5 Truths: Chelsea might well be better off without John Terry

And so, with one post-match mixed zone interview, John Terry ensured that the week’s news cycle (once the transfer window closes, at least) will be devoted to discussing his future.

"I was [talking to the club] last week before the Arsenal game and it [my contract] is not going to be extended," Terry told reporters. "It’s my last run in the FA Cup so I want to make it a good one.

"I needed to know now like I have done every January and sometimes it takes a couple of months to get done. Unfortunately it was a no. It’s not going to be a fairytale ending, I’m not going to retire at Chelsea.”

Terry has undoubtedly been a great servant to Chelsea, a galvanizing force in a very successful decade for the team, but it should never be forgotten that behind the scenes he has never been slow to put his own interests above those of the club – whether it was leveraging Manchester City’s overtures to get a better contract from the Blues (once? twice?), or bringing his dressing room influence to bear to edge certain managers he disagreed with out of the door.

Announcing his departure on Sunday was another example of that – the club would surely have preferred to wait to make an announcement at a later date and avoid a long-running saga, although you could argue the club lost the right to call the shots like that once they decided to cut Terry loose.

If, indeed, they have. On Monday morning the club's statement threw the whole thing into doubt.

Was it planned? Did the fans' outcry at the news spark the potential U-turn? You can't help but wonder if that was Terry’s real motivation, and indeed his comments left the door open for a change of heart.

But with the player now 35 and clearly fading, perhaps Chelsea would benefit from forcing themselves into a Terry-less future – with his impromptu announcement a timely reminder of how he can be more hurtful than helpful sometimes.

Chelsea under Guus Hiddink are a side transformed. The spike in performance from so many of their previously underperforming stars has been drastic.

In fact, so pronounced has said improvement been it is beginning to represent a damning indictment of the previous regime. These are the same players playing pretty much in the same system so Chelsea’s early season travails look all the more conspicuous.

Who was to blame? Had Mourinho worked the players too hard? Had the players downed tools? Truly, we will never know but what is for certain is that something had to give, and it was Mourinho. At this point in time his sacking is starting to look like quiet the astute move.

It could have been all so different if Mauro Icardi’s penalty had crept inside the post rather than ricochet away off it, but in the end it proved the crucial moment as AC Milan turned that reprieve into a 3-0 derby victory over Inter Milan that dragged them back into the Champions League qualification race.

A goal up and looking reasonably comfortable when substitute Icardi won and missed the second half spot-kick, Milan immediately went up the other end and took advantage through Carlos Bacca, before M’Baye Niang’s clincher gave the result a one-sided gloss.

With Juventus and Napoli separating themselves from the pack, third-placed Fiorentina (42 points) now sit narrowly ahead of Inter (41), Roma (38) and Milan (36) in the race for the third and final Champions League spot. With 16 games left that leaves the Rossoneri firmly in contention, although they will need to find a consistency that has eluded them for seasons if they are to win this particular race.

Prior to the match, both sets of fans unfurled banners that reflected on the past, the glorious title-winning achievements of the clubs from yesteryear and the current squads’ sorry comparison. While the game was full-blooded it undoubtedly lacked a certain quality; while both teams are now firmly in the top three hunt, you do wonder if they are really at the level required to end there at the end of the season.

If Napoli want to win a first Serie A title since 1990 (Maradona! Careca! Carnevale!) then they will clearly have to do it the hard way. Two points clear at the start of Sunday, by the time they kicked off against Empoli they had dropped down to second, after Juventus beat Chievo in Verona for their 12th successive league victory.

That streak is impressive enough but the manner of this latest win was even more so, with Juve winning 4-0 in a game where they could feasibly have scored eight or nine. Paul Pogba was in scintillating form, Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala looked sharp and even Alex Sandro got in on the act – Max Allegri’s side pulling their beleaguered opponents apart with ease as they squandered a hatful of gilt-edged chances.

After a slow start to the season, Juventus are clearly not going to relent in their pursuit of a fifth straight Scudetto (they have won nine, not including the one revoked, since Napoli’s last coronation). But Maurizio Sarri’s side gave a first indication that they might have the spin to resist, as they thumped Empoli 5-1 to send a statement of intent right back.

In Gonzalo Higuain, Jose Callejon and Lorenzo Insigne, Napoli have an attacking trio to be reckoned with, and that ignores the supporting contributions of Marek Hamsik, Dries Mertens and others. They might tighten as the games start to run out but, against all odds, it might have been Juventus who ended Sunday realising they have real, genuine competition for the title this season.

The FA Cup was once the most prestigious cup competition in the world. At its heart was its unpredictability. The largely unseeded nature of the tournament - barring the pass to the third round for club in the top two divisions - made it knockout football at its finest. Anyone could beat anybody. It happened regularly.

Alas, it looks as though those days are becoming increasingly rare. Money has skewed the football landscape in England. Premier League teams' third string sides are still teeming with internationals. The result is that top flight clubs can easily name a supposedly under strength side and still progress with ease. It has devalued the competition and simultaneously made it far less exciting.