John Terry should be given the chance to manage Chelsea next on a permanent basis.
He’s a leader of the club, he knows everything about them and although there haven’t been many examples in the past, some players have gone straight into management at a high level.
Kenny Dalglish did it as a player-manager, although I don’t think John should do it that way. Pep Guardiola did it at Barcelona after a year with their ‘B’ side.
Didier Drogba potentially coming in as a coach shows that Roman Abramovich recognises the importance of inside knowledge. John has that in abundance. He might need a few people around him, even Guus Hiddink as an adviser.
As for now, Guus can’t lose. He has a fantastic group of players and the only way is up. They could still go on a run and finish in the top four. Guus can get them through to the end of the season — and then why not give John a crack?
Burnett is well worth a second look
I was really sorry to see Wayne Burnett (below) leave Dagenham and Redbridge this week and I hope he doesn’t become another young coach lost in the system.
He had a difficult job there — what can you really do when they have to sell so many players? But he is a very talented young coach with an excellent football brain. Somebody from one of the bigger clubs should take him on as a coach. I’m sure he’ll bounce back eventually, just as I hope John Still does after he was sacked by Luton.
He has been a fantastic manager over the years and if I ever wanted to ask anyone about lower level football, John was the first guy I would call. He was an encyclopaedia for players at smaller clubs, plucking them from nowhere and selling them on. Both John and Wayne deserve better.
