Chelsea have had a leadership problem for some time now, and it seems like that leadership problem is not just on the pitch and is also now at the very top of the club as well.
But anyway, I’m not speaking about the owners in this article, this is more about a lack of leadership on the pitch.
I don’t rate Reece James as too much of a captain at least in a traditional sense. Of course, you can lead by example and there are such captains, but for me, I want to see a vocal captain, and James is just too quiet. He’s also just too injured most of the time as well.
Enzo Fernandez I do like as a captain, but there is clearly some off field stuff and question marks there (he’s recently been banned from driving and failed to attend court for it, and there was of the course the racism incident in the summer). But without looking at all that stuff, I do like Enzo as a captain and he does have the right traits that we need in terms of being a leader on the pitch.
But for me, the most suitable captain we have right now is Levi Colwill. I saw him as the only vocal player in the tunnel before the Bournemouth game on Saturday whilst everyone else was quiet. For me, doing this kind of thing is vital and so needed.
Moises Caicedo led the players out but he was silent, and like James, he is just not vocal enough to be a captain despite being a player that leads by example with how he plays and the efforts he shows.
I’m not talking about just aimlessly shouting at everyone when I say a vocal leader is needed. I am talking about motivating even when the chips are down, not giving up, instructing, talking, being calm, and just consistently trying to get the players up around you. Colwill does that the most.
Is he a perfect captain option? Not yet. But he is the most suitable to grow into one in my opinion.
He is also consistently playing well and is in a great position on the pitch to be captain, because he can see the whole game ahead of him. Some of the best ever captains in world football have been centre backs, and the best ever captain we have had so far, John Terry, was a centre back. There are many similarities between Terry and Colwill.
This is a young and inexperienced squad, and we often see the detrimental effects of having no real leaders in the team. Colwill is one who can stand up and I believe he would stand up even more if given the responsibility of being captain.
People might think he flirted with Liverpool recently, but that was never as big as it was made out and at that time, Colwill was unsure how much Chelsea valued him and he was looking for the club to show him that.
Now, he is growing as a player and growing as a person, and I truly believe he has the consistent quality and leadership skills to be our club captain.
It’s all irrelevant anyway because it doesn’t look like Enzo Maresca is going to change anything in that sense right now and has his ‘leaders’ picked. So Colwill might just have to wait to be a Chelsea captain. But he’s got it in my opinion and should be captain, or at least one of them.