LDN Blue

Whatever happened to this? I know he's at Benfica but people reported he's on loan there from us.. Which can't be true because the club would've made an announcement?

Lmao I know?! Wasn't he actually a very important player under Mourinho and the beginning of Carlo's reign. He was forced in there because Alonso was suspended.. He's just returned from an ACL injury..

I agree, there's only a certain extent to which we can blame to club for a failed loan opportunity. But when McEachran failed at Swansea the club should've realised that Their midfield was already settled.. Josh is talented but wasn't that talented to break the trio of Allen, Ledley and whoever else was there.When it was evident Josh wasn't going to play they should've recalled him.Then we did a Chalobah.. After good numbers at Middlesbrough we sent him to Watford & Wigan were, again, nothing happened. So he's gone and proved himself by cementing a regular role at the club we sent him on loan to and didn't give him an opportunity?! Trying to bring this back to Kalas, he's shown he is capable of holding his own and he's shown he's able to perform to his very best in a Chelsea shirt. Why then is he being sent out on loan when Terry's coming to the end of his career and we've basically got the capability of developing him among our own ranks? My main point before was that continously going on loan can be detrimental to a player's confidence and Southgate has even said this about McEachran, This is also echoed in this article I found rather true as well..

I'm not implying that they would have been a success or anything, but I do believe mishandling of young players contributes significantly to the way their careers don't reach the heights they should. It's natural for an academy to release players without giving them a chance if they genuinely believe they're not good enough, to have never given them a chance is a cruel waste of talent on the club's part. You look at McEachran and how a series of useless loans have basically seen his career fall apart and he may never be allowed to reach the potential he undoubtedly has. Him and Wilshere made themselves known as the same time, but where Arsenal nurtured Wilshere (yes they did loan him out once, but made sure they also gave him chances and nurtured him) we simply allowed McEachran to disappear. Chalobah was at risk. After having a great season with Watford we sent him to Nottingham Forest where he only made 12 appearances.. He played 38 for Watford and was easily one their most consistent and important players and yet we simply dismissed him and sent him away. The problem with Chelsea and young players is we don't like developing them within the club.. We just make it another club's problem and if they do well then we'll consider them (although evidence of this is yet to be shown).

I have to disagree entirely. The reason those players from the FAYC 2010 didn't reach the heights that they did is because we didn't give them any sort of platform to step up. They were always designated to be loaned out to useless clubs where the club mismanaged them and failed to help them. Why does a youngster in the academy have to be as good as Eden Hazard in their current mentality too? Eden Hazard is successful because Lille gave him the opportunity to shine by playing in their first team. They didn't care about his age. And he went on to establish himself as that good. If our players show the potential to be as good as Hazard it's about the club to make potential a reality. We have Piazon for example who's a great talent. Malaga loved him 2 seasons ago and they're raving about him at Vitesse.. Yet he's in trouble of being one of those players we fail if we don't give him an opportunity.

To be fair, it's not the injury itself that will concern me.. It's how he's going to treat it and whether he'll rush back for the sake of making it to the World Cup. A la Torres, we've seen players do detrimental things to themselves in the long term to make temporary fitness.

Yeah, apparently we've sold Porto now and bought Atletico

Then surely he's better in that position than he is in dlp?

I hope he becomes a World Class coach. He's got the tactical mind and he's got sound knowledge of the game Imagine the day we've got backroom staff compromising of Lampard, Terry & Makelele!

Very true. If Azpi is that good at LB he'll be just as/even better in his natural position (as many say for Ivanovic in fact at CB).. Which frees up the left-back role. With Cole not staying and Bertrand's future in the air.. We'll need 2 anyway. Shaw & someone else adds competition.. We could sign a player like Zhirkov who can play left-wing or left-back

People want Oscar to play DLP despite never having played there, so it's no surprise such talk is made about Koke too.

Who knows if Luiz wanted this move or not tbh. I think he was very settled here and would've loved to try and stake a claim to fight to be in the starting XI. He'll adapt well at PSG though, with Silva, Alex etc.. I do hope this won't be a regular thing though, I don't like seeing fan favourites get sold. I'm not used to it.

I honestly we hope we annihilate QPR home and away next season.. I hope Costa 'accidently' takes out Redknapp on the touchline and I hope Joey Barton gets sold to Russia.

