As and English club, FA law requires a certain amount of English players to be registered in the squad every season. Its easy to bypass this rule and register youth players that the club will never play but it is nice to have a little legitimacy and have a core of regular starting English players. Not being an Englishmen myself, it doesnt bother me all that much where the players in the starting XI are from, but Im not the law maker and as I said the FA demands it. Right now the main Pommies featuring regularly in the Chelsea squad are John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Gary Cahill. Not a bad list of players, eh? All capped by England, and three of four have Captained England. But, Terry, Cole and Lamps are getting old, all on the very wrong side of 30 and Cahill; well its debateable if he is even qualified to be the undisputed #1 CB at Chelsea. Soon, whether its next season where you can find good betting odds with Unibet or the seasons after Terry, Cole and Lamps will leave or retire. Its going to happen, accept it. Who is going to replace this trio? Someone bought? Or someone promoted? Now when it comes to English players, they seem to be potted into very distinct groups: Idiots That Are In The Media Daily (John Terry, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole Rio Ferdinand, Joey Barton) and Quiet Respectable Men With A Stiff Upper Lip (Frank Lampard, Leighton Baines, Paul Scholes, Phil Jagielka). Which do I prefer: The type of guy that gets into the news for snorting cocaine from a prostitutes stomach, or the bloke that is in the news for scoring a hat trick against Liverpool? While they are both great and entertaining in their own rights, I think I lean towards the bloke who scores on the football pitch and not the fella that scores in the brothel. At the Chelsea youth theyve some very interesting prospects. Very interesting. It seems the youth setup is finally paying dividends on talented youngsters, but as Chelsea fans we say that every few years dont we? Starting the list of is Islam Feruz, a Scottish youngster signed from Celtic, a forward in the mould of Wayne Rooney. Ruben Loftus-Cheek a pornstar a young physical Englishmen that is earning more money a year than Ill ever see in a lifetime, a combative midfielder, though with injury problems. Nathanial Chalobah, the beast, the animal, dominant in Zolas Watford; Chalobah has drawn comparisons from dozens of players, for instance he is compared to that cunt Yay Touré. Todd Kane, another Englishmen; has been doing a marvellous effort at Blackburn Rovers, tearing up and down the right flank as a RB. And lastly, the prodigal son himself, Josh McEachran; Josh has talent and technique above nearly all of these other youngsters, yet he lack drive and determination, he seems to have rested on his laurels after picking himself up a pretty(?) girlfriend. Very exciting stuff indeed A Scot and four Englishmen; five big prospects, five lads set for stardom or bust. Sadly we are maybe seeing one bust right now. McEachrans hype and justification for playing for Chelsea seems to growing weaker by the match. A superb technique not seem in the English game is possessed by Joshs left foot but as I said earlier he is cursed with a very slim physique and a mentality more geared towards listened to Morrissey and The Smiths while writing in his diary. He can still do it, he can still make, to give up on him just yet, is chomping at the bit. Give just a little hope, because he is only 20 and José hasnt arrived nor has he decided on Josh. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathanial Chalobah are in my eyes shoe-ins for the Chelsea first team one day. Powerful, determined and technical; all three adjective are applicable to both players. They are rather similar players really; maybe Loftus-Cheek has more up his sleeve in terms of attacking but Chalobah offers more in defence. But other than that, the similarities are there and hopefully the similarities dont push one forward whilst holding the other back. They'll make it one day, trust me. I'm calling this right now. Laugh at me later if you want, but I'm still calling it. I havent seen much of Islam Feruz to be honest. Ive heard whispers and rumours that he is a powerful forward that will run his socks off for the good of the team; much like Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevéz. The is great, Im taking a lot of liberty here but Im going to say that makes him as versatile as Rooney and Tevéz. In general I believe its harder for forwards to break into the first team. They talent and the goods are all there but if they dont score its bye-bye time. A few games and a few missed chances could ruin Islams future at Chelsea. But a few early goals could see his stock and hype soar and rise beyond everything reasonable. Tricky ones to call forwards are. But now, who can Chelsea buy? The rags are linking the Blues to players such as Wayne Rooney, Luke Shaw andthats pretty much it. Two very, very great players, I might add. Id take them in a heartbeat. But how much will they cost? Who will they be marginalising at Chelsea? Will they flop? I feel Luke Shaw is a must buy. Not even a second thought or opinion about it, future number one LB for England. No doubt about it. He is already better than Bertrand and he is quickly coming up on Ashley Cole. He is tall, strong, quick and can run all day and night. A self-claimed Chelsea supporter, Shaw is an absolute must buy, I cannot stress this enough. If Shaw is missed out on and he joins ManUtd Liverpool or some other team, I will be very cross and upset. Rooney. He has been brilliant at ManUtd ever since his debut. Can he brilliant for Chelsea too? Wayne dislike Moyes and Moyes dislike Wayne. So that being said Shrek Rooney will probably want to leave ManUtd. But who will he join? PSG? Arsenal? My bet is Chelsea. Im not too sure I want him at Chelsea, but I cant say I wouldnt want him here either. He is dynamic; he can play in just about every position with class and elegance (something he lacks in real life). He would definitely improve Chelsea, as he would be a perfect CF. People say he cant play as a CF anymore after being converted to CAM/CM but I respond to that with: If he can be converted to a CAM/CM from a striker, the reverse is more than possible. Its not like he can only switch positions once, besides he has played as a CF much longer than he has played in this deeper position. He will cost an arm and a leg, but I cant complain much about that seeing as it wont be my arm or leg. So what you would you prefer? Buying in all the English and homegrown talent or focusing inwards on the youth system? I think the pickings are bare enough in both fields which enables a little of both. Buying Shaw would be great, but so would promoting Loftus-Cheek and Chalobah. You probably disagree, if so why?3 1At the very least they have to be homegrown. In fact Im too sure about the rules. Victor Moses is homegrown, but he plays for Nigeria (though Im sure he owns an English passport). I know Owen Hargreaves was English to a degree but did he qualify as homegrown growing up in Canada and playing his early career in Germany? I think when it comes down to it a player can be homegrown and non-eligible for the Three Lions and they can be eligible for the Three Lions without being homegrown. Confusing. 2 I think a lot of Poms and just about everyone else arent bothered too much by it either. 3 You are probably wrong anyway. Click here to view the article
