Chelsea legend John Terry has shared some insight from how he used to captain the side, and has implored the Blues to do more of the same with Reece James now in the role.
There was some criticism of the decision made by Mauricio Pochettino to name a then 23-year-old James as the club captain, however he has put in the work to prove himself in the role.
John Obi Mikel recently praised James’ leadership skills despite defeat to Sunderland, after the former midfielder has previously mentioned it as a criticism of his game.
If he is looking for any inspiration, there isn’t anyone better than Terry, after his near 20-year career at Stamford Bridge saw him lead the Blues to nearly every trophy on offer.
Photo by Alex Livesey – FIFA/FIFA via Getty ImagesJohn Terry exposes captaincy secret he wants Chelsea to use more
The Englishman seems to have admitted he enjoyed playing mind games before games even started, stating that when playing away from home, he liked to upset the normality of proceedings by changing ends.
Terry also encouraged whoever is captain for the Blues against Wolves in the League Cup tonight to follow suit.
He said: “I’m not sure who’s captain tonight, but little bit of an insight from me. Going away to Wolves tonight, they’re obviously under pressure, I would be there as captain tonight, when you do the coin toss, speaking to the ref and going ‘you know what, you can have kick off, we’re gonna have the ball’. Tossing the coin, but you’ve already made an agreement.
“I’m not sure whether that can happen nowadays, but used to back in the day. I would often change ends away from home just to kind of throw the home side a little bit, but I think having the ball at the start tonight is gonna be really key for us.
“So, whoever’s captain, maybe use that one.”
New captain likely needed for Chelsea’s trip to Wolves
As Chelsea look to continue to protect James, it is likely that he doesn’t start in the EFL Cup, while a number of his deputies also look set to miss out.
Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo will not feature against Wolves, leaving Maresca with a decision to make over who wears the armband.
The most likely scenario would see Tosin Adarabioyo given the responsibility, with him being the most experienced player in the squad at 28 years of age.