to rest JT a bit.

JT is our captain, and to become captian you have to bring something extra to the team other than a solid perfrmance. No one else in our squad can lead our team like Terry.

I think it's wrong that just because you're captain it gives you the right to play irrespective of form. I'm sure Ballack, Lampard, Cole A could all do the job. I also think it was Capello's biggest mistake thus far naming a permanent captain.

I've even brought this up in the match chat a few times recently. Nethertheless, I thought JT played reasonably well yesterday.

Make JT club captain by all means, but a permanent appointment on the field is not necessary.

Consistency is a very important factor in any successful side, changing captains month in, month out would in no way help the team produce consistent results month in month out, let alone week in week out. JT has led Chelsea for some years now, and in that time we have become a very, very succsessful club and some credit must go to the captain for that achievment

JT`s form isnt good at the moment, but he brings a lot more to the table. he constantly organises the defence in a way i dont think the others can do. riccy, alex, ivanovic etc seem to be fairly quiet on the pitch, and JT is the defensive leader.

I'm sure Ballack, Lampard, Cole A could all do the job

Not so sure on that. the occassions Lamps has been captain in the past, he has not been great to be honest. Nowhere near the leader and as vocal as JT. Ashley's form has been superb of late but he would need to change his ways a lot before he could be considered skipper material. Ballack is the best shout out of the three but I'm still not convinced. I am not Xenophobic but I much prefer having a Brit as captain. JT is the ideal skipper - it is just a bit of a worry that his form is not so great. The only couple of times we were troubled yesterday were both as a result of poor JT headers.

Edited October 6, 200816 yr by Nibs

I agree that a fully fit JT would always be on my starting sheet because of the leadership that he brings. I do think though that we have enough quality now that we don't have to wheel him out on "one leg" like we did when the alternative was Ben Haim, Boulahrouz or even Essien or Ferriera.

Thing is with JT, we never know when he is carrying an injury, he just gets on with it. You could argue its selfish when we have fully fit centre backs who may not make mistakes an injured player would. But I was watching him yesterday and he is always talking, always moving, always checking. There is more to keeping all the clean sheets we do, not just because of our quality, but because of the organisation only John Terry can provide.

I was wondering that too. :P

But then I gave myself 50 lashes for thinking it.

And Cech for Captain!

As far as footballing ability goes, maybe JT is further down the pecking order, and yes he had a bit of a mare against Villa at the weekend. However, he's consistant and solid. No nonesense, have seen him make some great passes from the defence to the forward mids to keep things going.

His marshaling is brilliant, and I think the combination of all of these attributes makes him our captain. Carvalho is a better alround footballer, but not a leader. Ivanovich and Alex are great back ups, but I certainly think JT and Percy are our number one defensive pairing

Scott

JT haven't been on his best form and I think he suffers from that back injury still. He is not very quick at the moment and that creates trouble. Otherwise our defence has been really strong the whole season and JT's presence makes all the difference. I don't think Alex and Ivanovic are too angry about the situation. JT is their captain, end of story.

I dont actually think his form has even been that bad?

That said JT brings something to the side that no one else does. his leadership on the pitch is invaluble..

Take a quick look down the road and you will see two teams who our crying out for a natrual bourn leader on the pitch to help turn things around for them when the going gets though!

I dont actually think his form has even been that bad?

He's not, but he's getting the same treatment as Lamps was getting for the last two seasons, his performance never dropped, he's just stepped it up again this year.

Take a quick look down the road and you will see two teams who our crying out for a natrual bourn leader on the pitch to help turn things around for them when the going gets though!

and that is the crux of the matter. pretty much every team in the world would love a commanding presence in their defence like JT. you can have two world class defenders but if both are quiet and neither takes control then it simply wont work.

