John Terry's Chelsea future plunged into further doubt as lack of pace costs captain again

Dismissed: Clattenburg gives Terry his marching orders
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Simon Johnson23 August 2015

As far as John Terry's season so far goes, the phrase 'when it rains, it pours' springs to mind.

The heavens opened throughout this exciting clash at the Hawthorns and certainly summed up the miserable time the Chelsea captain is having at the moment.

For a second Sunday in a row, his afternoon ended prematurely. Last week at Manchester City, it was because manager Jose Mourinho subbed him at half time.

Now it was the referee's turn, with Mark Clattenburg showing him a red after he lost a foot race with Salomon Rondon and knocked him down.

The touch was light, but as the last man, Clattenburg deemed it a professional foul and ordered the veteran off.

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Not that the 34-year-old was prepared to accept it, at first arguing with the match official and then slowly taking off his shin pads, before trudging off the pitch.

Mourinho admitted last week that he made the move for tactical reasons because of Terry's lack of pace and it certainly cost him here.

With Chelsea looking to make a fourth bid for John Stones this week, it will make people question his long-term future even more.

The strange thing is like last week, he was actually one of Chelsea's better performers defensively, not that that is saying very much.

Mourinho's men, who haven't kept a clean sheet since returning to pre-season, were woeful at the back throughout.

They should have trailed within 14 minutes, but Thibaut Courtois came to Nemanja Matic's rescue, after he'd needlessly felled Callum McManaman, by saving James Morrison's penalty.

But the home side were able to create chances at a whim, with Morrison making amends with neat finishes in both halfs.

Good thing for Chelsea though, West Brom weren't any better at the back themselves and Mourinho's men, with debutant Pedro is fine form, took full advantage.

Goals in the first half from Pedro, Diego Costa and Cesar Azpilicueta were enough to secure their first League win and relieve some of the pressure.

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