Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara has encouraged Chelsea to elevate club veteran John Terry and “allow him to get hold of” Mauricio Pochettino’s dressing room. The Blues are now in 10th position in the Premier League, having recently fallen 1-0 away to Championship side Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
A lack of leadership is a common accusation leveled against Chelsea this season, given the club’s major rebuild and emphasis on youth since Todd Boehly and co took control at Stamford Bridge. Conor Gallagher has taken the captain’s armband in Reece James and Ben Chilwell’s absence, but O’Hara feels that Terry should return and be turned loose on the squad.
“The first thing they should do is phone John Terry and get him in that dressing room and allow him to get hold of some of those players,” O’Hara said in an interview with Grosvenor Sport. “Their standards have sunk so low that players have lost what it means to play for Chelsea Football Club, and they need to be reminded of that.
“I recall playing against Chelsea as a player and facing Terry, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, and Didier Drogba. They were decent men who wanted to show up and get outstanding outcomes.
Terry is already working at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground complex, having been appointed as an academy coach in July, but O’Hara feels his skills would be better utilized with the first squad. He characterized the current Blues team as “disgraceful” and said that just two of Pochettino’s stars wanted to go on the ball in their cup upset against Middlesbrough on Tuesday evening.
“I looked at this Chelsea team against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night – and I’ve been watching them for the last 18 months too – and they are as soft as anything,” O’Hara said in a statement.
“With the exception of Thiago Silva and Cole Palmer, they have no leadership characteristics and do not want to get on the ball. Connor Gallagher is a fantastic player, but is he the Chelsea captain? Is this one of the world’s most successful football clubs? Come on!
They’ve been horrible this season; they’ve completely fouled things up, and these guys aren’t going to get any better anytime soon. Forget potential and what they’re ‘going to be’ doing in a few years; they lack the attitude to accomplish or succeed. They are going to stay where they are for a long time.
