Squad Status: 2024/25 Season

[Morgs]

16 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I don't think there's a team in top grade football that has a team of graduates from the academy playing for them. 

We have a glut of players and they are at the end of the day not all suitable for us but they could well be exactly what someone else needs 

I see nothing wrong with having to make a snap judgement and either selling them or allowing them to go when they want to. 

The media were creaming themselves over Quansah at Liverpool last season, this season they're offering him around. 

This is not a "Chelsea" issue alone. 

Super post mate, spot on if I may say so. 

[Sciatika]

For me, there is a world of difference between having a team where none are from the academy and one in which we have at least one or two. The "One of Our Own" song has genuine meaning. If we sell Chalobah and Gallagher, we will be left with just James and Colwill. We are getting close to the point where our first team has none of our academy in it. That's not a place I want to go.

[My Blood Is Blue]

I think one of the trickiest things to do as a football fan, is to not be blinded by the academy player tag and allow it to impact our opinion on their ability. This is something I know I do, as I am invested in seeing our academy boys succeed at the club. This sentiment is shared by the vast majority of fans across all clubs; there's just something special about watching homegrown talent succeed at your club, which creates a stronger bond between the fans and these players.

A good example from last season is Gilchrist. When he stepped up, his performances were solid but not exceptional. However, he showed that he had heart, desire, and a love for our club, which elevated his status and ability in the eyes of many fans, including myself. I think we tend to inflate our assessment of their performances because they represent the success of our academy and our club's future and they feel like they are one of us. If Gilchrist had been playing for another club, we might not have noticed him or felt the urge to sign him. Yet, because he is one of our own, we would, as fans, be much more reluctant to let him go.

[chiswickblue]

I should clarify that when I say that TC is a high-performing academy graduate, I don't think he should be undisputed first choice at RCB. I think that the academy should aim to provide a good number of first team squad players, so that the club only has to spend money on players that improve the first XI. If you find an academy player that can be a clear first XI player, like James and Colwill, that's a massive bonus. So, when I say TC is high-performing, he is doing exactly what we want from an academy player - being a reliable squad player, playing multiple positions, performing well when given a run of games.

I know we signed Disasi  because of the injuries to Fofana and TC last pre-season, but now he seems unnecessary given that he's no better than two players that play in his position that we've signed for free (TC and Adarabioyo).

[paulw66]

2 hours ago, Sciatika said:

For me, there is a world of difference between having a team where none are from the academy and one in which we have at least one or two. The "One of Our Own" song has genuine meaning. If we sell Chalobah and Gallagher, we will be left with just James and Colwill. We are getting close to the point where our first team has none of our academy in it. That's not a place I want to go.

 

Is it 2 or is it none?

 

From about 1998 to 2019 we had 1. 

 

[Sciatika]

It's four. It might be two soon. I don't want to go back to one. Or none.

[ROTG]

3 hours ago, paulw66 said:

 

Is it 2 or is it none?

 

From about 1998 to 2019 we had 1. 

 

Missing part the from around 2006 onwards the restructure of the academy started to pay dividends and win things, with the best of the groups being loaned out to mature, Hence how SFL managed to get a top 4 slot.

1, 2 or even 3 is a good return. However it’s obvious the new regime don’t want anything to do with the RA. 
 

One suspect within the next 12 - 24 months anything to do with the RA era will be gone, which probably includes cobham. 

[Ham]

37 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Missing part the from around 2006 onwards the restructure of the academy started to pay dividends and win things, with the best of the groups being loaned out to mature, Hence how SFL managed to get a top 4 slot.

1, 2 or even 3 is a good return. However it’s obvious the new regime don’t want anything to do with the RA. 
 

One suspect within the next 12 - 24 months anything to do with the RA era will be gone, which probably includes cobham. 

Oh no!  Where will the players train?

[bertles86]

17 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Chalobah is...capable of his good games...and he's awful when it comes to anything in the air. 

Never thought about that tbh. 

On closer inspection, awful seems a tad harsh but world class he is not.

I like Trev a lot, and if he would accept the bench, I'd keep him over Disasi.

 

Edited July 4 by bertles86

[Miguelito07]

 

[Mark Kelly]

38 minutes ago, Miguelito07 said:

 

In fairness the tactical work would have taken seconds so what else was there to do but run?

[xceleryx]

52 minutes ago, Miguelito07 said:

 

Considering how unfit we looked the season prior under Tuchel/Potter/Lampard it's not a great surprise that a lot of emphasis was being put on physical work. Heck, we knew that when Poch took over that he was going to get us fit so we could run out matches for once. With so many players in and out of the side for a variety of seasons there's also a limit on what tactical work can be done, with more of it being seen later in the season once we had players returning. 

But yeah, expecting a lot more emphasis on the tactical side under Maresca moving forward.

 

[chara]

Hmm..I appreciate that my views may be somewhat "simple" but..gulp...how about a balance between fitness routines and tactical work?,,Seems to work elsewhere?

[Sleeping Dave]

On 04/07/2024 at 14:08, Sciatika said:

For me, there is a world of difference between having a team where none are from the academy and one in which we have at least one or two. The "One of Our Own" song has genuine meaning. If we sell Chalobah and Gallagher, we will be left with just James and Colwill. We are getting close to the point where our first team has none of our academy in it. That's not a place I want to go.

