Living without John

Terry: Interesting statistics

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John Terry, Chelsea captain and Blues' icon, is one of the most recent players to come to the attention of Manchester City manager Mark Hughes as he attempts to build a side capable of breaking down the hegemony of the "Big Four".

Many at Stamford Bridge feel that losing the talismanic central defender would spell doom for their club, and with this in mind Opta investigate the history of the Pensioners' performances without Terry in the last three seasons.

Interestingly, though Terry is obviously a vital factor in his side's defence, with Chelsea conceding an average of 0.58 goals per game in the Premier League with him and 0.86 in his absence, the Blues are not incapable of winning without him.

Indeed, in the last three seasons the London side have won a higher proportion of their games without him in the side (68% to 64%) and taken more points per game (2.32 to 2.16).

On top of this, Chelsea have lost just one game in 28 when he hasn't been playing, this coming in a 2-0 defeat away at Liverpool in January 2007.

The Blues lost at the same venue 2-0 with Terry in the side earlier this season.

This means that the Pensioners have now gone 20 games undefeated without their Captain in the line-up, leaving new manager Carlo Ancelotti to ponder how vital he is to Chelsea's continued success.