LONDON, Jan 3, (AFP): Chelsea captain John Terry has insisted manager Andre Villas-Boas has his complete support amidst reports the England skipper was one of several senior players to have fallen out with the Portuguese boss.
Villas-Boas’s reputation as one of the best young managers in football has taken something of a battering since his pre-season arrival at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea having already lost four Premier League matches so far this term to leave their title hopes hanging by a thread.
But the 34-year-old’s team — eight points behind leaders Manchester City and Manchester United — did enjoy a morale-boosting 2-1 win away to strugglers Wolves on Monday. But reports of a split between Terry and Villas-Boas intensified when the central defender failed to join the goal celebrations with his manager and the rest of the team when Ramires fired the visitors into a 1-0 lead at Molineux. However, Terry was adamant there was nothing untoward in his behaviour.
“I want to make it clear I’m 100 percent behind the manager,” Terry told Tuesday’s London Evening Standard. “There are no problems behind the scenes.
“The manager has made it clear the players who want to stay here will be here and the ones who don’t can move on.
“I have seen on the news today that people are saying I didn’t celebrate with the manager for the first goal against Wolves but I did.
“I ran over there and I was worried that Wolves were about to restart and take the kick-off and catch us on the break while we were celebrating. I had a quick celebration with him then after the game as well.”
Terry, whose own reputation has been under intense scrutiny after British prosecutors announced last month he would face criminal charges over allegations he’d racially abused QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, said talk of a divided camp was no surprise given Chelsea’s run of one win in their last five league games.
Meanwhile, Queens Park Rangers are to appeal against the red card captain Joey Barton received when he was sent off in Monday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at home to Norwich, the club said Tuesday.
“QPR have formally lodged an appeal to the Football Association following Joey Barton’s sending off against Norwich...The club will be making no further comment,” said a brief statement from the west London side.
Barton, who gave Rangers an early lead at Loftus Road, was sent off in the 36th minute following a tussle with Bradley Johnson that ended with him apparently headbutting the Norwich midfielder.
But after the match Barton, who faces a three-game ban, said officials had been “conned” into showing him a red card.
The midfielder was sent off for the fifth time in his career during a stormy encounter between the two Premier League newboys.
Johnson hit the turf clutching his face as he squared up to Barton, but the QPR midfielder insisted officials had been duped into sending him off.
“Well feel for the officials, they’ve been conned. Admitted to me at HT they never saw it. I was pulled back 1st, then kicked 2nd!,” Barton wrote on Twitter shortly after the final whistle.
“Linesman definitely never saw it, all he seen was Johnsons reaction. My head dosent move forward at all. Ridiculous decision seen 25 replays.
“I’d be 1st to apologise if I’d reacted. Cannot apologise as I know I’ve not head butted anyone. Disappointed for the lads and the fans.
QPR manager Neil Warnock said he believed officials had been conned by Johnson.