Reece James and Enzo Fernández have been handling captaincy duties at Chelsea over the past few years, with the likes of Moisés Caicedo or Trevoh Chalobah also taking the armband on rare occasion, but with all those guys unavailable this weekend — Reecey and Trev injured; Moi rested; Enzo suspended by the club — those duties fell to someone else.
Prior to the game, head coach Liam Rosenior seemed to suggest that Tosin Adarabioyo would take the armband. As one of the oldest players in the team and a well
respected “uncle” figure in the dressing room, that certainly seemed to be the expectation heading into Saturday’s FA Cup quarterfinal against Port Vale.
“We’ve got many leaders. Moisés Caicedo is in our leadership group. Tosin, too. We’ve got Cole Palmer, we’ve got João Pedro. We’ve got Marc Cucurella. We’ve got leaders in the group [and] you’ll see who’s captain tomorrow.”
-Liam Rosenior; source: Chelsea FC
But Rosenior’s little tease at the end turned out be none other than Cole Palmer instead! Not exactly the most obvious choice, given his outward, observable personality, but leaders come in all sort of shapes and sizes.
“It’s a natural step for Cole given where he is in his career. He shows leadership, as you have different types of leadership. You have players who talk, who organise, but what Cole does and how he leads is that he’s so brave and he’ll take the ball anywhere on the pitch. And if he makes a mistake, he’ll take the ball again and be positive again. That reflects what I want in this team.
“I felt Cole led the team magnificently in the game. […] Players can lead in different ways. Cole is a player who, in big moments, can win you games. Sometimes, you have to go back to basics and I felt the players, in terms of the fundamentals of the game were very, very good. And Cole led by example.”
-Liam Rosenior; source: Chelsea FC
Of course, the armband is often just a symbolic gesture — you don’t actually need it to be a leader on the pitch or in the dressing room — and it certainly appears to be in this case: a public display of affection and importance for a key player in these trying, uncertain times.
“[It felt] good [to take the armband], it was a long time coming but finally, it was a proud moment being captain and enjoyed it.”
-Cole Palmer; source: Goal
So, Reecey and Cold going forward then?