Not to mention that the Vision 2030 project at the club dictates that;

15% of all PL minutes should go to players coming through the academy

25% of the squad should be players from the academy

But then again, given that they threw Fraser in the ditch which angered Bath to the point of him resigning, I suppose they are also scrapping the Vision 2030 project. The new vision seems to be to sell off the academy players in favour of buying foreign youth that we hope we can sell on at a book profit down the line. The only issue here is that the strategy is bound to fail because we pay too much for the young players we buy 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Sleeping Dave]

On 04/07/2024 at 16:36, chiswickblue said:

I should clarify that when I say that TC is a high-performing academy graduate, I don't think he should be undisputed first choice at RCB. I think that the academy should aim to provide a good number of first team squad players, so that the club only has to spend money on players that improve the first XI. If you find an academy player that can be a clear first XI player, like James and Colwill, that's a massive bonus. So, when I say TC is high-performing, he is doing exactly what we want from an academy player - being a reliable squad player, playing multiple positions, performing well when given a run of games.

I know we signed Disasi  because of the injuries to Fofana and TC last pre-season, but now he seems unnecessary given that he's no better than two players that play in his position that we've signed for free (TC and Adarabioyo).

This is exactly where we go wrong. The money we spend for no good reason is mind-blowing.

We could cut our spending by 50% easily and it would have no material impact on our performances. 

[Ham]

10 minutes ago, Sleeping Dave said:

Not to mention that the Vision 2030 project at the club dictates that;

15% of all PL minutes should go to players coming through the academy

25% of the squad should be players from the academy

But then again, given that they threw Fraser in the ditch which angered Bath to the point of him resigning, I suppose they are also scrapping the Vision 2030 project. The new vision seems to be to sell off the academy players in favour of buying foreign youth that we hope we can sell on at a book profit down the line. The only issue here is that the strategy is bound to fail because we pay too much for the young players we buy 🤷🏻‍♂️

My guess is that academy players are being sold currently to right us for the big spend on rebuilding the squad.  

With amortization we'll be clear soon enough and not needing mass clear outs.  

[Bison]

2 hours ago, Sleeping Dave said:

Not to mention that the Vision 2030 project at the club dictates that;

15% of all PL minutes should go to players coming through the academy

25% of the squad should be players from the academy

But then again, given that they threw Fraser in the ditch which angered Bath to the point of him resigning, I suppose they are also scrapping the Vision 2030 project. The new vision seems to be to sell off the academy players in favour of buying foreign youth that we hope we can sell on at a book profit down the line. The only issue here is that the strategy is bound to fail because we pay too much for the young players we buy 🤷🏻‍♂️

Not only do they cost too much but they aren't better than what the academy produces. 

[Sleeping Dave]

14 hours ago, Ham said:

My guess is that academy players are being sold currently to right us for the big spend on rebuilding the squad.  

With amortization we'll be clear soon enough and not needing mass clear outs.  

Don’t worry about the clear-outs, they are bound to be accepted as soon as everyone catches up. 

The only ones who are not susceptible to a clear out is James, Enzo and Caicedo. There is an awful lot left to ponder mate.

[Sleeping Dave]

12 hours ago, Bison said:

Not only do they cost too much but they aren't better than what the academy produces. 

Well yeah, I didn’t say that because it should be very obvious. 

[My Blood Is Blue]

Some new squad numbers.

Colwill taking 6 after the departure of Silva.

W. Fofana changing to 29.

KDH taking 22.

Adarabioyo will wear 4.

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/updates-to-chelsea-squad-numbers

[Miguelito07]

wondering if we will loan / sell any players before leaving to the US? Cos we have a "shed" load of players (again)

[Bison]

On 17/07/2024 at 11:38, Miguelito07 said:

wondering if we will loan / sell any players before leaving to the US? Cos we have a "shed" load of players (again)

He's right. 

[chiswickblue]

3 hours ago, Bison said:

He's right. 

Several summers in a row we've taken a number of players on tour that had no future with the club.

At least Kepa, Lukaku and Malang Sarr won't be there but the likes of Broja and Bergström don't seem to be in favour but may end up going to the US to make up numbers.

Other young players would do better already being on loan, but we obviously need a few extra bodies to cover for the players that are on post-Euro/Copa America holidays. 

[Sleeping Dave]

So... Any bets on how the squad will look like the coming season? At this point in time, the following players are on our books and at least theoretically within a chance to grab a squad place for the coming season imo. Maybe some I've missed from the academy that may surprise. 

 

GK (6): Sanchez/Petrovic/Bettinelli/Arrizabalaga/Bergström/Slonina

RB (3): James/Gusto/Gilchrist

LB (4): Chilwell/Cucurella/Veiga/Wiley

CB (7): Colwill/Disasi/Badiashile/Chalobah/Adarabioyo/Fofana/Humphreys

CM (11): Fernandez/Ugochuwku/Chukwuemeka/Dewsbury-Hall/Gallagher/Caicedo/Casadei/Kellyman/Lavia/Santos/Matos

RW (3): Palmer/Madueke/Gabriel

LW (3): Sterling/Mudryk/George

S (7): Jackson/Nkunku/Fofana/Washington/Broja/Guiu/Burstow

Anjorin, Sarr and Lukaku are both listed on the website but are highly unlikely to even have a chance to go to the states. 

That's a whopping 44 players. We are likely to keep maybe 26 to 27 of them. We have also not really bought anyone to properly challenge for a first XI spot so that may also come down the line. The players marked in green are almost 100% certain to be part of the squad. But lots of uncertainty surrounding who is going to make the final cut.

How do you predict the squad to look come september? I feel it is almost impossible to predict... 

[Bison]