Chelsea lost to Newcastle at the weekend and their Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread.
Indeed, Chelsea’s place in next season’s Champions League is far from secure, and questions have been asked of Enzo Maresca in recent times.
Maresca’s job is safe, but the Italian does continue to make some bizarre decisions at Chelsea.
Moises Caicedo was again used at right-back against Newcastle, and speaking on the Kelly and Wrighty Show, Tim Sherwood has been discussing this situation, and he’s come up with a worrying theory.
Tim Sherwood’s worrying Reece James theory
Sherwood spoke about Chelsea’s right-back situation.
The pundit, sadly, thinks something may have happened behind the scenes with the Chelsea captain, noting that he has been fit for months, but he’s not been back in the team as regularly as he perhaps should be.
“Reece James is his club captain. Something has obviously happened. I know he’s had his injury problems, but he’s ready now, he’s been training for months, he’s had opportunities to play,’ Sherwood said.
“I can’t understand some of the decisions Maresca has made regarding the Conference League. Resting players in the Premier League to play weakened opposition, with all due respect.
“He’s been resting some players in the Premier League. If he doesn’t finish in the Champions League it’s a failure, a total failure.”
Reece James’ injury history
Sherwood reckons that something may have happened with Reece James behind the scenes, but the reality may be far less sinister than this.
Indeed, while James has been back fit since the turn of the year, it’s still not a bad idea to manage the right-back’s minutes.
James has a long history of bad injuries, and throwing him in at the deep end after so many problems isn’t a great idea.
| Reece James’ injury history at Chelsea | |
| Injuries | 21 |
| Games missed | 130 |
Yes, James hasn’t been starting every week, but it’s not as if he hasn’t played at all this season, as the numbers show.
| Reece James’ stats this season | |
| Appearances | 23 |
| Starts | 15 |
Would James like to be playing more regularly? Probably, but Maresca needs to do what is right for his player and what is right for his team in the long-term, and in order to protect James, he may be best off not playing twice a week at this point.
