Chelsea season preview: Gary Cahill accepts new challenges as captain

Gary Cahill had the best mentor a prospective captain could hope for. He will need every lesson he learned from John Terry for his first season as Chelsea’s captain.

In a few months, Gary Cahill may wish his biggest challenge at Chelsea was simply maintaining his place in the starting XI.  Antonio Conte tabbed Cahill to inherit the captain’s armband from John Terry. This handed him responsibility for a team dealing with the seemingly incurable dramas of player turnover and management power struggles.

Cahill already faced his first challenge while on the pre-season tour. Kenedy’s social media gaffe became a major embarrassment for the club. Chelsea FC’s leadership took immediate control of the situation, issuing numerous apologies and ultimately sending Kenedy back to England alone.

As captain, Cahill had to shepherd Kenedy through a borderline international incident. He had to reassure the young Brazilian and make him feel like he was not alone, while ensuring he understood the severity of what he had caused. As a coach once told me: “90% hugs, 10% kicks in the a–.”

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Cahill also needed to manage the incident for the rest of the squad, particularly the other young players. He had to keep them focussed and cohesive, even as one of their own was being dragged through the press before being dragged out of training camp.

Gary Cahill is on the verge of starting his first season as captain with a depleted squad. Conte may need to call upon young players to fill the gaps. Cahill will be an essential part of their transition from the loan army to the first team squad and, very possibly, the XI.

If Chelsea sign new players this month, Cahill will be part of integrating them into the team with the season underway. He will have a hand in everything from bringing them into team bonding activities to directing them on the pitch, translating for them all of Antonio Conte’s shouting and pointing from the touchline.

And then there is the worst case scenario: a change in management. A major part of John Terry’s legacy was how well he held together the locker room as coaches came and went, sometimes in mid-season. Terry was not only the constant figure, he was the stable figure. He was there with the players when a new manager arrived. And he was there for the players when that manager walked from Roman Abramovich’s office straight to the car park.

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Hopefully Gary Cahill will not face that challenge for several years, if ever. But then again, this is Chelsea. Yet this is one area where Cahill’s inexperience and lack of stature relative to John Terry could be a positive.

Terry’s forceful presence in the locker room combined with the managerial revolving door to create a culture of player power that sometimes reared its head at Stamford Bridge. Terry perhaps advocated for and empowered the players too much, and too well. He then did not restrain the periodic surges in player power.

Cahill may be less likely to rein in his teammates, but he also is less able to set those player-friendly conditions. Antonio Conte is Chelsea’s first coach in some time – perhaps in the Roman Abramovich era – to bring a strong hand into the locker room. Conte does not have the permissiveness and Cahill does not have the strength of personality for player power to take root. This could be a great legacy at Chelsea for both men.

Even as captain, Gary Cahill still needs to earn his spot in the starting XI. Terry was club captain from the bench for most of last season, while Cahill led on the pitch. With Cesar Azpilicueta as his vice-captain, a similar arrangement could result if Cahill does not work for his place.

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However, Antonio Conte would not have appointed Cahill captain if he thought that was a prospect. A year ago Cahill looked like he would be a casualty of the Conte methods. Instead he had a career-best season and earned his place as John Terry’s successor. A mixed blessing, surely, but one he embraces and will bring out his best.