By 
The impact that John Terry can have in his coaching role at Aston Villa has increased tenfold since the clubs return to the Premier League.
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As Aston Villa strive to establish themselves in their inaugural season back in the Premier League, we examine why John Terry’s immaculate pedigree and an extensive bank of experience in the top tier of English football will be so important to the club in the top flight this season.
John George Terry began his football playing days for Sunday league team Senrab on the famous Hackney Marshes which have spurred many a famous player over years, Sol Campbell, Jermaine Defoe, Bobby Zamora, Ledley King and ex Aston Villa defender, the late Jlloyd Samuel to name but a few. It was a tough place to play football, but it set Terry up for a remarkable career in the professional game.
In 1991 at 14 years of age, he joined the youth set-up at West Ham as a midfield player before moving to Chelsea four years later. Terry made his Chelsea debut on 28 October 1998 as a late substitute in a League Cup tie against Aston Villa. Incredibly he went on to amass over 700 appearances in all competitions for the ‘Blues’ becoming the highest-scoring defender in their history along the way with 67 goals to his credit.
In those 19 years with Chelsea, Terry won an amazing 15 major trophies including five Premier League titles and 4 FA Cup winners medals. He crowned it all by lifting the UEFA Champions League in the 2011-2012 season for Chelsea, for the first time in their history. Along the way, he achieved a ‘not too shabby’ 78 caps for England scoring 6 goals for the National Team in the process. His personal tally of individual player of the year trophies both at home and in Europe are far too many to mention and underlines the true meaning of a modern-day football legend.
After his long marriage to Chelsea Football Club, his ‘love affair’ with Aston Villa began in the summer of 2017 when he joined the club as a player and despite suffering a midseason foot injury, he made 32 appearances scoring one goal, as he helped to lead Villa to the ill-fated play-off final against Fulham at Wembley in May 2018. The Villa faithful were delighted when he returned to join Dean Smith’s senior team as an Assistant Manager in October 2018.
To have a player of John Terry’s stature in the football club is a massive coup in itself, but his guidance and influence over the players out on the training pitch are priceless. When a character of Terry’s standing works with players, the result can only be positive. Central defenders like Mings, Konsa, Engels and Hause are now fortunate enough to work with him every day and it will help these young players to develop quickly in the ruthless world of the Premier League, as the club works to establish its position in the most competitive league in world football.
However, where John Terry’s contribution moves into the ‘files’ marked ‘Immeasurable’ and ‘Unequalled’, is when you consider the depth and breadth of experience that he has gained playing against the best teams in England and Europe for 20 years at the highest possible level. The tips, advice and knowledge he can impart to our players just simply cannot be bought at any price.
In fact, Belgian outlet HLN have today released a piece stating how John Terry is providing ‘everything that Engels needs‘; with the defender stating that Terry is ‘the best mentor I could work with’ and that he ‘shares his experiences and tips’ whilst being ‘very down to earth’.
As Aston Villa start to accumulate points and climb up the Premier League table to safety and beyond, the influence, support and ‘fatherly’ advice coming from the ‘Daddy’ of all defenders, John George Terry will have had a large part to play.
