Terry finally decides

After a month of daily headlines, idle gossip and even accusations of tapping up, Chelsea captain John Terry this afternoon declared that he'll be staying at the club for the foreseeable future, most likely pocketing himself a nice payrise for his troubles.

The potential transfer was always a bit of a weird one, not least due to our willingness to pay the best part of £40m for a player who despite his obvious leadership abilities and experience, is pushing thirty, injury prone, and well, a centre-half. The battle of wills between the two clubs was about more than football, it was much more about both boards wanting to make a statement of intent. Terry isn't worth anything like the money talked of, either the transfer fee or the salary said to be on offer, and Chelsea could quite easily have sold him and signed someone as good for half the money, likewise we could find a player for that position for a much more sensible amount. Quite simply, we wanted to make a statement of our true arrival as a challenger to the big four, and Chelsea, despite the deal making financial sense, were eager to not be seen as a club whose best players were obtainable.

Fair play to John Terry, whether he ever had any real intentions of coming here i guess we'll never know, but it certainly suited him to keep quiet. I don't blame him at all for staying where he is, i'm sure many of us would have. He's at a club who are serious contenders for every major trophy, whereas we're in the very early stages of trying to do what they've done over the last few seasons since the arrival of their own wealthy backer. His career couldn't be going better, and next summer he should, fingers crossed, captain England to the World Cup. The move, for him, never really made sense on any sort of footballing level.

Though i object to fans of other clubs claiming players 'are only coming here for the money', in this case even the bluest Blue would have to say it probably would've been true. There is 'the project', and what we're doing is certainly exciting, but in my opinion there are a few players who would, at this point at least, be taking a step back coming here, and with Chelsea already challenging for titles, and having reached the semi-finals of the biggest trophy of them all, the European Cup, in five of the last six campaigns, i just think it was a move too far.

In the sense that we're not naive enough to think a significant increase on his deal would've been the main factor in him moving here, i hope Chelsea fans see that a player, their most high-profile player and captain, has taken the club for mugs, similarly to how, say, Rio Ferdinand did two or three summers ago, or how Adebayor did at Arsenal last year, or even Steven Gerrard regards his on/off moves to Stamford Bridge in previous summers.

Even if the player didn't want to come here, as i suspect he'd have been told to say if contract negotiations are to progress, he used interest from others to force his club into improving the terms of his deal. He was happy to sit quiet, letting the press and his own fans assume that he was considering leaving, knowing full well that he'd be getting a few more quid. Happy as Chelsea fans should be now he's staying, perhaps they should reconsider their unconditional love for key players like him, and Frank Lampard, both of whom have taken the club for a bit of a ride in recent months. Were one of our best players to have done what Terry has, though i'd still have some time for whoever involved after the years put in, i'd probably lose a little of the respect for them i'd had previously.

Anyhow, good luck to Terry, if we're not going to win the title i'd rather they did than either them lot over the road, Liverpool, or Arsenal, the latter whose fans are seemingly the most nauseous since realising we may well at some point take their place in the top four. There's a lot to not like about Chelsea, but i feel no animosity towards Terry for choosing to stay where he is. Any move was always going to have to involve him doing the dirty on his club, and whilst that would've undoubtedly have been humorous given their recent history, it would've given the numpties in the media, and those who follow other clubs, yet more fuel for their fires.

What's most important now that this protracted transfer is finally at its end, is who we sign, and when. We need to bring in at least one centre-half. Going into the new season with Richard Dunne, Micah Richards or Tal Ben Haim in the middle of defence really isn't an option if we're to significantly improve on last season's performance. Nedum Onuoha played superbly last season, and i've every faith that Vincent Kompany will serve us very well moving back from midfield, though obviously isn't matchfit at the moment. I'd like to see us add one, perhaps two Premier League defenders of proven quality. Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott or Matt Upson would do perfectly. I just hope we get them on board sooner rather than later, and so our defence can get some pre-season action under their belts and build up a good understanding ahead of the new season.