sport news John Terry's critics after his Chelsea flight revelations are WRONG... this is ... trends now

John Terry has always been someone who divides opinion – as my interview with the former Chelsea captain last week proved.

I sat down with Terry for my podcast to reflect on his career but it was one episode in our conversation that seemed to cause the biggest stir, certainly on social media.

Terry revealed a story about Andre Villas-Boas’s first pre-season at Stamford Bridge and his decision to allow young players to fly first class to Hong Kong while more established stars were stuck back in economy.

He recounted how he made it clear to Chelsea’s new manager that if the situation was not rectified then the plane would not be taking off.

Terry, a player I had great admiration for, was subsequently criticised by the judge and jury on social media for undermining the Chelsea manager.

I have a different take on it. Now as a former owner, I’d always advocate for my manager to be my champion but if you’re going to pick a fight with players, you need to win it, otherwise don’t pick it.

Villas-Boas picked a fight with players but seemingly had no sense behind it. If you do something without substance, people lose faith and respect for you. You’re not dealing with children, you’re dealing with highly-paid, professional footballers. You need to know when to pick a fight, what the fight looks like and what the outcome will be, win or lose.

You need your manager to be mature enough to know which fights to pick so players know who’s boss. Of course I would have told the players to do as they’re told in future but would have also questioned what on earth the manager was playing at. You’re making me intercept a situation and put me in a position I don’t want to be all because you’ve engineered a confrontation you can’t win – or are not prepared to win. A good fight is one you win, not one you put up.

So, my bigger disappointment would undoubtedly have been with the manager, not the players. What a stupid thing it was to do and something that would make me question whether he was worthy of the responsibility as manager because he didn’t know when to wield it.

I obviously wouldn’t want a culture at my club where players are getting ahead of themselves but when the manager displays these traits you’ve got a bigger problem because he doesn’t have the wherewithal or judgement to affect outcomes.

Whatever people’s opinions of Terry, it was the manager who looked like a fool in this episode.

I have a different take on it. Now as a former owner, I'd always advocate for my manager to be my champion but if you're going to pick a fight with players, you need to win it, otherwise don't pick it.

Villas-Boas picked a fight with players but seemingly had no sense behind it. If you do something without substance, people lose faith and respect for you. You're not dealing with children, you're dealing with highly-paid, professional footballers. You need to know when to pick a fight, what the fight looks like and what the outcome will be, win or lose.

You need your manager to be mature enough to know which fights to pick so players know who's boss. Of course I would have told the players to do as they're told in future but would have also questioned what on earth the manager was playing at. You're making me intercept a situation and put me in a position I don't want to be all because you've engineered a confrontation you can't win – or are not prepared to win. A good fight isn't one you turn up to, it's one you win.

So, my bigger disappointment would undoubtedly have been with the manager, not the players. What a stupid thing it was to do and something that would make me question whether he was worthy of the responsibility as manager because he didn't know when to wield it.

I obviously wouldn't want a culture at my club where players are getting ahead of themselves but when the manager displays these traits you've got a bigger problem because he doesn't have the wherewithal or judgement to affect outcomes.

Whatever people's opinions of Terry, it was the manager who looked like a fool in this episode.

Ange's Spurs can learn from Arteta's Arsenal 

Ange Postecoglou has given Tottenham fans something that has been missing for a few seasons – exciting, attacking and inspiring football.

The feelgood factor he has generated this season, however, will soon be extinguished if he is unable to replace that with a more accomplished, mature approach.

The goodwill and magnificent support he has received from supporters will pivot at some point into: ok, now we need to win.

This is the reality for all managers and Postecoglou will be no different.