There's no doubt John Terry's an excellent captain and leader both on and off the pitch. Not only does he still set an example for the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta and many others in training despite being relegated to third choice, when he does get a chance to play, he makes sure to take upon himself some of the burden and flak that's been squarely and solely aimed at only Branislav Ivanovic up to this point. Even Gary Cahill jumped in in this regard, following EBJT's lead. What a man, that JT! What. A. Man.
Jokes and defensive shambles aside, Terry's supposed brewing feud with the manager dominated pre-match headlines, and given that the next match isn't for another two weeks, those headlines are sure to continue after yesterday's terrible performance. Mourinho's direct challenge to the board could also be interpreted as a challenge to move past player power (which has been associated with the 'Old Guard' for many, many years now) and put the club (and by extension, Mourinho) first.
But if we are to take the protagonists at their words, the dressing room still seems like a place of trust and belief. Not much confidence, but also no real crisis. Not yet anyway. So let's hope JT is correct, on all counts.
"We are not in the familiar position we are normally in. We find ourselves in it and it is down to the group of players and the manager to get ourselves out of it and we must do that very soon."
"Generally I think we are looking low on confidence but we have a big group of players in that dressing room and we need to stand up, which we will do. There is no difference from last season We need to be hungry like we were. Like many teams find, it is difficult to come back after winning the Premier League, we have seen it with Man City. We are suffering a bit of late but we have big characters in the dressing room and we will remain together along with the manager and get ourselves out of this."
"Once you can get one win you build on that. We must win at home to Aston Villa after the international break, which is maybe a good opportunity for players to go away and clear their heads and come back after that and really kick on, because we need to start winning football matches."
"We have a big group of players and we have the best manager who we remain behind and we remain together. That is what you do in tough circumstances. I have been here a long time and I have seen managers come and go and if anyone is going to get us out of this hole it is going to be Jose Mourinho."
"And the players will remain together and fight, and keep fighting for the supporters because they were excellent on Saturday."
John Terry; source: Chelsea FC