Here is the article from The Times from Tony Evans:
Why John Terry should win player of the year — but won’t
Against the backdrop of Loftus Road, it is hard to see John Terry as anything other than despicable. Even more than his missed penalty in the Champions League final against Manchester United in Moscow, this patch of west London witnessed the nadir of his career.
There, against Queens Park Rangers four years ago, he shouted a racist phrase at Anton Ferdinand. It is never quite a return to the scene of a crime for the Chelsea captain because Westminster magistrates’ court ruled that the exchange was not criminal. The FA, with a lower burden of proof, found Terry guilty of racist abuse, banned him for four games and fined him £220,000.
The evidence yesterday was that he should be the primary candidate for the player of the year awards. This season, the 34-year-old has been magnificent. In the heat of a derby, with the home fans hurling abuse and his own supporters singing his praises, he was the centre of attention. His composure never faltered. He seems oblivious to the baggage he carries and the level of invective it generates away from Stamford Bridge.
Others would struggle to cope. Terry never seems to have difficulty with it. This knack would be admirable in a man it was possible to admire. It would be wrong to dismiss his impact on the pitch, though.
More than any other area of the pitch, the centre of defence appeared to be the place where Chelsea’s manpower was lacking. José Mourinho complained about being short-handed up front, but his squad is one experienced central defender short. It would not have taken too many injuries and suspensions to cause a crisis in the rearguard.
Only Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Eden Hazard have played in every league game this season. Hazard gets all the attention and will probably win the end-of-season awards, but Chelsea would have won the league without the Belgium forward. They would not have won it without Terry.
Chelsea played what looked like a dangerously high line yesterday. Even though QPR are not the quickest up front, it still left plenty of space for Charlie Austin and Bobby Zamora to run into. Terry could have been exposed, but the defender’s anticipation and use of space compensate for any lack of pace.
His impact is not confined to tackles and blocks. All the best central defenders are talkers and Terry chatters away, cajoling, chiding, instructing and encouraging those around him. It is too bad that the most memorable words of his career were a racist insult.
Much about the Chelsea captain is objectionable. It would be hard to argue against the Football Writers’ Association’s “precept and example” objections to Terry winning their award, but Luis Suárez, last season’s recipient, fatally undermined the idea that character comes into consideration. Those who voted for the Uruguay forward would be hypocritical to cite Terry’s equally repugnant transgressions to deprive him of consideration for the award.
He will not win, though. Morality will not come into it. Hazard, with his dribbles and feints, will get many more votes. Harry Kane, too. Attackers dominate both the Professional Footballers’ Association award and the writers’ prizes. Terry got the votes of the players in 2005 — when his rap sheet was relatively short — but before that you have to go back to 1993, when Paul McGrath topped the poll, for another defender.
For the writers, a defensive winner is still deeper in the mists of time, with Steve Nicol handed the statue in 1989. Even then, the Scot caught the eye as much for his deployment as a midfield marauder as his adaptability across the back four.
Terry has been the best player in the Premier League this season, the one with the most influence on a team heading for the title, but it is a good thing that he will lose out when the individual prizes are decided. At least then we could convince ourselves that Suárez was an aberration.
He might reflect, however, that had he been a forward, he could have behaved like a scumbag and still cleaned up in the awards season.
