Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has called on captain Reece James and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to step up as vocal leaders for the team.
Chelsea have assembled a formidable attacking lineup featuring Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, and Joao Pedro. However, under manager Xabi Alonso, who favours a three-man defence, the Blues have shown vulnerability at the back.
Leboeuf believes the team is lacking strong personalities, especially following the departure of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City.
I love Reece James. I really do. He embodies Chelsea in the way that John Terry did. Even with Terry’s history at West Ham, James feels like he has blue blood running through his veins, and I really like him. Yet, he needs to stop being so nice to his teammates. He must speak the truth.
It may seem unnatural, but as an international player and a top performer, you have the right to voice your concerns if something is wrong. I remember Dennis Wise and Didier Deschamps when they played alongside us on the national team. I even had a go at Gianfranco Zola — can you imagine criticising Zola? But he took our criticism well because he understood it was for the good of the team. Reece can tell Cole Palmer to track back or advise Wesley Fofana to focus because that’s part of his role as a leader. He’s too nice. That’s my issue with him — sometimes you just have to stop being nice.
I think the same goes for Emiliano Martinez. He’s just joined, and yes, he wanted to get to know the players, but now it’s time he gets fired up about the mistakes happening right in front of him. Martinez has to be harsh on players who aren’t doing their jobs, like when they conceded that goal to Brentford, where Jaidon Anthony was left unmarked from a corner due to someone’s error. I want Xabi Alonso to identify who made the mistake, whether it was Danny Welbeck or Fofana, and for Emiliano Martinez to say, ‘What are you guys doing?’ Take responsibility — we need to eradicate these errors.