Lets not forget he also captains his country

There were a couple of occasions against Villa when JT was caught out, one time in particular. it was a case of Cech to the rescue - safe to say we got away with it. If one or two of those incidents had, as was quite possible, resulted in a Villa goal, then perhaps the reaction might have been different. I agree with all the points about JT's leadership qualities, but at the same time, he isn't exactly at the peak of his game right now - whoever the player, whatever the team, no player should be automatically selected. Maybe now isn't the right time to think of dropping JT, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't or shouldn't happen in the future.

Agree Lofty. You would also hope that Scolari is having a friendly word behind the scenes to help JT regain his top form and shake off the range of injuries he's had in the last 2 years. I'm not against dropping him IF he played really poorly for a lengthy spell, but he's nowhere near that bad yet, and top coaches presumably have a range of 'motivating' techniques at their disposal that aren't as harsh as dropping the player.

We are very lucky at CB though that's for sure.

On top form, he's our best defender and first name on the team sheet bar none. As good as Ricky C is these days, that's still the case in my opinion.

And when he's not on top form, the motivation, leadership and sense of confidence that he provides flows through the whole team - which more than justifies his place in the starting XI even if he's personally not at the top of his game.

Honestly, given his role at the club, his form would really have to be pretty dire for Scolari to consider dropping him.

Whatever slight gain you created in playing a top-form Alex or Ivanovic, you would lose in the loss of his personality on the pitch, which counts for a lot more than his personal performance.

The likes of Alex and Ivanovic are very good defenders - that's pretty clear. But if we are 1-0 down in an important match with 10 minutes to go, I want JT on the pitch - simple as that.

I agree we have great cover at CB and we wouldn't miss JT as greatly as we did if he were to be rested for any reason,

we would though miss his comanding leadership and I for 1 would give that the edge espessially in big games, what a nice position to be in though as it once filled me with gloom if I even imagined JT would miss a game.

It sometimes seems to make players better to wear the armband and JT is one of these players, I am not sure who else would fit the bill although Ballack did play well when he was captain on a couple of occasions if I remember rightly.

I dont think JT has had a bad season so far, maybe looks a bit slower on occasion but unless he is carrying a knock I think the manager will do best keeping him in the team and bringing him back to his best where he although not technically as good as Riccy he is certainly more important to the team.

cant afford to carry anyone. Question is whether Terry's qualities as leader outweigh any possible playing deficiences. Someone like Torres will expose any lack of pace or skill pretty quickly. On the otherhand someone like Ray Illingsworth, or Mike Brearley shows that there is a role for leaders who don't justify their position on ability.

Ballack as captain of germany certainly knows how to run a team. I like seeing Terry in the team but I hope his form justifys it.

Has JT been playing that badly this season? I believe his leadership skill is essenitial to to our success, and he hasn't been playing that badly this season. I thik it is a bit harsh to say he is out of form right now.

We're blessed with four top quality centre-backs but for me the first-choice pairing always has to be Riccy and JT.. I think Carvalho is the best centre-back in the Premiership by far and him and JT have established such a quality partnership over the last few years.. JT's play at all costs mentality is terrific but i think that's the reason he's struggling a little bit at the moment, his injuries aren't ever fully healing because he's rushing himself back all the time

Has JT been playing that badly this season?

Not really.

He's been slightly below par in my opinon, but nowhere near bad enough to even consider dropping him. I can't remember any of these incidents which people are picking out actually leading to goals scored against us.

We've only conceded three goals this season - and I can't remember JT being directly resposible for any of them.

I think that the unfortunate thing with players like JT (and Lamps last season) is that when we have seen how good they are at the top of their game, if they are slightly off form they get castigated.

The thing is though, the contribution made by a slightly off-form Terry or Lampard is still a very big contribution. In fact, it is still a bigger contribution than what Alex or Ivanovic could contribute - and that is no slur against either of them. I rate both of them pretty highly, they are both top defenders. But JT is in a different class.

forget form and the rest there is no way in hell JT could or should ever be dropped from the team. we are certainly blessed with some great defenders but come on people this is JT here the fella would run through a wall for us, the man who said i am and will always be chelsea. never ever could i consider a chelsea team without him the guy is a complete legend :D :D