Reece James - Chelsea Captain

[chara]

59 minutes ago, Sciatika said:

I thought it meant "bad" and wondered if it might be in the sense that "bad" means "good".

Ah,,the contradictions of conversational language everywhere!

However it comes over still a wonderful name for one of ours..a future Legend I might suspect...came in without fuss or fanfare and impressed me for one..time will tell.

[Gurj SS]

22-23: 140 days injured, missing 24 games.

Injured again right at the start of the season, as the new captain, with a new squad.

The heart says he's the right personality to drive the club forwards, the head says he's too injury prone and the right thing would be to sign a utility player who is able to provide competition/support for Gusto; otherwise Caicedo will find himself at RB, or even worse someone like Madueke/Sterling/Mudryk having to fill in a wingback system like Ziyech and RLC did.

[Mark Kelly]

15 minutes ago, Gurj SS said:

22-23: 140 days injured, missing 24 games.

Injured again right at the start of the season, as the new captain, with a new squad.

The heart says he's the right personality to drive the club forwards, the head says he's too injury prone and the right thing would be to sign a utility player who is able to provide competition/support for Gusto; otherwise Caicedo will find himself at RB, or even worse someone like Madueke/Sterling/Mudryk having to fill in a wingback system like Ziyech and RLC did.

Maybe retrain him as a wing forward or CB or holding player? 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Mark Kelly

[blueandproud]

On 11/08/2023 at 17:56, blueandproud said:

Absolutely the right choice.  Top player and proper Chels.  Hopefully we can keep him fit for most of the season.

EEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!  That's come back to bite me on the bum!

[xceleryx]

10 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

Maybe retrain him as a wing forward or CB or holding player? 

RCB is probably the next best option but entirely revolves around playing 3ATB. 

Not even sure it would matter in all honesty, it wasn't as if he got hurt marauding down the sideline or being overworked. 

Don't think the quick tempo press orientated football helps him mind you, he'd probably be a bit more durable in a less physically demanding league. 

[Gurj SS]

22 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

Maybe retrain him as a wing forward or CB or holding player? 

I'd say holding player, I think as a CB he'd have to be in a back 3 but then that could be a hyrid role joining an attack. I'd say he's ideal for a holding role, he has the power and pace to catch a counter attack and his passing range is good; it would enable him to play within a 20/30 yard area instead of having to go box to box.

[CarefreeMuratcan]

He loves Chelsea even more than we even thought. 

Rejects England call up to focus on the Blues. 

King James. 

[Dwmh]

1 hour ago, CarefreeMuratcan said:

He loves Chelsea even more than we even thought. 

Rejects England call up to focus on the Blues. 

King James. 

lets hope that is the reason rather than his fitness being worse than we think

[Chelsea_Matt]

IMO playing for England means nothing. International football is terrible imo and is devalued further by disruptive, meaningless friendlies that fatigue and injure players.

[CarefreeMuratcan]

1 hour ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

IMO playing for England means nothing. International football is terrible imo and is devalued further by disruptive, meaningless friendlies that fatigue and injure players.

Agreed, but money money money there must be enough through TV and gate receipts to make it worth it. But for a true football fan it's a yawnfest. 

Technically there are barely any friendlies anymore, but international football outside of tournaments still puts me to sleep. 

[paulw66]

2 hours ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

IMO playing for England means nothing. International football is terrible imo and is devalued further by disruptive, meaningless friendlies that fatigue and injure players.

Who pays the big wages? 

You can completely understand why players wouldn't give two hoots about International football

[Bones]

Chelsea legend Joe Cole thinks he knows why Reece James is struggling to stay fit.  🇬🇧

           Discussing the England international alongside John Obi Mikel, the former winger said: “I want to say to him he’s doing too much, maybe in the gym. He’s top heavy. 🇬🇧

And I think when he goes on to the pitch he is trying so hard because he wants to do well for the club,he is doing too much. I think with Reece we need to use him sparingly and build him up and make him robust enough to play regularly.🇬🇧

           “I don’t question his mentality for one second because I know the lad and he wants to win and do well for Chelsea, I’m sure of that. I think it’s the people around him telling him to lift this weight and lift that weight, he’s probably spending hours a day in the gym.🇬🇧

“Sometimes you need to say to him, ‘Listen, you’re Reece James, you’re a great player. You’ll be 60 and I’ll give you the ball and you’ll be able to whip it. Just get yourself on the pitch, once the game is won after 60 minutes, just sit down, relax. We are playing Preston in the FA Cup, go and have a day off, don’t go in the gym.’ I think a lot of these young players overtrain. That’s just my opinion.”🇬🇧

[NoblyBobly]

2 minutes ago, Bones said:

Chelsea legend Joe Cole thinks he knows why Reece James is struggling to stay fit.  🇬🇧

           Discussing the England international alongside John Obi Mikel, the former winger said: “I want to say to him he’s doing too much, maybe in the gym. He’s top heavy. 🇬🇧

