Have Chelsea failed Nicolas Jackson? Why he epitomises the '23/24 team

COMMENT: It's not Cole Palmer. Not by a long chalk. If you need a player to sum up Chelsea this season. To epitomise just where this team stands. You need look no further than Nicolas Jackson...

Jackson is the Chelsea of 2024. Of Todd Boehly's Chelsea. He is both the symptom and the cause. And for all his peaks and troughs. All those mishaps, but also golden moments, Jackson symbolises the state of Chelsea today.

Good player. And at 22, potentially a very good player. But a very good Chelsea player? At least in the traditions of past Chelsea centre-forwards...? That's a question still to be answered. But this isn't Jackson's fault. This situation he's found himself in. This dressing room he now mixes and mingles with. He's had no influence on that. And his inconsistencies on the pitch. His blow-ups. His yellow cards. They're all symptoms of the circumstances he's been placed in.

As we say, on ability, Jackson is Premier League class. With a bottom ten club. Maybe one shooting for the Europa League. He could lead the line. Build his game - and his reputation. And without the scrutiny and spotlight. But Chelsea? At least, Roman Abramovich's Chelsea? It's questionable whether his exploits at Villarreal would've even brought him to the attention of those then running transfer policy. After all, if not for a disputed medical, Jackson would be competing in a Bournemouth shirt today. Whether he'd be getting a game ahead of Dominic Solanke (a former Blue no less) is doubtful. Yet instead, he's leading the line at Stamford Bridge and butting heads with teammates...

There's no excuses for that meltdown against Everton. Ignoring his manager's instructions. Physically clashing with teammates. And on a night when the team and the club should celebrating. Jackson brought shame on Chelsea. It was not the behaviour of a Blues player.

But as we say, the cause of this was out of Jackson's hands. In the past, with the likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard bossing the dressing room, such actions would be unthinkable. Even the very thought wouldn't enter the mind of a player of Jackson's youth and inexperience.

But at today's Chelsea, such direction and leadership doesn't exist. The likes of Jackson have been left to work it out on their own. With senior players moved on. The likes of Petr Cech run out of the place. Jackson and co have been left to their own devices. It's significant during that penalty blow-up that it was Malo Gusto, more than anyone else, who attempted to diffuse the situation. His more experienced colleagues were nowhere to be seen.

And the result of such a lack of direction was what we saw last week. Of course, Jackson must take responsibility for his behaviour. There's no excuses for that. But what chance does he have when there's no JT or Cech pulling him aside to explain what it means to wear the Chelsea shirt and the expectations that go with it?

Along with Jackson, you can nominate this Chelsea team as a whole. A 6-0 rout of Everton, but then a 5-0 collapse at Arsenal? Regulars of this column will know it's something we've expected throughout these past two seasons. The squad is unbalanced. Both positionally, but also in terms of experience. Even in Premier League know-how. And the lack of a genuine Chelsea core is going to make the process of reaching the required winning consistency all the more difficult and drawn-out. And we're not talking about on the pitch. Simply Chelsea men in and around the dressing room will help. But they've all been either shunned or forced out.

So what chance does Jackson truly have? He's not Didier Drogba. Nor Diego Costa. Yet with no great support. No on-field direction. He's expected to carry the attack like them. Football just doesn't work like that.

"We need to bring in some experienced players," declared Jackson's manager last week. Mauricio Pochettino making a public call for a change in transfer policy. "But that is all about talking.

"It's about agreeing with the club, analyzing and designing the strategy for the next season and to go and fight for big things. That is really important."

Jackson is a good player. Just as Chelsea are a good team. Potentially a very good team. But a title challenger? As it stands today? No. Just like their No15, the Chelsea of '23/24 do not have the quality nor the support to match the greats of the past.