A loyal Chelsea supporter as well as an icon on the pitch, John Terry did not take kindly to a claim made by Jamie O’Hara about Tottenham.
Cut JT open, and he bleeds blue.
Since leaving Stamford Bridge eight years ago, he has remained a die-hard fan and an authoritative voice on all things Chelsea. Terry even wants to be Chelsea manager one day.
Ahead of the weekend’s trip to Tottenham, some rather absurd claims were made by a former Spurs player, and the former Chelsea captain wasn’t having any of it.
His response was as factual as it was savage, maybe even brutal enough to throw some at the London Stadium off their game on Saturday.
Chelsea's English defender John Terry poses with the English Premier League trophy, as players celebrate their league title win
Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images
John Terry rips into Tottenham after absurd Jamie O’Hara claim
It all started when O’Hara was previewing the latest round of Premier League action.
The London derby between Spurs and Chelsea is the big-ticket fixture, and the flames of rivalry didn’t need stoking. But stoke them he would.
Appearing on talkSPORT, O’Hara bullishly claimed: “Spurs globally are bigger than Chelsea, they are. We’ve got a rich history. Arsenal, for me, and I hate to say it, but Arsenal are probably the biggest club in London. Internationally, Arsenal, with the history they’ve got, with the Premier League era.
“Chelsea, they’re big because of Roman Abramovich. They’re big because they brought big players in and they’ve become a big club. Tottenham, globally, are a bigger club than Chelsea.”
Yeah, that’s ridiculous. A comment that merits a cutting response. Luckily, Terry caught wind of the claim.
Sending a voice message into the studio, he said: “What on earth is he on about this morning, O’Hara?
“Even using those two words together, Spurs and globally, should never be in the same sentence ever, ever again. Mate, they’re still doing their pre-season tours around North London. Absolutely ridiculous.”
Correct. But Terry didn’t stop there.
He continues: “I’ve been invited to the game by Tottenham at the weekend. So it’s a 5.30 kick-off. They’ve asked me to get there at 5.29 and they said they’ll take me round the trophy cabinet and they’ll have me in my seat by kick-off. That’s how miles off it they are, mate.”
Ruthless.
Extra bragging rights up for grabs at the London Stadium
Terry and O’Hara won’t be on the pitch on Saturday, but you would be foolish to think word of this exchange hasn’t reached both dressing rooms.
Both sides will feel they need to back their side of the argument, and it could add that little bit of extra bite to the affair.
On the footballing side, it should be a good game. Alan Shearer is predicting a draw between Chelsea and Spurs, but one thing we’re not going to get from these two is a 0-0 draw.
That last happened in 2020, but since then it’s been all Chelsea, winning all but two of the eleven following meetings.
Let’s see if that continues on Saturday.