Fans felt broken many times this season when all witnessed the whole team putting their heads down when things got tough.
Sarri said that the team mentality is weak, that the squad doesn't fight and doesn't show character, that motivation is the problem.

In the eyes of many our current team lacks big characters, leaders and so on name it as you want. On paper our captain is Cahill, but on the pitch it's Dave. Is he doing a good job as our captain?

The problem hypothesis number 1:

Our team lacks leaders, and our loyal and quality players are most of all, too much nice as people;
Azpilicueta - hard working professional, doesn't complain, always smiles and always tries his best. But also, a nice guy, that won't come up to anyone and bother nobody ever.
Kante - hard working professional, doesn't complain, always smiles and is humble and tries his best. But also, a very f**king nice guy that you can't say anything bad about ever in your life.

So just a bit of a blast from the past, the previous and forever remembered, captains that were at least capable of yelling at anyone, at any time if it was needed;

 

 

'

Now, if some memories are more fresh...
 

Who in our current squad looks like he can be the next big personality for the squad? It doesn't need to be Wise, it doesn't need to be Terry. It's enough if it's a new Ballack really.

 

Candidates:
Rudiger - Has a stronger mentality, has shown himself as a great signing overall. But still looks too nice.

Ruben Loftus Cheek - One of our own, took the number 12 and has a passion to play for the club, took his chances well when he played. But, he's more often not even fit to play.

Out of the question:
Hazard (Mentally a Madrid tourist) D.Luiz (Can't keep it to himself and known for crying) Jorginho (His body isn't ready to make a tackle yet)

Your thoughts about if Azpilicueta is a good enough captain?

"When you lose 6-0 everyone has to accept they didn't play well. The only thing I can say to the fans is sorry, because it's not acceptable, and I feel sorry for all of them." - Dave after the recent loss.

Edited February 11, 20197 yr by Gol15

' Rudiger? - Has a stronger mentality, has shown himself as a great signing overall. But still looks too nice.'

Kick him in the bollox just before every game then.

Edited February 11, 20197 yr by Kev56

To be perfectly honest none of our current squad measure up to JT or Wise for not only leadership qualities, but also passion.

this topic hits the nail on the head

We have no leader or captain worthy of the name. Armband is token only.

Only one never played, Cahill, is a true leader.

Interesting points about the importance of leaders, at 6:00 and 7:15 and overall a good vid. Still relevant.

Kante is too quiet to be a captain. Luiz has the personality but doesn't lead by example, Azpi seems too nice. I'd go with Rudger, i always prefer captains to be a defender and also he's not afraid to give his opinoin. In interviews i always like his honesty and yesterday the way he went over to the crowd yesterday was brave. And he wasn't afraid to give it to Conte last season about tactics.

Yeah I’d go for Rudiger too.

Rudiger at least seems to give a sh*t. More than can be said about many of the players

10 hours ago, axman2526 said:

We have no leader or captain worthy of the name. Armband is token only.

Only one never played, Cahill, is a true leader.

Do you really think Cahill commands that kind of respect inside the dressing room? I seriously doubt it. Plus, you can't effectively be a captain, if you're not playing.

Azpi is a true professional, who leaves everything on the pitch, but he's no captain.

Luiz has a big personality, but he's a moody diva, who's also prone to frequent mental brain farts on the pitch.

I like Rudiger's attitude. The fact that he doesn't hide from responsibility and feels the need to talk to the fans after a bad loss when most players just head for the tunnel speaks well for his character. He hasn't been with the club long enough and the current bunch won't respond to him imo, but if we overhaul the team in the summer and get new faces in, I'd have him among the candidates for the captain role.

Rudiger without a doubt. I don't think he seems too nice at all, on the pitch he looks like he's a hardass in the vein of JT. Frequently shows he's more than happy to get stuck in on match day, and I'd love to see someone like that giving our own players a kick up the arse when they need it.

I'd be going for Rudiger as well, been our best defender for the last 2 seasons since he joined, and has a bit of fight in him, not afraid to go in hard or let his teammates know when they've f**ked up. 

Probably Rudiger.

Rudiger. Second best defender in the league

15 hours ago, axman2526 said:

We have no leader or captain worthy of the name. Armband is token only.

Only one never played, Cahill, is a true leader.

Cahill is our captain and none of us have heard a peep from him during all of this. Terry would have been on the sidelines, screaming from the stands and doing interviews condemning the players. Have you ever seen Cahill these last few months? 

The thread title should be who is our leader - for he should be the captain. The problem is we have no leaders and therefore we don't have a captain. We only have a namesake captain - someone who wears the armband, so does it really matter who wears the armband? 

Idk who is capable of taking a role like JT took, leading by example, but also vocally. Eden and Kante can lead by example, Azpi as well, but they aren't those vocal leaders. They won't get in Alonso's face and tell him to pull his head outta his ass and focus or sit on the bench. It's not the type of people they are. Rudiger seems like he could have that mentality but honestly, I don't know of any of the players in the squad that can take that role of leadership and command respect in the dressing room. 

Matt Law has just posted an article on this topic:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/02/12/chelsea-lack-leaders-dressing-room-maurizio-sarri-notsolely/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Spot on from my view. Quotes about Luiz are particularly interesting. Does raise a good question about whether Cahill should be playing more. At this point his leadership probably outpoints any questions about his passing ability.

Buy a new captain. Look what Van Dijk has done at Liverpool.

Dave. 

Rudiger for me. But it's hard to change mid-season now. Stripping Azpi of his captaincy would create more problems than it solves. 

Maybe make Rudi Vice-Vice Captain? hahahaha

Christ, our club really is in a right mess

Rudiger is a good shout.

Pretty slim pickings in our squad - I can't see many natural leaders about. The stand-out candidate for me is Ethan Ampadu. Let's get him in the team at centre-back, then make him captain in the next season or 2.

Rudiger is a good shout.
Pretty slim pickings in our squad - I can't see many natural leaders about. The stand-out candidate for me is Ethan Ampadu. Let's get him in the team at centre-back, then make him captain in the next season or 2.

I don't know why but I never like the idea of someone below the age of 25 being captain.

48 minutes ago, wallosh said:

1 hour ago, DannyVblue said:

Rudiger is a good shout.
Pretty slim pickings in our squad - I can't see many natural leaders about. The stand-out candidate for me is Ethan Ampadu. Let's get him in the team at centre-back, then make him captain in the next season or 2.

I don't know why but I never like the idea of someone below the age of 25 being captain.

It's certainly not something that happens very often. Some players just have that right character and personality though, such as our very own JT! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think JT was 20 when he became captain.

I don’t think we have a natural leader at the moment. Don’t see Rudi talking a lot on the pitch at present, even if you’re not captain you can still be vocal. So not totally sold on anyone