Chelsea Reserve & Youth Team

[Bison]

5 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

He turned down his new contract  so I don't suppose the evil empire had much alternative. 

Damn them ! Damn them to Hell ! 

Wonder why he turned down the contract.

[Mark Kelly]

3 minutes ago, Bison said:

Wonder why he turned down the contract.

Because they're evil , obvs. 

[paulw66]

56 minutes ago, Bison said:

Wonder why he turned down the contract.

Are you going to blame Todd and co for Livramento, Lamptey and Guehi doing the same? 

[Sabrina F.]

We should all know and talk a lot less about 15 year old kids on scholarships.

[Lump Of Celery]

 

2 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

He turned down his new contract  so I don't suppose the evil empire had much alternative. 

Damn them ! Damn them to Hell ! 

1 hour ago, Bison said:

Wonder why he turned down the contract.

Apparently Liverpool have broken their academy wage structure to sign him, so they must consider him a big talent. Read some rumours that we are pissed that they turned his head and poached him from us, not sure there is such a thing as tapping up at that age group.

Another supposed big talent from the same age group, Ryan McAidoo, is also joining Man City this summer. It is a bit worrying that they don't see their futures here and I consider it likely that their recent recruitment policy and disposing of Neil Bath and Jim Fraser has probably had some affect on academy players thoughts.

[Bison]

1 hour ago, Lump Of Celery said:

Apparently Liverpool have broken their academy wage structure to sign him, so they must consider him a big talent. Read some rumours that we are pissed that they turned his head and poached him from us, not sure there is such a thing as tapping up at that age group.

Another supposed big talent from the same age group, Ryan McAidoo, is also joining Man City this summer. It is a bit worrying that they don't see their futures here and I consider it likely that their recent recruitment policy and disposing of Neil Bath and Jim Fraser has probably had some affect on academy players thoughts.

To be fair it's not uncommon for movement at this age group and it seems to be happening a lot more than in previous years.

Liveroool breaking their wage structure is huge news for them but I doubt it's something we haven't paid before or couldn't pay to keep a highly rated young player.

[Ham]

22 minutes ago, Bison said:

To be fair it's not uncommon for movement at this age group and it seems to be happening a lot more than in previous years.

Liveroool breaking their wage structure is huge news for them but I doubt it's something we haven't paid before or couldn't pay to keep a highly rated young player.

Tell us all about him. 

How many times have you watched him?

How good is he?

What are his strengths and weaknesses?

Who is in his way? 

[chara]

HMM..Solanke says hi and has a Liverpool shirt for sale on ebay,

Souness has an old Spurs shirt on there as well.

OG example..for as long as I can remember as a player and spectator the "big" CH's would come up for corners, from grass roots up to the top level,,,nothing new until the media started focusing on Jackie Charlton and his excursions and assaults on keepers and suddenly it was headline and "innovative",,,get the point?

[Sabrina F.]

There's no pathway talk at 15 years old. That is obscene and ridiculous.

What did Liverpool say to this kid? In 4 or 5 years we'll sell all of Luis Diaz, Gakpo, Szoboszlai, Eliott, Curtis Jones, Diego Jota? And we'll totally not replace them with anyone equally as good.

It's not how football clubs plan for things. You just can't plan for what happens, in squad spots, in 2 or 3 years.

 

Academies are better suited to train future pro players (with a reality ratio that only 1 to 5% turn actually pro, let alone at a top level) to sell on the market, and because there are so many variables to the progression of a young player and whether he becomes not just good, but good enough for the top tier, you simply don't think: I'm not buying a RB for the next 3 seasons because I have a 16yo who's good.

Gael Kakuta was the most dominant 16 year old I'd ever seen. Turned out to be a decent Ligue 1 player at most.

And sometimes, you're well staffed in a position and that's where it happens you produce a youth player you didn't expect to be great, that forces you to play him once he got senior minutes.

 

Basically, it's all way too unpredictable and the reason why academies aren't football clubs. Football clubs can be very successful without good academies, good academies don't make great clubs.

[Bison]

1 hour ago, Ham said:

Tell us all about him. 

How many times have you watched him?

How good is he?

What are his strengths and weaknesses?

Who is in his way? 

Very strange line of questioning.

Any supporter who has even the slightest interest in following their club's academy will often hear names as the next one to break through, emerging talents. The likes of Mount, CHO, Reece etc. were all highly thought of and you'd hear their names often.

