Former Blues midfielder slams Chelsea star for losing his head against Newcastle

Former Chelsea star, Emmanuel Petit has criticised Reece James for not being more composed during the Blues’ last outing in the Premier League.

James was needlessly sent off, as Chelsea lost 4-1 to Newcastle United last Saturday.

The 23-year-old kicked the ball away during a Newcastle free kick, and got a yellow for it, before he tripped Anthony Gordon on the right wing to stop a second-half attack against Chelsea. He was immediately given his marching orders by the referee, leaving his teammates one-man down.

James will now be unavailable when Chelsea play Brighton at home on Sunday, and while speaking with Lord Ping, Petit said he expected more from the captain, who only recently returned from an injury.

“I expected more from Reece James against Newcastle. He is the captain of Chelsea, the leader of the team, and he lost his head,” Petit said.

“He is an international player playing for one for the biggest clubs in the world, everyone is right to expect more from him. Also, he has spent such a long time on the treatment table. When he is on the pitch, he has to behave like a captain.

“Reece is an intelligent guy. I can understand his frustration. He is someone that loves the club – he is Chelsea through and through – the way that Chelsea have been over the last couple of years would have hurt him. You can feel that has had a massive impact on the players and the morale in the dressing room.

“He would have been incredibly frustrated when he was out injured because there is nothing that you can do to help the team on the pitch. In the meantime, when you’re fit, to show that kind of temper, that sends out the wrong message to your team mates and to the manager. I expect much more from Reece James. I expect him to step onto the pitch with a better mentality in the future and to live up to the expectations that Chelsea have placed on him as their captain.”