semiller1313

Well, we do sell some of the players that don't make the first team to help balance the books, but yeah, financially it would probably make sense to drop it. However, from a fan perspective I would hate to see it go. For me, it's fun to learn about the new players coming in, and watching how they do. A vast majority will fail, but it feels extremely rewarding when one does make it. I guess its like playing the lottery; shit odds, but the hope of possibility winning makes it worthwhile.

The sad reality is that our academy will never produce players for our first team on a regular basis. Realistically, you have to be one of the top 300 players in the world to be a regular at Chelsea. Its incredibly difficult to know which 13-14 year is eventually going to develop into the next John Terry, and even if you do spot a player with incredible potential, you have to compete with every other team in the world to sign them. Barcelona, is one of the few teams that produces top players on a regular basis. Yes, that partly has to do with training, but its also because of their immense reputation; almost every young player in Spain (and everywhere else) would give their left nut to play for them. However, even with that huge advantage, a vast majority of their youths will fail. Lately, I think we have intelligently been targeting older players like Piazon, Lukaku, Courtois and Wallace who are further along in their development. The older a player is, the easier it is to project where they will end up. What gets me excited about Chalobah is that he seems to be one of those rare players that exceeds expectations, and actually has a shot of making it out of the academy. He still has a lot to prove, but my money is on him making it.

I agree that it was poor loan, but I absolutely don't think it had anything to do with the fans. Do you really think the board factors in fan opinion when making player evaluations? Obviously, it would've been better if he had more playing time, but I don't agree that he lost a whole year of development. Don't you think the thousands of hours he spends in training during the year aid in development? Playing time helps, but I don't think its going to make or break him.

First of all, you shouldn't pay too much attention to what players and managers say. They are all taught to say positive and optimistic things, regardless of the situation. But even if he meant it, what does that really prove? Is his psyche so fragile that he can't handle not getting what he wants, when he wants it? You are right to a degree, work ethic will only take you so far if you aren't training intelligently. However, at the Premier League level, I think it is safe to assume that all players are being trained competently. Some teams may handle things a little better than others, but I think the differences are quite small, and don't determine whether or not an average player will turn into a star.

How did expectations affect Josh's career? I think exaggerated expectations mainly affect those with the expectations. Sure, if everybody is telling you how great you are, you can become overly confident, but I don't think anybody would claim has ever been overly confident. When it comes to player development, I feel that some people put too much emphasis on external factors like expectations, playing time, and loans. IMO natural ability and work ethic are 90% of the equation. If a player has what it takes, he will make it; the cream will rise to the top. Based on what I have seen, Chalobah has what it takes to be a top player. Should we bring him back now? To me, the question is: Is he better than Romeu? Will he be useful for our team right now? If he is, then I say bring him in use him as a backup DM. If not, let him go on loan to a Premiere league team that needs him. Edit: Oops, looks like "The only place to be" covered this, should of read the whole thread.

I agree that he would do better as a false 9, using ground based possession, however, I don't see us moving in that direction. Lukaku, is most likely going to be our main striker for the next 10 years, he is anything but a false 9; I believe our system will be molded to fit him. Of course, anything could happen in the future, I could be totally wrong, maybe we will get a new manager that loves the false 9 or maybe Lukaku will be crap or get hurt. I'm just saying right now, it looks unlikely.

I have a hard time seeing Feruz ever playing for the first team. He has performed well for the youth team/reserves, and obviously has talent, but in my eyes he doesn't fit our team and formation. What position would he play? He is too short (163 cm) to play as lone striker, and he doesn't seem to have the creativity and passing ability to play on the wing. Am I off base here? Can you guys see us using such a small lone striker? In our system, I don't think the lead striker necessarily has to be a pure target man, but he does have to be able challenge for headers, and hold up the ball for the AM's. I suppose in the future we could change to a two striker formation, but with Hazard, Mata, KDS and Oscar, I don't see that happening.

He was the Belgian Young Player of the Year. Don't want to be pedantic, but there is a significant difference between the best young player and the best overall player. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_professional_football_awards

Injuries definitely make is hard to nail down a perfect squad size, as you never know what will happen. If we go with your plan, and rotate heavily, I would prefer to bring back Piazon. I think in his time at Malaga he has shown he has the ability to be first team player. He certainly isn't fully developed at this point, but I think he is good enough now that he wouldn't hurt the team while learning on the job.

Why are you so convinced he isn't ready? Is it just his age? I agree that it is a risk, we can never know for sure how a player will fit in our team. But don't you think bringing in a new player would also be risky? Who knows how the new player would adjust to a new league, new teammates, new formation, new manager. Also there is the financial risk, with FFP we have to think of money differently; every dollar spent in one area takes away from another. For example, say we are restricted to spending 50 million this season, if we spend 30 million(and wages) on a striker, that leaves us only 20 million to upgrade our midfield and defense. IMO those areas are in bigger need of help. Even if Lukaku is a total failure (doubtful), we still have Ba, who I think is a very solid, proven player. If a new transfer fails, we will still have Ba to fall back on, but we will also be out 30 million, and for that reason, I think bringing in a new player is the bigger risk.

I see where you're coming from, and I agree that we need adequate cover. However, I also think we need to be careful not to overload the position. Hazard, Mata, Oscar and KDB are all top players who will not be satisfied unless they are playing the majority of the games. To ward off fatigue, I think they would be willing to sit around 25% of the time. Four players, playing 75% of the time in 3 positions doesn't really leave any time for anybody else. So I guess the problem isn't having too many attacking midfielders, its having too many really good attacking midfielders (first world problems) who demand playing time. Of course, things don't always go to plan, players will get hurt and suspended, which will give Moses plenty of opportunities, but beyond that, I don't see a 6th AM having much of a role, and unless there was a catastrophe, I don't see a seventh AM playing at all. Don't you think Ramires, and Bertrand would be good enough to take up the sixth and seventh spots? I think you may be able to convince me to get a winger-striker since we need a 3rd striker, but I definitely don't see a need for another pure AM.

