He was wide open to caricature from on high. Right, I’m off to get my quiff ironed and my eyebrows threaded. But last week Savage shifted the ground, altered the rules of engagement, hit him square on the chin with the purity of his thought, and left Terry with nowhere to go other than to retreat into the lingua franca of the dressing room and declare his dad bigger than Robbie’s. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. "For me, John Terry's ­substitution at half-time in Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City was not manager Jose Mourinho sending a coded message to owner Roman Abramovich that he needs to sign new players. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Set up Ramires’ opener with a superb cross that came after he had outrun Milner. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming. May feel he could have done more to keep out Ramires’ opener but dealt with the rest of his tests well. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. Last updated 2:34 PM, Wednesday April 08 2020 GMT+1. "You take it as a footballer, as an individual. The narcissism, machismo, football philosophy, the get-stuck-in mentality, the finesse deficit in touch and argument, all these things I find disagreeable. The likes of Rio [Ferdinand], Carra [Jamie Carragher], [Gary] Neville, the very best that I've seen and come across in the game. You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Like Skrtel, the centre-back used his physical presence to shackle Costa throughout the game. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. On myriad grounds our Robbie is anathema to the way I see the world. Read more Was Chelsea captain Terry harsh on Savage? John Terry was a no nonsense defender during his playing career and he didn't have time for any nonsense from certain pundits either. Robbie Savage thanked John Terry after the Chelsea captain said he was not willing to take criticism from the former Wales midfielder because he had played "at a really bad level". Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? When John Terry Brutally Hit Back At Robbie Savage's Punditry Ryan Sidle in Football Last updated 14:34, Wednesday 08 April 2020 BST John Terry … Looked frustrated by not being able to control the game in the first half and found himself escaping a yellow although he eventually got one for pulling back Willian. Savage is not alone in this, and in one surprising exchange that gave me pause he engaged me on this point via Twitter. If his argument is sound, then let its force carry the day. Going beyond his experience and his competence cannot have been easy. Scored both of Liverpool’s goals –the first after weaving his way into space and getting past Ramires to net a brilliant solo effort before then scoring the winner in the 73rd minute. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. I’m afraid I did a Terry, dismissing a view he advanced with some hauteur, never expecting to be picked up on it. But this campaign Chelsea have been terrible and are struggling in 15th place with just 11 points from 11 matches, while their league-best defence of last season has crumbled. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? I suddenly felt a degree of admiration for a bloke who was stretching himself in the pundit’s role and masking inadequacies the only way he knew, by falling back on the crude dressing-room code of merciless piss-taking. "I’ve come under criticism, individually, from certain players and individuals, players I’ve looked up to, played alongside," Terry said in a press conference ahead of facing Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday night. In this “show-us-your-medals” arena Terry simply has the bigger guns. Robbie Savage: John Terry entitled to his opinion – shame he thinks others can't express theirs In the Chelsea man's view, 99 per cent of the football industry must … You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Defended well at right-back and was one of Liverpool’s best players on the pitch. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? It probably puts Savage in history’s highest football percentile, and way closer to Terry than he is to the rest of us. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Helped provide cover for Chelsea’s defence in the first half, but was later brought off after picking up a yellow card. Made several fine stops to deny Liverpool but couldn’t prevent Coutinho’s superb effort from squeezing past him just before the break. John Terry has hit back at Robbie Savage’s criticism of his form for … His point was genuine and reasonably made, and exposed my prejudice in writing him off as some ex-player ploughing the niche D-list route to minor cult status without the capacity to see the nuances in the game. Savage defaulted to the traditional British position, claiming that Team A, in order to gain a foothold in one particular encounter, needed to put themselves about more, let the opposition know they were in a game. The former Chelsea centre back had an incredible career, making 717 appearances for the Blues and helping the club win five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups and the Champions League. Which all seems pretty complementary and fair enough. Robbie Savage’s fashion sense makes him an easy target for football snobs, Savage is entitled to his view, and Terry wrong to try to belittle him. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. And, by making his feelings about Savage the grounds on which to dismiss his opinion, Terry was guilty of rank snobbery. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Was Liverpool’s star man. When players have not had a career, have played at a really bad level throughout their career and come for people who have achieved what I have achieved in the game.". "Terry will be 35 in December, and age is finally catching up with him. Within seconds of coming on, he threatened to score but hit his shot into the side netting. I was struck by the humility in his tone. Savage challenged my representation of what he had said and then asked me how I thought he might do better, if indeed I was right about the poor quality of his observations. And one of the best to play the game was very specific with who he'd allow to criticise him. Elitism in football is as ugly as it is in society. Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. 07.19 EST Chelsea’s John Terry hits back at criticism from Robbie Savage. Opinion counts, not the attributes of the person delivering it. But this is to enter Terry’s orbit. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Back in 2015 he went pretty brutal in defending himself and criticising pundit Robbie Savage for not winning any trophies. But the second half saw him struggle to replicate his first-half showing with Liverpool pressing well. Sorry, Robbie, only joking! Savage will never be to my taste, but that does not make him my inferior, or Terry’s, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Was controlled by Skrtel and Sakho throughout the game and rarely proved a threat for the home side. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Received a yellow for a challenge on Mikel, but the Brazilian worked tirelessly in the middle of the park to snuff out attacks and try and create some for the visitors. "I sit there and listen and take everything in and try and prove that. There is no shame in that. So here I am on the same side of the couch as Savage, which is awkward since I find his laddish posturing massively irritating. The Chelsea captain was back to his best against the Reds with some solid defending in the first half, but then let himself down when he didn’t do enough to stop Coutinho from his getting his shot at goal before allowing Benteke the space and time to fire in Liverpool’s third goal. Had his work cut out with Clyne regularly pushing forwards but defended well enough. I don’t recall the match or the detail of my high-handed putdown, but I do remember being moved by his response to my Twitter insult. Should have done more to stop Azpilicueta from getting past him and setting up Ramires for the opening goal, but he grew into the game and began giving Chelsea problems with his forays forwards.