So footy’s worst kept secret has happened then and we welcome John Terry to the Villa squad.
Tony Xia has been up to his usual tricks and posted it on Twitter, which I’m not convinced is the best way to go about it, but it does seem to be popular with the fans, so I’m not complaining.
It’s an interesting signing, if not mostly because if the rumoured £4-5 million (including promotion bonuses) is true, we’ve shattered our wage structure, in going from a previous cap of around £56k a week to nearer £100k.
That’s massive money for any player, let alone a Championship player, although it could easily be said that Terry is still easily good enough for the Premier league.
I feel quite good about this signing, as it’s a massive coup, when you consider the likes of Swansea, Bournemouth and I believe WBA were interested in him too.
But his signing is also quite a big gamble, in my opinion.
His leadership and authority in the game are beyond question and I’m sure he’ll offer both to the team/squad, but my bigger concern is more about his actual ability to play.
Will he be able to cope with the rigours of Championship football?
Steve Bruce must think he’s up to it (or maybe he plans to use him selectively?) and it seems the player has been keeping himself fit, having undergone fitness sessions even while he was on holiday. You can’t say he isn’t committed to looking after himself, but will that committment carry over to Aston Villa?
You have to think or at least hope that it will and Terry certainly seems to be the type that puts everything into his job.
The player is questionable in other areas outside of football, but I’m going to concentrate more on what he can actually bring to us, which is a fair amount.
Hence I look forward to him leading us on a charge, which will ultimately see us get promoted.
If that happens he’ll have been worth every penny and I won’t begrudge him any of it.
But if it goes boobs up, it’ll just be the latest in a long list of desperately poor signings on big money.
One little thing that’s been bugging me in this saga.
What’s that rubbish about, where apparently the player didn’t want to have to face Chelsea?
Surely he could have just had a clause put in his contract, where he didn’t play against them?
Oh well, no matter.
In short, welcome, John Terry!