And I think when he goes on to the pitch he is trying so hard because he wants to do well for the club,he is doing too much. I think with Reece we need to use him sparingly and build him up and make him robust enough to play regularly.🇬🇧

           “I don’t question his mentality for one second because I know the lad and he wants to win and do well for Chelsea, I’m sure of that. I think it’s the people around him telling him to lift this weight and lift that weight, he’s probably spending hours a day in the gym.🇬🇧

“Sometimes you need to say to him, ‘Listen, you’re Reece James, you’re a great player. You’ll be 60 and I’ll give you the ball and you’ll be able to whip it. Just get yourself on the pitch, once the game is won after 60 minutes, just sit down, relax. We are playing Preston in the FA Cup, go and have a day off, don’t go in the gym.’ I think a lot of these young players overtrain. That’s just my opinion.”🇬🇧

I just think he always looks 5 or 6 pound over weight. He’s very chunky. 

[Bones]

24 minutes ago, NoblyBobly said:

I just think he always looks 5 or 6 pound over weight. He’s very chunky. 

Overweight with muscle rather than fat!

[NoblyBobly]

7 hours ago, Bones said:

Overweight with muscle rather than fat!

Tbh I haven’t seen him with his shirt off but I doubt he is Mr Blobby, but compare his  shape to other players that rely on speed , energy and agility . He’s chunky.  

[xceleryx]

2 hours ago, NoblyBobly said:

Tbh I haven’t seen him with his shirt off but I doubt he is Mr Blobby, but compare his  shape to other players that rely on speed , energy and agility . He’s chunky.  

Then you've got a player like Hulk who's similarly built, if not bigger, and he's had no real significant injury woes over his career and still plays at 37.

Lukaku is another, Danny Shittu and Chris Samba going back a bit further, and of course Akinfenwa - even if he wasn't a top flight player. 

Still chalk his biggest issues being down to workload with the position he plays, and agree with J.Cole that he needs to be managed more appropriate rather than playing 90 min every week in the modern game. Either that or he heads abroad and moves to a league where it's not as physically strenuous.

[ROTG]

1 hour ago, xceleryx said:

Either that or he heads abroad and moves to a league where it's not as physically strenuous.

Didn't RJ back up come from one of those not so physically strenuous leagues?

Edited January 20 by ROTG

[Ham]

38 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Didn't RJ back up come from one of those not so physically strenuous leagues?

Yeah but he's not half the player RJ is.  Gusto is decent.  RJ is a game changer.  

Just a shame he's made of rice paper.  

[kev61]

5 hours ago, NoblyBobly said:

Tbh I haven’t seen him with his shirt off but I doubt he is Mr Blobby, but compare his  shape to other players that rely on speed , energy and agility . He’s chunky.  

Football has evolved into a game played by muscular super athletes to the detriment of skill and individuality. 

George Best was 10 stone soaking wet and would still dance around players today.Football intelligence is rare in today's game.The first thing players today think is how much money they can make.

It's not their fault it's the nature of everything in today's world.

My wife and I are moving to a rural place in portugal.Sunshine and as far away from tourists we can find.

Edited January 20 by kev61

[Ham]

6 hours ago, kev61 said:

Football has evolved into a game played by muscular super athletes to the detriment of skill and individuality. 

George Best was 10 stone soaking wet and would still dance around players today.Football intelligence is rare in today's game.The first thing players today think is how much money they can make.

It's not their fault it's the nature of everything in today's world.

My wife and I are moving to a rural place in portugal.Sunshine and as far away from tourists we can find.

I agree. I said this a while ago. There are very few entertainers in modern football. Just athletes.   It's all about pass completion and not losing possession. Players are more worried about their stats then they are about trying something different.

I thought you had been living in Portugal for years. 

 

[kev61]

14 hours ago, Ham said:

 

I thought you had been living in Portugal for years. 

 

My family has a house in portugal and we spend a lot of time there,but I was screwed financially  by someone close to me.The result  was I had to remortage the house.

Thankfully we're ahead of the game now and I have finally retired.

I have done my research and we can comfortably afford a property in rural portugal for 500 euros a month which would give us a no frills life style.

Probably too much information,but a great relief to me.

[kev61]

3 minutes ago, kev61 said:

My family has a house in portugal and we spend a lot of time there,but I was screwed financially  by someone close to me.The result  was I had to remortage the house.

Thankfully we're ahead of the game now and I have finally retired.

I have done my research and we can comfortably afford a property in rural portugal for 500 euros a month which would give us a no frills life style.

Probably too much information,but a great relief to me.

Just to add never ever trust anyone when moneys concerned and I mean even family members....sorry for the rant.

[BMox81]

Reece injured again… 😢

[blueboy1905]

[Bigpokey24]

He will return on September 14 , after the international break. He was also going to miss our first 3 games due to suspension.  We just have to manage Gusto, just concerned about the Conference league playoffs, hopefully Gutso plays the league games and we can deploy Josh Acheampong