John Terry has criticised Chelsea's owners for not putting him in temporary charge of the club following the sackings of Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior. Chelsea turned to U21 boss Calum McFarlane after Maresca left Stamford Bridge in January and again after Rosenior was axed in April.
McFarlane only had two games in charge after replacing Maresca in January, although he did oversee a spirited draw against Premier League title contenders Manchester City. His spell in charge following Rosenior's sacking was longer and included four league games as well as an FA Cup final, which Chelsea lost 1-0 to Man City.
Terry: 'No one more qualified'
Chelsea legend Terry was surprised the club did not turn to him after the managerial changes, insisting there was 'no one more qualified' to perform the role. Terry is one of Chelsea's greatest ever players, having made over 700 appearances for the club and winning five Premier League titles, the Champions League and eight domestic cups during his 19-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
The 45-year-old former England defender has had coaching roles at Aston Villa and Leicester City since hanging up his boots and been involved in Chelsea's academy since 2023.
'John, let me ask you a difficult question,' TV broadcaster Piers Morgan said to Terry on World Cup Uncensored. 'When [Liam] Rosenior was made the manager of Chelsea, the idea that he would do a better job for Chelsea than you, with all your experience and the fact that blue blood runs through your veins, I thought that it was borderline offensive that they would choose somebody so out of his depth, so amateurish, so kind of weird over someone like you.'
Terry then responded: 'Piers, you are 100% spot on. I've never thought that I could be Chelsea manager. But when an opportunity comes up and a manager leaves, the football club and Chelsea are looking for an interim manager, there was no one in the building that was more qualified than me in terms of their qualifications. More importantly, and above all of that, whether it was for one game or two games, there was no one more Chelsea than me.'
English managers overlooked
Terry added: 'I don't think the opportunities are given to the English managers. I just don't feel we've ever been given the top managerial jobs, with top budgets at a top football club. Yeah, Frank [Lampard] was in at Chelsea, but he didn't have the budget that Jose [Mourinho] had. It was a time when we couldn't sign players.'
'Eddie Howe, before [Thomas] Tuchel got the England job, was probably favourite for the England manager's job, done very well with Newcastle but then didn't get a look in in terms of England.'
Shortly after sacking Rosenior, Chelsea appointed former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso as their new manager on a four-year contract. Alonso, who was sacked after a short spell in charge of Real Madrid in January, officially takes over at Stamford Bridge from the start of July. The Spanish football legend takes over a Chelsea side that finished just 10th in the Premier League last season, failing to qualify for any European competition.
