Cole Palmer was named captain for our FA Cup quarterfinal match againt Port Vale the other week. It was largely a performative gesture, surely, but it was a gesture that has now been repaid in kind by the 23-year-old, who has publicly reaffirmed his commitment to Chelsea, along with his continued belief in our (flawed) project.
If you’re keeping count, it’s Reece James, Moisés Caicedo, and the Iceman himself in the BlueCo corner, dousing themselves in the Kool-Aid.
“It has been an inconsistent season
for whatever reason. It’s just about, in my opinion, getting the right players in to help us kick on. It’s something we’re working on together. We’re on the same page. We want to win now and I think if we add right in the summer we can compete for serious trophies next season. I don’t think we’re far off. If you sign the right players in the right positions and the right characters and profiles, I think we have more than enough quality to compete and be more consistent than we’ve shown over this season.
“Bringing a manager in mid-season, you have no pre-season, hardly have time to train. You’re just focusing on games. But the manager is good and when he has a proper pre-season and gets his ideas across properly and the way he wants to play he’s a top coach. If we as players perform to how we should be performing and we get the right players we can, him and us as a group, do some work.”
“[And] we’ve still got a lot to play for. We’ve got the FA Cup semi-final and if we finish in a Champions League spot it puts us in a good position to sign players that we need. We spoke to the owners and they’re sure of the players that are gonna do it. Reece won’t sign a six-year contract if he’s not spoken to the owners and the directors. Me and Reece spoke a lot. About things we need, players we need to sign and how things need to be. He wouldn’t sign a new contract if he didn’t know what was going on.”
Boy, I sure we don’t let these players down.
“Everyone just talks. When I see it I just laugh. Obviously Manchester is my home. All my family are there, but I don’t miss it. Maybe I’ll miss it if I don’t go for three months or something. But then when I get home I think there’s nothing there for me anyway. I’ve got no plans to move from Chelsea.”
-Cole Palmer; source: The Guardian
Palmer’s been struggling all season with his groin injury, but he seems to be finding his rhythm at the right time — for both Chelsea and for England. Hopefully he can return to the heady heights of his debut season for us, if not this season, then for the (many) seasons to follow.