This kid was one of these players and it seems to be a huge loss for the academy. Another club has reportedly broken their academy wage structure to sign him.

It's totally fine that you couldn't care less about his departure but having a dig at those who do is incredibly weird. I support the club, not just the men's team. You'll see me post in here, the women's thread etc. 

[Ham]

31 minutes ago, Bison said:

Very strange line of questioning.

Any supporter who has even the slightest interest in following their club's academy will often hear names as the next one to break through, emerging talents. The likes of Mount, CHO, Reece etc. were all highly thought of and you'd hear their names often.

This kid was one of these players and it seems to be a huge loss for the academy. Another club has reportedly broken their academy wage structure to sign him.

It's totally fine that you couldn't care less about his departure but having a dig at those who do is incredibly weird. I support the club, not just the men's team. You'll see me post in here, the women's thread etc. 

Not strange at all.

I don't think you know the first thing about him but you've committed to him being a future star based purely on your rush to criticise every single decision made by the club.

Not following your knee-jerk positions doesn't make me anti-academy.  I'm just rational enough to look at the big picture before getting the pitchforks out.  

We will always create far too many youth products to incorporate into the first team squad.  

[Bison]

21 minutes ago, Ham said:

Not strange at all.

I don't think you know the first thing about him but you've committed to him being a future star based purely on your rush to criticise every single decision made by the club.

Not following your knee-jerk positions doesn't make me anti-academy.  I'm just rational enough to look at the big picture before getting the pitchforks out.  

We will always create far too many youth products to incorporate into the first team squad.  

I know very little about him besides how highly rated he is within both our own academy and the England youth set up. I've seen clips and videos of his performances as they happened throughout last seasons and clips of him training with our first team. Anybody with even the slightest interest in our academy would be familiar with his name. 

Me making an innocuous comment about us losing a highly rated youngster in the youth team thread no less seems to have triggered something in you. Very strange but I'm used to this from you. 

Edited July 9 by Bison

[ROTG]

55 minutes ago, Bison said:

I know very little about him besides how highly rated he is within both our own academy and the England youth set up. I've seen clips and videos of his performances as they happened throughout last seasons and clips of him training with our first team. Anybody with even the slightest interest in our academy would be familiar with his name. 

Me making an innocuous comment about us losing a highly rated youngster in the youth team thread no less seems to have triggered something in you. Very strange but I'm used to this from you. 

Have to support ham 😳

Omari Hutchinson, was an Arse player poached by our academy  

 

[Ham]

2 hours ago, ROTG said:

Have to support ham 😳

Omari Hutchinson, was an Arse player poached by our academy  

 

👀

[Bison]

Very interesting piece here:

https://www.thetransferflow.com/p/chelsea-academy-changes-neil-bath

Quote

On July 4th, it was reported that long-time Academy Manager (recently Head of Football Development) Neil Bath would be leaving Chelsea. This sent ripples through the English footballing world, as Bath was responsible for many of the best footballing prospects of the last 20 years, including many who formed the cornerstones of England’s recent footballing success.

Producing great academy players consistently is hard work. Humans are complicated, and young athletes doubly so. It’s also undoubtedly one of the most important elements for top football teams to have these days, and Chelsea’s academy has been exceptional for a long time now. The whole thing was odd enough that I decided to ask around and learn more.

 

Edited July 12 by Bison

[Bison]

 

[Mark Kelly]

15 minutes ago, Bison said:

 

I believe the radical reform is to ensure that the youth sides all play the same way so that they can adapt seamlessly to the demands of the first team which is why we have a new "systems" coach . Everyone on the same page.

City do it and Barcelona do it and now we are doing it too . 

Nothing to do with the old regime being bad at their jobs as they evidently weren't but they also evidently didn't want to do what the new regime wanted them to do so left as is their prerogative .

[Sleeping Dave]

14 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I believe the radical reform is to ensure that the youth sides all play the same way so that they can adapt seamlessly to the demands of the first team which is why we have a new "systems" coach . Everyone on the same page.

City do it and Barcelona do it and now we are doing it too . 

Nothing to do with the old regime being bad at their jobs as they evidently weren't but they also evidently didn't want to do what the new regime wanted them to do so left as is their prerogative .

I’m sorry Mark but this is never going to happen.

