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PAT NEVIN: IF ANYONE CAN COPE IT IS TERRY

With another season behind us, and one that almost brought the biggest trophy in the club's history, Pat Nevin takes a professional look at Moscow's outcome and what a certain kick will mean to our captain.

/noticias.info/ So another quiet season for Chelsea Football Club slips almost unnoticed into the annals of history?or maybe not.

You can paint this one any way you like, two cup finals and just missing out on the league championship on the last day or a trophy count at precisely zero.

Of course we were just one penalty kick away from the best season in the club's history, the width of a post from glory or a small slip from sensation.

The disappointment was huge at that moment but there is little to be gained from dwelling on it, though JT may find that difficult during the close season.

In a perverse way it is maybe best that it was the skipper who missed that chance as opposed to anyone else. That sort of thing can destroy a lesser mortal, it can certainly taint an entire career, but if anyone can cope with the devastation it is Terry.

In Britain certain players are remembered for penalty misses even if they had fantastic careers.

I watched Chris Waddle having many fantastic games and what a skilful player, but ask most of his countrymen to sum up his career in a sentence and it will revolve around a missed penalty in a World Cup semi final for England.

Scotland fans still hark back to a Gary McAllister penalty in 1996 against the 'auld enemy' and he was adored beforehand.

Certainly Stuart Pearce showed that you can get over it, but he had redemption from scoring in another penalty shoot out a while after he had missed a vital one for England.

I hope John gets the chance to have another go and one thing I am pretty certain of is that he will be brave enough to step up again to take the responsibility. He is a leader, he is brave and he would be first to take the hit for a team mate less capable of stepping forward.

In the end it was an incredible night in Moscow and it was great to see so many true Chelsea fans present considering how hard it was to get there for most.

The reaction at the end was impressive too. I sensed general disappointment of course, the word 'gutted' just didn't cover it, but there was also pride. Pride in how far the team had come and in particular how well they had played on the night after surviving the first half onslaught from United.

Nothing is ever simple in football however and what would normally be seen as the start of something special having been a hairs breadth from the top trophy, looks to be the end of another phase, with a new manager arriving over the summer.

I know who I would like to see next in the hot seat but the decision will be made soon enough by the board and speculation is pretty pointless here from me.

What I will say is that Avram Grant certainly rose in the estimations of many of the fans during his eight-month tenure, maybe not difficult because he was a long way from the preferred option when José left.

In my opinion the Israeli can hold his head high after remaining dignified throughout what was a very testing period and let's be honest he had a fairly tough act to follow.

There aren't many more as pressured jobs in the world's game and, as was mentioned above, he came extraordinarily close to winning us the one we all wanted.

As it is the club are on the lookout for a truly world-class coach and maybe even one or two players to bolster the squad. I just hope that this season, which was still amazing relative to the club's history, isn't looked upon for years as the best chance we had.

I want another league title, I want to go to another Chelsea Champions League Final and more than anything else I want John Terry to score the winner before going up to collect the silverware.

And by the way John, the letter on the club website was great, but you didn't need to apologise to a single Chelsea fan, we know what the fans and the club owe you for your efforts over the years.

Last weeks competition asked which current Chelsea player once played for FC Chemnitz. It was of course Michael Ballack in his younger days and the winner picked at random by a little girl who bravely choked back the tears after the final whistle in Moscow was Buz Hannon from Tulsa USA.

I am off for a break now but hope to talk to you again next season. Thank you all for reading my inane nonsense, joining in the silly quizzes and most importantly for following the best team there is. notas_de_prensa_archivo