Enzo Maresca inlaid on Reece James. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

What “character and leader” Reece James did with young debutant before kick off

By SuperFrank - 8th May 2025, 08:24pm

If Chelsea win today they will make it 5 wins in a row. That’s an impressive turnaround, given things were very close to total collapse before that.

The Blues have managed to wrest control of their aeroplane back just as it seemed to be heading into a terminal tailspin, and are just 4 wins away from finishing the season with a Champions League place and a European trophy.

Sidwell on Chelsea’s turnaround

Speaking before kickoff, former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell went into the Blues’ dressing room to explains a little about what it would be like to be coping with the amazing pressure

“There’s big pressure at this football club and in this dressing room at any time of the season. This season, you talk about a process and a project, up until Christmas it was going really well, they had a real dip after that,” Sidwell explained.

“That’s when you find out the characters and the leaders, the likes of Reece James who will have galvanised this squad. This is the pressure end of the season now. I think they’ve got a sniff and a smell of something they can really achieve at the end of this season, although it’s going to take some big performances to do that.

You can see Sidwell speaking in the clip embedded here:

"There's big pressure at this club and in this dressing room, any time of the season." 🗣️

Steve Sidwell emphasises the high expectations at Chelsea, particularly during this business end of the campaign 🔵

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Ixxg4ar5nX

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 8, 2025

[Footage from TNT Sport]

James shows leadership with pre-match word to debutant

Bobby Vincent notices what Reece James did before kick off.

Speaking of James, it was noted at Stamford Bridge tonight that the captain was the one with his arm around young debutant Reggie Walsh just before kick off. That’s just the sort of thing we want to see from our captain.

His status has been reduced from starter to Conference League starter, but he’s still the captain, and this is his role.