Chelsea made a big mistake appointing Reece James as captain
Sam McGuire
- 12 Dec 2023 12:01 GMT
- 6 min read
Chelsea lost a lot of experience in the summer.
Cesar Azpilicueta departed on a free transfer to join Atletico Madrid, N’Golo Kante made the switch to Al-Ittihad, while Mason Mount moved to Manchester United.
The latter was a divisive figure, but he was a key player for the Blues, appearing over 50 times in three of his four full campaigns with the club.
It left a bit of a leadership void at the club and with such a high turnover of players over recent years, there wasn’t necessarily an obvious choice to replace Azpilicueta as captain.
Those in charge determined that Reece James would be the best man for the job.
The versatile full-back made some sense. He joined the club aged six and is the poster boy for the Cobham project.
Given the number of players signed by Todd Boehly in such a short space of time, the team needed someone with a strong connection to the club to lead this group and show them the ways. On paper, James made sense.
Speaking to the club website following the announcement, the No24 said: “I'm so happy to take on the role and responsibility. I know I've got big shoes to fill because we have had huge captains here in the past, but I am excited.
Captain of Chelsea. A real honour & proud moment for me & my family.
From the bottom of my heart I want to thank everyone that helped on the journey.
The role is new to me but I’ll do everything to lead our club back to where we belong. Winning titles.
See you at the Bridge. pic.twitter.com/BWmKFFLU3A— Reece James (@ReeceJames) August 9, 2023
"I have been at Chelsea pretty much my whole life. I started here when I was six and to come through the Academy is tough. But to go on and become captain, it's a great feeling for me and my family.”
Manager Mauricio Pochettino added: "This is a decision taken by me and the club. We are very pleased Reece will captain the side this season. He leads by example and his attitude and dedication to Chelsea has been clear throughout pre-season.
"He proudly wore the armband during our summer tour and will take up the challenge of leading our squad with his own approach and ideas.”
James' injury issues are a HUGE problem for Chelsea
Following the 1-1 draw with Liverpool on the opening day, a game in which James was subbed off with Pochettino citing tiredness concerns, the 23-year-old posted on social media with the caption: ‘New era loading…ps. We just getting started.’
Since then, he’s made just four more starts in the Premier League following a hamstring injury suffered in the Liverpool match and a suspension after he was sent off against Newcastle United.
Furthermore, the Blues have just one win - the 4-1 victory over Spurs - with their new skipper in the starting XI this season.
Now, he is set to be ruled out until February or March after yet another hamstring injury. This time, the blow was suffered during a 2-0 loss to Everton, with James forced off the pitch after just 27 minutes.
In an official club statement, Chelsea have revealed: "Captain Reece James has undergone medical assessment following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton.
"The defender was withdrawn during the first half at Goodison Park, and scan results have confirmed a hamstring injury.
"Reece will now begin his rehabilitation programme at Cobham."
The injury means James will miss yet more first-team action, something that has plagued him in recent years. In fact, the England international has played in just nine of Chelsea's 19 games in all competitions this term and he will now miss at least three months of action.
These aren’t the sort of stats you want from your captain, are they? But what did Chelsea expect?
James is injury-prone. He has sustained a hamstring injury in each of the last four seasons. He’s also spent time on the side-lines with ankle, knee and thigh problems. He started just 14 Premier League matches last season and 22 the year before.
✅ Youngest Chelsea player to score in the @ChampionsLeague!
👏 @ReeceJames_24 pic.twitter.com/5OtbpvJPjN— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 8, 2019
The Englishman has missed 89 games through injury since breaking into the Chelsea senior team in 2019 and that number will now increase even further following this latest set-back. Furthermore, it's his 17th separate injury since 2020.
In terms of a leadership problem, his injury-prone nature wasn’t much of an issue though as the Blues still had the likes of Azpilicueta, Kante, Mount and even Mateo Kovacic in the squad.
Not all of that quartet are famed for their leadership abilities but all four had been around the club long enough to understand what it means to play for Chelsea.
James missing games was a problem because, well, being without a player of his quality always is. But the Blues weren’t reliant on him to set the tone from a leadership perspective, so his absence didn’t feel as significant.
That isn’t the case now. He’s the man for the Blues. And he’s not able to show up for them.
If they wanted him to be part of their leadership team, why not make him the club captain but then appoint a more reliable team captain?
You usually see that when experienced players are phased out, but it might’ve worked in this case because of just how injury-prone James is. Instead, Ben Chilwell is the club's vice-captain and he is equally susceptible to injuries.
Chelsea have been accused of lacking an identity this season and it is little surprise when their manager is new and their captain isn’t available. It was a risky appointment to name James as skipper and it hasn’t paid off.
