Brad Friedel and Frank Lampard have shared their thoughts on John Terry’s future at Aston Villa amid rumours that he could take over at Derby County.
If Terry dives into the deep end of the bottom-of-the-table Championship side then it would be the ex-Chelsea defender’s first managerial job.
Lampard, who is now flying high in the Champions League and pushing for the title in the Premier League, took his first steps at Pride Park.
He thinks that it would be a ‘great opportunity’ for his former teammate if he takes up the reigns at Derby, as he told the Independent.
“I think John is destined to be a manager,” said Lampard. “He’s obviously been working very well alongside Dean Smith in the last few years at Aston Villa.
“He will have been learning a lot there, so what John knows, his experiences in the game as a player will be huge, I know that from playing alongside him and knowing what he has to offer. So I think it’s a great opportunity potentially for him, if true.”
Terry was in the opposite dugout at Wembley when Dean Smith’s Aston Villa beat Lampard’s Derby in the play-off final at Wembley.
Whilst the former centre-back hasn’t been in the main hot seat, he has had a taste of what could come his way if he lands his role.
Former Villa keeper, Friedel, told Sky Sports News (02/12/20 at 10:40 am), that pushing such a novice manager, such as Terry and current stand-in coach, Wayne Rooney, into that role is like playing a 16 or 17-year-old in the men’s first-team.
“I think the biggest risk is you are going to deal with in the media and social media,” said Friedel. “It’s not that dissimilar to playing a 16 or 17-year-old when you think they are good enough and you have to give them the opportunity sometimes.
“The people that we are mentioning the Wayne Rooney’s and your John Terry’s. They have been mentored by some of the world’s very best. You never know who is going to be a top manager.
“And a lot of times, and I can speak from experience, it’s about what happens above you.”
It is pretty clear that Terry was always going to be a manager one day given his playing style.
Terry has been used to doing that on the field of play, but it’s now a case of doing it from the sidelines.
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