Chelsea's Lack of Leadership Is Proving Detrimental to Youth Development"

It's one thing to play up-and-coming players in the first team at any club; it's quite another to give them the platform to succeed in that environment.

Chelsea fans have been granted their wish by Guus Hiddink of late. The season being over as a contest, mixed with injuries and suspensions, has presented a situation that's allowed Hiddink to expose Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Baba Rahman, Kenedy, Matt Miazga and Bertrand Traore to more first-team football.

The minutes they're playing will help that group gain more experience in their development, although after another abject display from their more senior team-mates in Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, the focus needs to shift to what it all means.

Chelsea's starlets may well be playing, but are they learning anything?

A week earlier against Swansea City, Hiddink told Bleacher Report he hopes the likes of Loftus-Cheek don't get used to losing. Chelsea had just been defeated 1-0, and the manager was eager to stress the Blues must be winning matches for their young players to pick up more confidence and self-belief.

Now City has happened, which will be a significant blow to young and old in this fragile Chelsea squad

Chelsea's lack of leaders has been their Achilles' heel all season. That fact was glaringly obvious as the reigning Premier League champions stumbled from defeat to defeat, unable to arrest their poor form.

Jose Mourinho couldn't change it, and despite some marginal gains under Hiddink, the Dutchman hasn't been able to, either. Chelsea haven't come close to reaching the UEFA Europa League, let alone the UEFA Champions League. They could only get as far as the FA Cup quarter-finals, while last-16 defeat in Europe's elite club competition to Paris Saint-Germain was inevitable.

The misconception with leadership is that it requires one to shout and get in the faces of team-mates to inspire them. It's a very Anglo-Saxon way of looking at things, as the reality is about much more besides. In football terms, it's about taking a game by the scruff of the neck and dragging players through it.

Frank Lampard was never one for verbals, nor was Didier Drogba or Petr Cech. Indeed, John Terry putting his body on the line or scoring a vital goal has always done more for team morale and belief than him simply shouting words of encouragement.

When City started to take hold at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, we saw no leading examples—shouting or otherwise—from Chelsea. From one to 11, the home side were competing as individuals, while City played like a team.

We had to feel for Loftus-Cheek and Rahman in it all. The two youngest players on the pitch needed some direction, and it wasn't there. When Hiddink introduced Traore and Kenedy with 20 minutes left on the clock, they were faced with those same problems, so it's difficult to understand what they could have taken from the game.

Who was teaching them anything?

These players are undoubtedly talented, but raw they remain. To truly achieve their potential, they need to be picking up on the wisdom of those more established names around them, yet it seems nobody is willing to take on that role. Without Terry, there isn't a player who looks capable of being Chelsea's next leader.

Hiddink is in an unenviable position now. We always knew he was a mere custodian of the Stamford Bridge hot seat, but now Antonio Conte has been confirmed as the next manager, his influence is ever more reduced.

His role has become that of a diplomat, fielding questions from the media about the state of the club and where it is headed. It was the same in his post-match press conference, although he gave a surprisingly honest assessment of that leadership problem.

Bleacher Report asked Hiddink if a lack of leaders in this side was proving detrimental to his young players, as when Loftus-Cheek looked around him for guidance when the melee ensued on Saturday, there was nobody there to show him the way.

"It's good to see younger players coming through, but it's always good to have the young ones develop themselves on the lead of big players," he said. "That's a bit, at the moment, lacking, because they want to fight for their own positions as well.

"If you have leaders, then its rather more easy for them to integrate. Once more, I must say that, for instance, Loftus-Cheek is developing himself rather OK."




Rather OK isn't going to get Chelsea back into the Champions League and winning titles—something Roman Abramovich can rightly demand given the significant investment he has made at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea need so much more than that. The club needs leaders, otherwise there's a very real concern that what is coming through from the academy will never truly realise its potential.

When we look at the best young players across the continent now, they've mostly flourished at clubs that can boast a balance in their squads. Paul Pogba is an example for present times, being nurtured at Juventus alongside players of Andrea Pirlo's ilk. At Bayern Munich, it was players like Michael Ballack who helped guide the career of Bastian Schweinsteiger.

There are many more examples besides. When we look at Chelsea, who is willing to take on that responsibility? As Hiddink suggests, there isn't a standout candidate as the Chelsea squad comes complete with players who are more concerned with their own well-being.

The environment isn't conducive for young talent to excel. Before that's been because players have struggled to compete in the juggernaut style that once defined the club. Now the balance has shifted, the concentration on signing players of particular qualities has also damaged it.

Conte is inheriting a club with big problems, where the policies adopted have been at conflict with everything Chelsea have been trying to achieve.

The new manager will need to deliver on the mandate to nurture the young players who continue to dominate youth football at home and abroad. Before he can do that, however, Conte must instil some real substance within his squad.

Chelsea can win all the youth cups they like, but until this lack of leadership is sorted, the same frustrations will continue to torment the club.