Tommy Hutchison would say he was one of the best players he was ever on the pitch with. I was surprised when Tommy told me that Terry was the top player in 5-a-side games, never giving the ball away. This was because Terry on the pitch was very much a lion hearted, tough tacking warrior of a player. This perhaps disguised to an extent his ability to play.
Looking at his time at Leeds however, and particularly the way that Revie played him, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Tommy rated him so highly. I think he broke into the all conquering Leeds team at a very early age (was he 17?) and he played in virtually every position on the pitch for them bar in goal. To play on the wing for them or up front really says it all about his level of skill and ability.
He was reunited with Tommy at Swansea where on two occasions he was the manager and Tommy was his assistant while still playing. Together they got Swansea promoted out of the fourth division via the play offs. Tommy had lots of great stories about their time together in South Wales and in particular the shenanigans that went on with the infamous Swansea chairman of the time deadly Doug Sharp.
My favourite story however was when Tommy stormed into Yorath’s office having seen the reserve team on the notice board for that evenings’s fixture. He was in a fury and demanded to know why Yorath had left him out. At this point Yorath started to laugh which increased Tommy’s annoyance even more.
Yorath explained that he found it funny as he would be able to have a great story telling people how a 43 year old ex Scottish international was shouting at him for leaving him out of a reserve game when all he was trying to do was give him a rest. Anyway Hutchison calmed down and was reinstated into the reserves. I’m sure Tommy will be very sad today.
Yorath was the greatest captain we have ever had in my 60 years as a Sky Blue and played in our greatest team under my favourite manager (Gordon Milne). The football, with Hutch, Fergie, Wallace, McDonald and Oakey was just brilliant to watch. Every game was an event to savour in a team that played 4-2-4 and relied on Yorath and Powell in midfield running their legs off ( I say 4-2-4 when the formation was really on most occasions 2-4-4 as our full backs were really additional wingers).Terry was on integral part of that team and of the joyous football that we played.
His book ‘Hard Man Hard Knocks’ tells of his younger days and of his conversion to Catholicism as a young man, influenced by the many Irish boys that he grew up with in a poor part of Cardiff. He certainly didn’t have it easy as his was a life touched by tragedy. However for those of us lucky enough to see him play he will always deserve the description ‘legend.’
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