Chelsea are struggling with their leadership vacuum
By Travis Tyler
Chelsea were once a team full of leaders. Now they would be lucky to find one on a given match day.The vacuum is causing difficulties on the pitch.
The last time Chelsea were able to go toe to toe with anyone in the world was the 2009/2010 season. During that season, the squad was full of leaders. Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel, Michael Ballack, John Terry and Alex were all massive parts of club and country.
But slowly, they trickled away. The more that left, the fewer that were replaced with new leaders. The club struggled more and more and succeeded at times. But Chelsea never felt invincible in the time sense. Now all those leaders are gone and someone has to step up. But no one seems to be answering the call. The vacuum in leadership is causing strife on the pitch.
Make no mistake; there are many kinds of leadership. And Chelsea likely do have it off the pitch. Players that show up on time, give their all in training, pass on advice to the youth and set the example for all. But football is played on the pitch, and nothing that happens off of it matters after kickoff. What Chelsea is lacking is leaders there. No one is stepping up and grabbing everyone and saying “We will win this. That will be the last mistake you make. Now go make up for it.”
Instead, the Blues only have players who hang their heads. No one is kicking them in the rear for mistakes regardless of consequence. No one is forcing anyone else to step up.
On paper, Chelsea have the players who should be doing this. Gary Cahill is an England vice captain and the current captain. Eden Hazard is the Belgian captain. Cesc Fabregas has years as a captain. Cesar Azpilicueta is the vice captain for Chelsea and many fans preferred pick to be captain.
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But none of them have what is required. None of them have the pure fire and rage in their bellies to force a result and 10 other men over the line. Cahill is too passive. Hazard has shown little interest outside of his own performances. Fabregas instructs, but he does not lead.
Azpilicueta tries but look at the most recent matches he has captained: draw to Barcelona, loss to Manchester United, loss to Manchester City and a loss to Barcelona. All matches marred by silly mistakes.
Were the old crop of leaders still at Chelsea, those mistakes would have ended after the first Barcelona match. The leaders then would not have allowed it to happen again.
That is what Chelsea are facing right now. They have people willing to do the right things and lead off the pitch. But no one is stepping up on the pitch where it matters.
Chelsea need to find that fire again. Either in the current squad, the academy or in the transfer market. The Blues need a squad of leaders to compete with the world’s best clubs.
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Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus all have several leaders a piece. All four are on a tier above all other clubs. If Chelsea are to ever reach that level, they must find their leaders on the pitch and accept nothing less than excellence.