Has John Terry got a bit big for his boots by questioning whether Chelsea’s ambition matches his own?

The defender and club captain said that was the reason for the delay in him nailing his colours to the Chelsea mast in the wake of Manchester City’s reported 200,000 pounds per week offer to take him away from Stamford Bridge.

Nothing to do with money. Nothing to do either with the fact that he has peaked as a player and with injuries niggling away at his joints, the England skipper is likely to find it more and more difficult to excel at the highest levels of the game.

Fans of the club will take some convincing that Terry still has his heart fully at the club despite his words to the contrary.

They might also argue that losing Mr Chelsea for an enormous fee to a club not even in the Champions League would have been a good piece of business and not the disaster some predicted.

Terry is still a world class defender but is certainly replaceable. He is no Cristiano Ronaldo after all. He will be one of the first names on Carlo Ancelotti’s team sheet as the new season kicks off but City are unlikely to have been totally put off the scent.

Terry said he hoped to have a good season and then sit down and talk to the club about a new deal….any loss of form, however, and club owner Roman Abramovich might just decide that Mr Chelsea is expendable after all.

PHOTO: Chelsea’s John Terry keeps his eyes on the ball as he falls on the pitch during the second half of their 2009 World Football Challenge soccer match against AC Milan in Baltimore, Maryland, July 24, 2009. Chelsea won 2-1. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang

Manchester City are finally shopping at the luxury end of the market, as befits their status as the richest of the rich, and as a result the fans can start to get excited about the new season.

Back in January I blogged about the depressingly familiar rollcall of mediocre players being linked with City: the likes of Scott Parker, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy and Matthew Upson.

I suggested they aim a bit higher and sure enough they went in at the nosebleed end of things with a bid for Kaka. As we all know, it didn’t come off, and no one of that quality came in in January, but with the arrival of Carlos Tevez (and to a lesser extent Gareth Barry, who was wanted so badly by Liverpool) things have changed.

Now Tevez is there, I’d expect more big names to follow. Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor may be among them, and there’s still an outside chance that John Terry could fellow.

Whether those moves come off or not, things are already looking up for City fans. The arrival of Tevez means they are players at last. Watch out Real Madrid!

PHOTO: Argentina’s striker Carlos Tevez smiles as he leaves after a training session at the squad’s camp on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

With the new Star Trek film out, we thought we’d have a bit of fun and see which soccer players could play the famous characters.

They’ve changed all the actors anyway and brought in a youthful crop, so why not?

Over at Kottke.org, they’ve already done it with NBA players. Captain Kirk is Tony Parker they reckon.

Reuters resident Trekkies Kevin Fylan and Alison Wildey had a bash at a soccer version but please come up with your own ideas in the comments below.

1. David Beckham as Kirk (if not John Terry or Steven Gerrard)

2. Someone logical and Germanic as Spock, so maybe Arsene Wenger

3. Scotty would have to be a little powerhouse who fixes it just in time like Maradona (or a Scotsman like Archie Gemmill)

4. Bones is tricky. Are there any doctors in football? Dr Josef Venglos? Did Norman Whiteside go off and get a physio qualification?

5. We need the guy in red who gets shot at the start of each episode. Darren Fletcher?

PHOTO: Cast member Zachary Quinto poses at the premiere of the movie “Star Trek” at the Grauman’s Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California April 30, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

PHOTO: We are half-used to seeing former Hammer Frank Lampard in a West Ham shirt (see this Ian Hodgson pic from 1998) but John Terry?

That shirt? Well yes it suits you sir, but looks a little strange ….!

 There are certain things you simply don’t expect to see in football like John Terry in a West Ham shirt or … and this one is for older fans …. Alfredo Di Stefano in Barcelona’s red and blue rather than the all-white of Real Madrid.

The news this week that Terry, who trained with the Hammers until he left for Chelsea at 14, has agreed to play for West Ham in a testimonial match for their academy director Tony Carr sets the imagination racing.

Somehow, try as hard as you like you just cannot imagine Mr Chelsea himself in a West Ham shirt.

But some images are even stranger to behold. I saw Liam Brady, one of Arsenal’s best loved heroes who scored an utterly astonishing goal against Spurs at White Hart Lane in 1979, in a Spurs shirt in 1984 playing in a testimonial for departing manager Keith Burkinshaw. It was almost surreal.

Diego Maradona also played for Spurs once in a testimonial for Ossie Ardiles. Kenny Dalglish also played in a testimonial for Spurs as well. Imagine Dalglish in a Spurs shirt. Hard isn’t it ? Even weirder was seeing Glenn Hoddle and Paul Gascoigne line up in an Arsenal team in a testimonial for Paul Merson.

And try as hard as you like, images of Denis Law in a Manchester City shirt at the end of his career or Bobby Moore and George Best in Fulham shirts never looked quite “right” somehow.

There are rare photos of all sorts of players who later became big stars playing for teams while on loan as teenagers.

David Beckham in a Preston shirt, Frank Lampard in the all-white of Swansea … or Ryan Giggs in a Manchester City youth team line-up. Fascinating.

Equally strange is Di Stefano, whose career in Spain began in controversy when he signed briefly for Barcelona and appeared in some friendlies before becoming the greatest player in Real Madrid’s history.

There are plenty of others obviously, so what is the most unlikely player in a shirt you’ve ever seen … ?

Fabio Capello has named John Terry as captain for England’s friendly against the United States on Wednesday, which may be some slim consolation for that penalty miss in the Champions League final.

Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard have previously held the captaincy under Capello. who will presumably make a decision on who gets the job on a long-term basis before England start their qualifying campaign for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

Owen Wyatt was at Capello’s news conference this morning and he’d like your views on who the Italian should go for. Personally, I’m beginning to think Owen Hargreaves might be the man for the job — he can take a mean penalty, at least — but I’m sure you’ll have plenty of other ideas. Let us know in the comments, or with a video blog of your own.

David Beckham slipped and missed a key penalty for England against Portugal at Euro 2004 and now John Terry’s loss of footing has handed the Champions League to Manchester United.

Is it nerves or a lack of technique? Vlog on the pitch regulars Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley are joined by Pedro Redig to discuss Wednesday’s final, with some fan reactions also included.

Jon thinks Chelsea deserved to win and Pedro wonders if Andriy Shevchenko should have played. Let us know your views.

Submit your comments in the usual way below or if you are feeling adventurous, load a video response to youtube or wherever tagged “vlog on the pitch” and if we like it, we’ll load it up here.

A little after half past one on a rainy night in Moscow, Edwin van der Sar leapt to his right to save the 14th penalty of a nerve-shredding shoot-out and clinch victory for Manchester United in the Champions League final against Chelsea.

The Dutchman’s save spared Cristiano Ronaldo, who had earlier missed a penalty, what would surely have been the worst night of his sporting life and won the European Cup for United for the third time.

While United were celebrating, it was heartbreaking for Chelsea, and particularly for John Terry, who slipped just as he was taking the penalty that could have given his side victory.

More from Moscow later, but for now let us know your thoughts. Did the best team win? Or after hitting the post and the bar can Chelsea feel they just endured rotten luck? And what was Ronaldo thinking of with that penalty… Let us know in the comments. 

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Edwin Van der Sar holds the trophy as his team mates celebrate after winning their UEFA Champions League final soccer match against Chelsea at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow May 22, 2008. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh