Chelsea Reserve & Youth Team

[My Blood Is Blue]

You just know, they’re going to go and massively improve another academy elsewhere. Gutted with this news.

The owners have now pretty much stripped everything out from the Roman era, other than Billy the masseur!

[east lower]

41 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Shocking news, every day the two DOFs tighten the noose around their own necks. 

One day someone who thinks they're the bees knees will pay. 

Or, they’re getting shot of anyone who poses a threat by means of expert and proven knowledge plus success?

[Mark Kelly]

12 minutes ago, east lower said:

Or, they’re getting shot of anyone who poses a threat by means of expert and proven knowledge plus success?

It's a common thing to do in business, get rid of the ones who know you're an idiot and bingo! 

[Ham]

1 hour ago, Ham said:

My guess is that they spoke out over the way the academy graduates were being used. 

Wouldn't be surprised if they walked. 

 

 

[Holymoly]

Let's be honest, the Academy is frustrating the flow of u17 Brazilians into the first team squad.

[chiswickblue]

37 minutes ago, Ham said:

 

 

Well of course that's what the club would say, through one of their 4-5 unofficial mouthpieces.

[Rob B]

Rumours that Joe Shields is to get a bigger role off the back of this.  

[Ham]

46 minutes ago, chiswickblue said:

Well of course that's what the club would say, through one of their 4-5 unofficial mouthpieces.

According to Kinsella (I know. Another mouthpiece) the plan is to align a style of play though from kids to first team just like Barca and City. 

Whilst we've been quite successful with the academy in teams of trophies, and getting the odd player through to the first team long term, players don't come into the first team set up with a defined style of play. 

Apparently Joe Shields will oversee the academy. I think we can ask agree that he's been a success so far. 

 

[xceleryx]

4 hours ago, Ham said:

According to Kinsella (I know. Another mouthpiece) the plan is to align a style of play though from kids to first team just like Barca and City. 

Whilst we've been quite successful with the academy in teams of trophies, and getting the odd player through to the first team long term, players don't come into the first team set up with a defined style of play. 

Apparently Joe Shields will oversee the academy. I think we can ask agree that he's been a success so far. 

The theory of it makes sense, being able to learn a style from a young age and then carry that into the senior side is a huge advantage when it comes to giving every young player the best chance to succeed in their step up. 

From memory we used to have this a little under Mourinho in the days of playing 443. This then filtered down to the academy sides, but over the years the two setups have drifted apart in terms of style and kinda been independent of each other. 

Shield and Jewell will likely have a large say moving forward. Disappointing to of course see someone like Bath go, but without knowing the finer points it's hard to say too much on that right now. He is 58 however, there may be one more big job in him, and I'd not be surprised if Man Utd come sniffing for both Bath and Fraser given the complete mess they've got going on over there, but it is what it is. 

[east lower]

10 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

It's a common thing to do in business, get rid of the ones who know you're an idiot and bingo! 

Reading between the lines and the stuff being written “left of their own accord “ etc.

I’d guess at they (Bath & Fraser) could see what was coming. They might have been spoken with by the gruesome twosome, and didn’t agree (which would have been engineered) and decided to leave on the best possible terms for themselves.

It’s the old trick of putting your own people in to try to ensure compliance and control. Not always healthy for the business to have a ‘no-challenge’ type environment though.

[Bison]

9 hours ago, Ham said:

According to Kinsella (I know. Another mouthpiece) the plan is to align a style of play though from kids to first team just like Barca and City. 

Whilst we've been quite successful with the academy in teams of trophies, and getting the odd player through to the first team long term, players don't come into the first team set up with a defined style of play. 

Apparently Joe Shields will oversee the academy. I think we can ask agree that he's been a success so far. 

Has he? News to me. Palmer has been a huge success of course but...that's it? Lavia for instance has been an unmitigated disaster.

Why is a glorified scout being allowed to oversee the entire academy process? In both his previous and current role, all he's done so far is showcase the ability to hand over hundreds of millions to Man City for their academy players.

Looks like Kinsella, Law etc. all the client journalists, received the same brief.

4 hours ago, xceleryx said:

The theory of it makes sense, being able to learn a style from a young age and then carry that into the senior side is a huge advantage when it comes to giving every young player the best chance to succeed in their step up. 

From memory we used to have this a little under Mourinho in the days of playing 443. This then filtered down to the academy sides, but over the years the two setups have drifted apart in terms of style and kinda been independent of each other. 

Shield and Jewell will likely have a large say moving forward. Disappointing to of course see someone like Bath go, but without knowing the finer points it's hard to say too much on that right now. He is 58 however, there may be one more big job in him, and I'd not be surprised if Man Utd come sniffing for both Bath and Fraser given the complete mess they've got going on over there, but it is what it is. 

The academy players learn several styles of play right through the age groups. They have been dominant for years at all age groups, compete with the best teams around and play modern football. 

Look at how many Premier Legaue levels players the academy has produced. Look how many are excelling in Europe.

We're going to produce far fewer capable, all-round footballers implementing one style of play.  

[Bob Singleton]

49 minutes ago, Bison said:

[SNIP]

We're going to produce far fewer capable, all-round footballers implementing one style of play.  

Nobody in a position of authority at Chelsea has said that Bath leaving and Shields taking over is in order to implement a common style of play throughout the club... that came from a forumite.

[Ham]

6 hours ago, xceleryx said:

 

From memory we used to have this a little under Mourinho in the days of playing 443. This then filtered down to the academy sides, but over the years the two setups have drifted apart in terms of style and kinda been independent of each other. 

 

Careful. @ROTG already thinks you're one of TBSD.

 

[xceleryx]

3 minutes ago, Ham said:

Careful. @ROTG already thinks you're one of TBSD.

 

Fuck, I've exposed myself. 

[Bison]

19 minutes ago, Bob Singleton said:

Nobody in a position of authority at Chelsea has said that Bath leaving and Shields taking over is in order to implement a common style of play throughout the club... that came from a forumite.

It was suggested in the wave of reports released last night that was the plan. 

Even more people leaving then. 

[blueboy1905]

11 hours ago, chiswickblue said:

Well of course that's what the club would say, through one of their 4-5 unofficial mouthpieces.

Got NDA written all over it.

[blueboy1905]

10 hours ago, Ham said:

According to Kinsella (I know. Another mouthpiece) the plan is to align a style of play though from kids to first team just like Barca and City. 

Whilst we've been quite successful with the academy in teams of trophies, and getting the odd player through to the first team long term, players don't come into the first team set up with a defined style of play. 

Apparently Joe Shields will oversee the academy. I think we can ask agree that he's been a success so far. 

 

How are we able to provide a defined style of play whilst we change managers as regularly as I change my underwear !!!

[Bison]

14 minutes ago, blueboy1905 said:

How are we able to provide a defined style of play whilst we change managers as regularly as I change my underwear !!!

Exactly. When Maresca is gone in February and the new manager wants to play a different brand of football what happens then? It makes sense for the academy to teach players how to play various styles rather than getting 15 year oldd to stand in one zone and play a specific way. 

[Ham]

20 minutes ago, blueboy1905 said:

How are we able to provide a defined style of play whilst we change managers as regularly as I change my underwear !!!

Well that is the challenge.  The team has to be successful on the pitch first to justify keeping the coach.  

Last season was written off due to injuries.  

No excuses this season (even from me!)

[Sciatika]

Success first, then performance and entertainment.  We need all three to keep attendance up, but the most important is always success. We are all glory-hunters.

Edited July 4 by Sciatika

[paulw66]

14 hours ago, Bison said:

 Some of the most promising academy players have left or are rumored to be leaving because they see no pathway into the first team.

 

That had begun long before the takeover.

Think Livramento, Guehi, Bate, Lamptey

The "problem" with the academy has almost been producing too many good players. 

[Sabrina F.]

My theory is it's not about selling young players or buying young players from foreign countries. We did all that before.

Cobham was Roman's gift to fans. Academies are expensive, and they're not financially viable on their own, money goes into it, money isn't coming out, players have to sign pro contracts to bring in fees, only a very select few do that. People will look at an academy graduate sold for £5 million and believe it's profit. It's "pure profit" for FFP, which is accounting tricks (fake finance). In reality, it's more like, we spent 100s of millions back in the mid 2000s (infrastructure, coaching, expenses, schooling on each player, even those who don't turn pro) to eventually produce players worth a couple of millions 10, 20 years later.

It's the reason why Brentford at their most moneyball form, closed their academy, and why the best academies aren't your Brightons & co. They're Man City's mini La Masia recreated with endless UAE money, it's Barça and the biggest revenue-generating clubs, it's Qatar's PSG banking on the good PR and soft power from having the academy of les banlieues. 

My guess is in line with this summer's trend: we're skint. We had that injection of investment/capital over 2 years (though the club bears the risk of the investment and is very much tied to it longer term), and now, we're cutting costs. Cutting wages, going from a 8-10m/year coach to a 4-5m/year coach, buying the Championship's best player (KDH) instead of buying the league's best upcoming player (Olise), and so on.

Roman was very generous with Chelsea, Cobham was state of the art and I imagine, Neil Bath and Frazer were paid as their reputation of best academy directors in the country, required.

I'm going to guess here, Sam Jewell, with his very limited experience in football compartively, isn't paid as much.

Of course, it's going to be PR'd as rebuilding and reinvesting and so on. But it's most likely just like with transfers this summer: talk of Olise and Calafiori, and instead we're taking the direction of moneyball. The Clearlake shareholders won't sink more money into the pit, their investment so far failing, either has to provide ROI or they'll get it from other invsetments. Energy, healthcare, tech etc the better, safer bets. One of them goes boom and it pays everyone for taking the L elsewhere.

I would bet Bath and Frazer are going to be approached by clubs who don't care if they're losing money, who need the community & PR associated with good football academies, and the FFP accounting tricks they might provide in the future. Newcastle likely to make that move.

Edited July 4 by Sabrina F.

[MickyDroy]

Interesting thread from Chelsea Youth on the matter...

Henry Winter is reporting another two popular figures at the club are leaving on the back of this debacle as well. I don't like it one bit, if they can't even leave Bath & Fraser alone with the amount of success they've had with Cobham to continue with their usual disruptors shtick thats damn near fucked the entire club up for two years running.

 

[Bison]

1 hour ago, paulw66 said:

That had begun long before the takeover.

Think Livramento, Guehi, Bate, Lamptey

The "problem" with the academy has almost been producing too many good players. 

Yes, producing a lot good players which highlights just how much good work the academy was doing. And if we're honest, a lot of the good players produced should have been given more opportunities at first team level but never were.

[Lump Of Celery]

2 hours ago, Sabrina F. said:

Neil Bath and Frazer were paid as their reputation of best academy directors in the country, required.

I'm going to guess here, Sam Jewell, with his very limited experience in football compartively, isn't paid as much.

I would imagine their wages are peanuts in the grand scheme of things, earning less annually than a lot of players earning a week.