Terrible times for Terry: Never tell England's driving force to "break a leg"

IT'S not been a great year for John Terry, the Chelsea captain who saw his side crash out of the Champions League against his old boss Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan last night.

Not only did he have a distinctly average game last night, leaving the pitch with a verbal volley at referee Wolfgang Stark, he also erm... ran over a Stamford Bridge security guard on the way home. I've just seen the video, lots of screaming and "oh my God's."

According to his spokesman Phil Hall on Sky Sports News: "John was surrounded by photographers and a bit of a media scrum. Some of the stewards were trying to keep people away and John drove off."

According to Hall, Terry had no idea he'd hit anyone until he got home in his Range Rover with wife Toni (she's had a bad year too, but we'll get to that later). Hall insisted: "John only found out when a pal of his called and told him. I can assure you, John Terry had absolutely no idea he had hit anyone."

So this morning, as those videos emerged of a screaming 35-year-old Chelsea employee left in the Terrys' wake, Surrey police questioned big John and breathalysed him. He was found to be under the legal limit.

You'd have thought things were bad enough for the former England captain. The 29-year-old, whose mother was charged for shop-lifting with his mother-in-law (both called Sue) and whose father was filmed peddling drugs by the News of the World last year, was in trouble earlier this year when he tried to hush-up an affair with Vanessa Perroncel.

She was the mother of his old team-mate Wayne Bridge's son. She and Toni, mother of father-of-the-year John's twins, used to be quite close. They were near-neighbours in plush Oxshott in Surrey.

Sadly for John, a judge overturned his attempted "super injunction", Bridge was furious, Terry was forced to miss a game to placate his wife in Dubai and England boss Fabio Capello stripped him of the captaincy.

The latest incident hardly helps calm the big fella as Chelsea push for the Premier League and FA Cup double - their Champions League bid was ruined by last night's 1-0 defeat against Inter - and the World Cup campaign in June.

England's driving force may have to be a little bit more careful in future. Question is: can he keep on performing at the top level under all this pressure?

John Terry will miss the FA Cup fifth round - to spend Valentine's Day with the Missus. And a good thing too.

JOHN TERRY will miss Chelsea's FA Cup fifth round clash against Cardiff on February 13 - so he can spend Valentine's Day with his wife Toni.

Toni and her three-year-old twins are in Dubai - they flew off when news broke of the England captain's affair with Vanessa Peroncel, the former partner of England squad member Wayne Bridge, who left Chelsea for Manchester City last year.
Chelsea have said from the start they would support their captain through the current turmoil and allowing him to miss the Cardiff clash.

Tonight played at the KC Stadium, and was booked in the 1-1 draw against Hull, having scored the winner against Burnley over the weekend despite the furore going on around him.

And I've been at Sky News, watching the game on a live feed, having already been on once talking about his future as England captain. I'm about to go on again at 10.45pm with a recorded piece for Sunrise in the morning. I'm backing the man, who played well again last night. He has to remain our nation's footballing leader, despite his failings.

Initially I was sceptical. Now, having read what the average fans and readers of this blog think - not to mention my own 13-year-old Charlie - I've come the full circle.

Forget what the moralists are saying. Keep Terry in charge. His potential replacements as captain, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, all have various skeletons in their cupboards.

All footballers think they're above the law, above morality. We've made them like that. It's the modern world. As I just said on Sky, the Royal Family, Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods have all been there, done that.

Sure, Terry ended up doing it with his former team-mate, but Bridge is by no means a vital part of the World Cup squad. And his partner Vanessa, mother of his child and former best friend of the Terrys, is hardly covering herself in glory either.

The woman who allegedly aborted Terry's love child has now turned to Max Clifford for help with her publicity - and the bidding is ongoing. Not exactly saintly, but that nice Mr Clifford says his client, a lingerie model, is "upset" by thoughts of how Terry's wife and her former partner Bridge might be feeling following the reports of the affair.

I bet she is. In truth, it's the other names on Vanessa's list of conquests (another Premier League star is sweating heavily, according to the Mirror) which Max will be looking to maximise. Best John and Toni have a good Valentine's Day and Ms Perroncel - who apparently met with Bridge today - can spill the beans without too much damage. Then we can concentrate on the World Cup... and the Terrys can concentrate on their twins.

Terry's major problem could be Capello's religious views. The Italian, 69, is quoted as saying: "I'm very Catholic and I am not all in favour of the current law on abortion.
"I like the Pope, the Church needs a traditionalist turn.
"I am someone who prays twice a day, in the morning and evening, wherever I find myself."

The story they've finally allowed us to print: John Terry: The full and awful truth

ENGLAND captain John Terry will have his life turned upside down this weekend after an injunction preventing allegations of an affair were lifted today.

Tomorrow I am tasked with appearing on Sky News to debate the morals on press freedom versus privacy at 9.10am. Even when we're talking footballers, it’s not an easy topic.

Terry, who has already seen his father Ted publicly accused of drug peddling and his mother Sue revealed as a shop-lifter, now faces accusations of an affair with a former team-mate’s partner.

According to most sources – including tomorrow’s Mirror, Sun, Daily Mail and Telegraph - the story involves his England team-mate Wayne Bridge’s long-term partner, French actress and model, Vanessa Perronce. Bridge was at Chelsea with Terry before he moved to Manchester City last year in a £14m deal.

Terry successfully prevented last Sunday’s News of the World from publishing details and photographs but today Mr Justice Tugendhat overturned that interim ruling, insisting the information was in "wide circulation amongst those involved in the sport in question, including agents and others, and not just amongst those directly engaged in the sport".

The judge added: "Freedom to live as one chooses is one of the most valuable freedoms, but so is the freedom to criticise".

News of the World legal manager Tom Crone welcomed the decision as "a long overdue breath of fresh air and common sense" and insisted: "Over recent years, there has been more prior restraint on freedom of speech in Britain than in any other democratic country in the world.

"Gagging orders like the one sought by John Terry have been granted to numerous other Premier League footballers and assorted celebrities."

But Chelsea responded: "This is a personal matter for John Terry. The club will give John and his family all the support they need in dealing with it."

Terry, 29, married childhood sweetheart Toni Poole in 2007 (see picture) and is the father of twins. He is expected to captain England at this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa. But according to websites, Terry’s actions have seen team-mate Bridge, also expected to be in the World Cup squad, to question his international future. He has won 36 caps for England. Bridge and Perronce had a son, Jaydon, in November 2006 but split last month.

Tonight the Mirror columnist Oliver Holt has already called for Terry to remain as England captain, suggesting only his performances on the field really matter. I beg to differ, as I will point out on Sky News tomorrow. To read the fully gory details, simply googe “John Terry Wayne Bridge abortion”. It’s not pleasant.