Even then I can't give them credibility lmao.. Let's hope it was a shot in the dark.

Because anyone can make a YouTube compilation of any player and make him seem god-like. You could do it for Fellani at United and make him seem like a ballon d'Or contender. It's just a bad way to go about it imo.

This is what should've happened in 2010 after we won the double & many people recognized this (a part reason which cost Ancelotti his job). Mourinho (and the board) deserve praise.

Remember when we didn't resort to YouTube videos to discuss the merits of a player?.. No? Right then

I agree, the Zouma was bit was in the momentum of things -- For the rest of the post I do agree for the majority though it's like Lionsden said, loan moves (particularly at this club) always seem to go into the direction of an eventual sale. Of course Kalas will appreciate the trust Mourinho showed him when he did play him this season at that alone will be recognized as recognition. The problem is, it becomes empty words when we give these kids a chance in the team then ship them out straight away. Think about the young ones that have featured for us, then been loaned out almost immediately in the next window. McEachran, Chalobah, Kakuta etc. It's not about how they performed it's more like they only go exposure for the sake of it. They'll look at Sturridge as prime example of our lack of commitment towards these kids, Sturridge bided his time in our reserves and u21's.. Then he featured sporadically and then we sent him on loan where we eventually sold him. I don't mean to suggest we should use Kalas next season for the sake of it, if he's not ready. I simply mean to say it sends out a bad message if we continue a policy that's never brought results for us. Terry & Cahill are in the forms of their lives, I agree it would be out the question to drop them when they're as developed as they are. However Terry is coming to the end of his career and like any club that recognises that we should be easing his successor into the frame. That will be (as it stands) between Kalas, Ake (unless he's seen as a DM) or Zouma (if he remains with us). One of these boys has to get more than 3 games.. It's sin not to. I agree with you about learning how to be a professional of a club like this that demands your best week in-week out. It is a double edged sword too, on one hand if we say keep him here to learn from Mourinho he may not feature much. If we loan him out, he could end up being forgotten. I just think for the sake of our future talent not leading an exodus on us, they need to see that Chelsea will promote them and reward them for working hard.

Who would've though Luiz would cost more than Thiago Silva? It's a testament to him though, on the pitch there's always going to be questions asked but off the pitch I don't think you'll ever find a more charismatic player. He leaves us with 1 CL winner's medal, 1 Europea League winner's Medal & 1 FA Cup winner's medal. Not bad for a 3 year stint. Thank you David!

Top posts here regarding the loan system. Being ridiculed by rival clubs I can take all day long but as a fan of this club it's downright frustrating to constantly see young talent mishandled in such a way that we have to spend ludicrous sums to fill talent we could've had by simply nurturing. When a player is promoted from the youth team there's something special. The player is full of appreciation for the club, the player PLAYS FOR THE CLUB not his damn paycheck!! Sure they might move on, but they stay humble for their club most times. Look at one-man clubs.. Zanetti, Scholes, Gerrard and Puyol the adoration they have for fans and club alike. Maybe I'm getting too sentimental. Kalas gave the game of his life v Suarez, the guy who won the Golden Boot this season. Irrespective of our tactics in the game he held his own and now he's going on loan?! Because why? He didn't cost £12 million like Zouma or doesn't have a £35 million buy out like Mangala? Ridiculous.

I always love the CL Final, even if we're not in it. The occasion is just that good to me, like the World Cup Final. The football fan in me just gets overly excited

I don't know.. Sometimes it's more than that. Kroos and Ozil, they're not the Robben or Ribbery of Bayern or the Ronaldo/Bale of Real Madrid. They're not the big guys. Sure they'll get recognition from football pundits who are tactically knowledgeable, their managers will say how '[insert name] is important to me'. But they're not the linchpin, they're not getting the Nike endorsements etc. I think such players make a move to clubs so they'll be the big guys.. It's ego. Footballers love ego, they live to feed their egos. It's why you get Zidane moving from Barcelona to Real Madrid, it's why Tevez moves to the other side of Manchester.. It's why Rooney held United to ransom (amongst other things). My 2¢ anyway lol..

Indeed. I've heard barca will make a move for either Silva or Marquinhos, they'll pay big too.

Yeah definitely. Let's hope all our transfers can be like this, controversy free!

Okay