First, the club doesn’t have a one way of playing. Second, no first team manager will stay long enough to implement such a strategy. Third, youth football is about developing the technical abilities of the players. You can do that in any system. Fourth, a well-educated player will adapt to any system.

The Chelsea academy is probably the most successful academy in England and top five in Europe over the last decade or so. There is no need to change anything, just refine. We have developed so many top level footballers. Both in England and abroad. If there is something that needs changing is how well we take care of them once they have reached our level. If the strategy dumb and dumber has is to fund this ludicrous PE strategy by selling our academy prospects then they are burning the candle at both ends.

Tick, tock. Only a matter of time before the house of cards comes crashing down. 

Edited August 9 by Sleeping Dave

[Mark Kelly]

6 minutes ago, Sleeping Dave said:

I’m sorry Mark but this is never going to happen.

First, the club doesn’t have a one way of playing. Second, no first team manager will stay long enough to implement such a strategy. Third, youth football is about developing the technical abilities of the players. You can do that in any system. Fourth, a well-educated player will adapt to any system.

The Chelsea academy is probably the most successful academy in England and top five in Europe over the last decade or so. There is no need to change anything, just refine. We have developed so many top level footballers. Both in England and abroad. If there is something that needs changing is how well we take care of them once they have reached our level. If the strategy dumb and dumber has is to fund this ludicrous PE strategy by selling our academy prospects then they are burning the candle at both ends.

Tick, tock. Only a matter of time before the house of cards comes crashing down. 

You don't have to apologise to me mate , I'm not behind it , I'm just answering the incessant,  hysterical "the Sky is falling down" posts. 

Like most things I prefer to wait and see , if it works for City and Barca , why exactly won't it work at Chelsea?  Why? 

[Ham]

7 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

You don't have to apologise to me mate , I'm not behind it , I'm just answering the incessant,  hysterical "the Sky is falling down" posts. 

Like most things I prefer to wait and see , if it works for City and Barca , why exactly won't it work at Chelsea?  Why? 

Amazes me that the club didn't always have a strategy of playing the same system throughout all ages groups but they didn't.

Insane.

[Mark Kelly]

1 minute ago, Ham said:

Amazes me that the club didn't always have a strategy of playing the same system throughout all ages groups but they didn't.

Insane.

I think in the seventies Ajax were doing it too from memory 

[Sciatika]

Adi Viveash did an interview (with Sky, I think)  a while back pointing out how important it is to get the young players to copy the first-team formations and tactics so that they are available to cross the road if an opportunity arises for first-team training or even potential appearances.

[Sleeping Dave]

56 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

You don't have to apologise to me mate , I'm not behind it , I'm just answering the incessant,  hysterical "the Sky is falling down" posts. 

Like most things I prefer to wait and see , if it works for City and Barca , why exactly won't it work at Chelsea?  Why? 

We’ve tried it under JM. But when he was sacked we changed managers and style so often that it didn’t make sense. 

You need continuity over time to implement such a strategy. Chelsea has rarely been a club that has a manager for longer than 2-3 seasons. That isn’t enough. 

[Mark Kelly]

21 minutes ago, Sleeping Dave said:

We’ve tried it under JM. But when he was sacked we changed managers and style so often that it didn’t make sense. 

You need continuity over time to implement such a strategy. Chelsea has rarely been a club that has a manager for longer than 2-3 seasons. That isn’t enough. 

I understand the sentiment but maybe Maresca will be a success and they will want to keep him this time ? Maybe Rosenior in Strasbourg a coach already wedded to the system is being moulded to take over if needs be later on ? Maybe they're trying to get all their ducks in a row ? Maybe all these youngsters we're stock-piling are because they know something we don't about plans in the Premier League going forwards , there's too many variables to get over excited over until we have to. 

[Sleeping Dave]

4 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I understand the sentiment but maybe Maresca will be a success and they will want to keep him this time ? Maybe Rosenior in Strasbourg a coach already wedded to the system is being moulded to take over if needs be later on ? Maybe they're trying to get all their ducks in a row ? Maybe all these youngsters we're stock-piling are because they know something we don't about plans in the Premier League going forwards , there's too many variables to get over excited over until we have to. 

I think you’re giving them way too much credit. Personally I feel 100% certain they think they’ve found some sort of loophole by stock-piling these youngsters. Thinking they can take the PE blueprint and apply it to footballers. 

For obvious reasons that won’t work.