WHERE ARE THE CAPTAINS, LEADERS, LEGENDS?
Bridge says Thiago Silva is the only player who stands out nowadays - and he is 39
BY
TWENTY years ago Wayne Bridge was part of an influx of young talent at Chelsea.
But the key difference between then and the Blues’ recent overhaul is the squad Bridge (right) joined contained a host of leaders to nurture the likes of Joe Cole and
Damien Duff.
That 2004 team was packed with proven big-game performers such as Marcel Desailly (below, left), William Gallas (below, right) and Claude Makelele.
Yet, when Bridge looks at the current crop, the only leader he sees among all the youth is 39-year-old Thiago Silva (main picture above).
And the absence of more inspirational figures is the primary reason why Mauricio Pochettino is struggling to get a consistent tune out of his £1billion team.
Bridge said: “When I went there, I was 23. We were young, but had a bit of experience and a few seasons under our belt.
“A lot of us knew what the Premier League was like already, but we had experienced players around us. That helped.
We didn’t win right away, but we had a good season under [Claudio] Ranieri and got into the Champions League.
“The players were great, they had that work ethic and fight. As much as you had [Arjen] Robben, who was so skilful on the ball, and Joe Cole, they worked their butts off getting back and closing down.
“So many players in that team had that mentality and [Jose] Mourinho brought that to another level. There was no sloppiness. His mentality improved ours as well.
“But there were a lot of leaders.
You can only name one now.
Thiago and that’s about it, really.”
Bridge, who thinks it would be a mistake to sell
Conor Gallagher, has been impressed by Cole Palmer since his £40million move from Manchester City.
“Palmer seems talented, calm and has his head screwed on,” said Bridge.
But the jury remain out on the rest of the arrivals and the scattergun recruitment approach is best summed up by the issue at left-back.
Ben Chilwell is injured once again, Marc Cucurella is struggling for fitness and form, while Ian Maatsen is being loaned to Borussia Dortmund midway through a campaign that began with Lewis Hall being sent to Newcastle. That means Levi Colwill, a centreback lacking the attacking nous for the role, is being used in Bridge’s former position.
“It’s crazy when you look at the money they’ve spent, that they need to get another left-back,” Bridge added.
“Chilwell is the best, but his injuries haven’t helped. Cucurella is injured, but he hasn’t found form or been great.
“The people they’ve let go they could probably do with right now. Colwill is good but more of a centre-back and he’s not going to overlap a lot. And it didn’t go too well on Tuesday night.
“They’d rather have Lewis Hall or [Tino] Livramento back now. It is crazy when you talk about the names and they don’t have a leftback. It’s madness.”