The willingness of the media to cast a judgemental eye over the activities of footballers and to invite viewers and readers to tut-tut over their personal lives is nothing new. It can be traced back to the era of George Best and the media continued to carry reports on his various problems and misfortunes long after his playing days were over. In the minds of many the image of a footballer is likely to be a flash yob with no morals and too much money – a stereotype that the media have helped to foster.
To be fair there is a lot that a footballer who signs for a major club must deal with – unfamiliar things that he may not necessarily be prepared for. Business negotiations, management deals, sponsorships, press and television interviews and being in the public eye when off the field can all be difficult things to cope with. Just ask Gazza.
Looking specifically at the John Terry situation, what effect will all the current media interest in his private life have on his ability to play as centre back for England and Chelsea?
Let’s look at England first. As soon as the newspaper story became public knowledge there was speculation about the likelihood of him losing the England armband and in fact some online betting bookmakers were offering odds on who the next England captain would be even before Capello had made his decision to relieve Terry of the captaincy public. Steven Gerrard was the hot favourite at 4/7 but as things turned out the captaincy went to Rio Ferdinand.
Of course, even before the revelations about his private life became public, Terry must have been under pressure as we now know that he had attempted – unsuccessfully – to stop the publication of reports about his private life through a High Court injunction. Being in the headlines and having his personal life placed under so much scrutiny must also have caused him a great deal of stress especially when he was playing for Chelsea. His fellow team mate, Ashley Cole had to suffer the indignity of having his private life splashed on the front pages of every red-top whilst facing the prospect of being £200,000 out of pocket courtesy of a club fine. Then there are the taunts of opposing fans (and players) with abusive chants and jeers during matches! There’s a lot to contend with for the misbehaving player.
One of the things that must worry Chelsea fans is the somewhat erratic performances Terry has given in the games he has played in since the story broke. He had a terrible game against Inter Milan and looked a shadow of the player he usually is at the Manchester City game over the weekend. The snubbed handshake from Wayne Bridge obviously didn’t help either.
It is not just the performance of the player that seems to have been affected. Just look at Chelsea’s recent results. On the Premiership front, Chelsea crashing 4-2 to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge was a huge shock and some are now wondering whether team morale has been damaged by the furore surrounding John Terry and Ashley Cole. Will it turn out to that all this will scupper Chelsea’s bid to win the Premiership?
The possible detrimental effect that negative media scrutiny seems to be having raises some interesting questions about the psychological impact of the situation on the Chelsea team. Have some players lost faith in their captain? Do some of them feel that Terry acted wrongly? Ancelotti has denied that the scandal is having any effect on his team but looking at the stats the defence seems to have been particularly affected as they have conceded eleven goals in the eight games since the Terry newspaper story broke.
There is also the effect that the situation will have on other teams facing Chelsea. After humbling Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Manchester City’s Gareth Barry is reported to have said “I think it helped to galvanise us. Saturday was a great team performance.” City did have the added incentive that Wayne Bridge was playing with them but it could mean that other teams may now feel inspired to have a real go at Chelsea when they meet them.
Will Chelsea falter in their bid to win the Premiership? Looking at the online betting activity the odds that Chelsea will become champions are now being quoted at 11/8. Are they still a good bet to win the title or could Manchester United or even their London rivals Arsenal now seize the opportunity to go top?
So far Chelsea fans have supported Terry. The question must be will they continue to do this if Chelsea fail to win the Premiership and are knocked out of the Champions League? What is certain is that Blues supporters must be appalled that off the field events seem to be affecting the team. Only time will tell what the long term implications of this have on the player, the team and the supporters.