Gosh, I hope you're wrong about Torres staying. I hopeful that the board/Roman finally give up hope on him. It will be difficult to get rid of him, but I think we might be able to loan him, paying a good portion of his salary. I don't see Falcao coming, he is 27 and will cost a ton with his transfer fee and wages...not a good bargain.

Its going to have to be somebody who is happy on the bench. Those guys are typically older, and looking for a payday. Rickie Lambert?

Agree on Marin, we should let him go in the summer. I actually have high expectations for Piazon, but I think he should spend another season on loan. I believe that KDB will be an attacking midfielder for us. While he definitely has the offensive ability to play in the middle, I don't think he has physical, defending, and ball winning abilities that we need in the pivot. So, for next season I would line up our 3 AMs like this: Mata/Moses Oscar/KDB Hazard/KDB Not a ton of depth there, but I think if anybody got hurt, we could cover with Ramires and Bertrand.

Yeah, the 433 is a possibility since it is so similar to the 4231, the only real difference is that the CAM would play a little deeper. You're right that anything could happen, who knows what our new manager will want. However, IMO its unlikely that we ever use a formation that doesn't put 3 attacking midfielders on the field at once, our best players need to be on the field. I agree with you on Ramires. I think he can be effective in the pivot when we aren't playing a team that pressures heavily.

Lukaku, scores a goal every 104 minutes in the most competitive league in the world. He is ready. We will almost definitely offload Torres this summer (crossing fingers), and will need a replacement. Ba doesn't exactly have perfect knees, and will need plenty of rest. I don't foresee a problem with playing time. Pressure? He has been in the spotlight since age 16, and seems to have good head on his shoulders, I don't see it becoming an issue.

Since our team is so stacked with attacking midfielders I think we are forced to use the 4-2-3-1 or the 4-3-3. I think both formations require they same type of players, with the only difference being how deep the cam will play. For the two dm/cm/pivot spots, I think we need to bring in couple new players. DM: IMO Mikel is a solid, but limited player; we should keep him, but not plan on him being a first team regular. I think his eventual replacement should be and will be Chalobah. He is an exceptional talent possessing everything you want out of DM, athleticism, strength, technique, intangibles, and an eye for the deep pass. In most cases I would favor putting somebody so young out on loan, but I think he is one of those rare players with such overwhelming talent (i.e. Fabregas, Wilshire, Rooney) that they can be fast tracked straight to the first team. I wouldn't make him full-time starter from day one, but I would give him significant time straight away, with the goal making him the regular by season's end. CM: For this position, I don't think we should bring in a lightweight play maker (Benat, Modric) or try to shoehorn Oscar or De Bruyne into the position. Our team is so weak physically up front, that we need to compensate in the midfield with athletic, strong, ball winners. I think a player like Ramires can do well here against teams that don't press, but his weakness in possession will require him to sit out a fair deal of games. IMO Fellaini would do well here. He is a ball winner, strong, decent passer, shields the ball well, and he has certain grit/steel to him that I think our team could really use. Here is my ideal team for next season: Courtois/? Azpilicuta/Ivan Terry/Cahill Luiz/Ivan Cole/Shaw Chalobah/Mikel/Romeu Fellaini/Ramires Mata/Moses Oscar/ KDB Hazard/KDB Lukaku/BA

We have put together quite the stockpile of attacking midfielders (Mata, Hazard, Oscar, De Bruyne, Piazon, Moses, Marin); Because of that I have a hard time seeing us going away from the 4-2-3-1.

I don't agree that he is only fit for matches where we are trying to hit teams on the break. Possession requires the ability to win the ball and to keep it. Ramires, is great at winning the ball (one of the best) and poor at keeping it. His inability to keep the ball mainly comes from heavy pressing from teams. I think if we limit him to games where we are not expecting heavy pressure in the midfield, his weakness isn't really an issue. Also, it seems to me that the counter attack is an element to almost every game. Sure, there are some games where it rarely happens and some games where it is our only strategy (Barcelona, Bayern), but by in large it factors into most games. With that said, I definitely think we need to bring somebody new in. I think we can count on being pressured a fair amount, so he would need to be rotated often. Unlike some, I don't want a playmaker type like Modric or Benat. In our 4-2-3-1 we are very weak physically up front (Oscar, Mata and Hazard), to compensate for that I think we need somebody well rounded with excellent athleticism, strength, passing and ball winning skills. Of course, it is hard to find a player like that (Chalobah?), but I think that it a must for our system to work.

Yeah, Ramires has performed great in the last two games. I think when he partners with Mikel, he doesn't have to be as disciplined with his positioning, and is free to wreak havoc with his speed and aggressiveness Prior to this uptick in form, I thought it might be best to let him go in the summer, but if he keeps this up I might be convinced otherwise. He will always be mediocre to poor when it comes to possession play, but his abilities as ball winner and counter attacker might be enough to make up for it.

Mata is mediocre, Marin will be a top player, hate the jewish guy, give Torres another shot, and Oscar is garbage. You seem to have really good insight into the Chelsea team. Perhaps you should put yourself forward as a candidate for the manager job?

While I thought that Hazard played remarkably well, I have to go with Mata as MOTM since he was involved in all 3 Chelsea goals.