Chelsea FC and Antonio Conte: The Way Forward Part 3, The Rebuild

1. Creating new leaders

John Terry may have finally received the contract extension he (and the fans) have been clamouring for all season. However, the fact remains that the board’s hesitation to secure him for another one year, coupled with the massive wage cut, are clear indications that they no longer see him as the de-facto leader of the team. And it is difficult to question the rationale behind their sentiment.

His recurrent injury problems and poor on-pitch performances limited him to just 5 appearances from February, forcing the captain’s armband (and a centre-back role) on the underwhelming Branislav Ivanovic, which turned out to be an unmitigated failure.

Ivanovic’s track record as captain included elimination from both the Champions League and FA Cup, as the team suffered humiliating home and away 2-1 defeats to PSG and a 2-0 away loss to Everton respectively. The 32 year-0ld Serbian being directly responsible for 4 of the 6 conceded goals.

Not only that, Guus Hiddink’s EPL unbeaten run was brought to an end with back-to-back defeats to Swansea and Manchester City.

While there is little doubt that he still retains his charisma, off-pitch presence and affinity with the fans, the terms of his current contract indicate that his influence on the pitch will be limited.

This means that a new on-pitch leader will be required, which is one of the really key problems Conte will have to address once he officially takes over the team. The task may prove quite difficult as no other player (save for Willian) managed to pick up the mantle in Terry’s absence.

Next: 2. Discarding the chaff