McEachran et Chalobah! An analysis.

[Guest FullEnglishBreakfast]

This was originally going to be a small post in Gael Kakuta's thread but it grew way too long.

I remember the days when everyone and their dog was frothing at the mouth over Kakuta, much like they are doing now with Chalobah and McEachran before him. It seems we as fans go in cycles of awareness, hope, overrating, disappointment, acceptance and then lastly bitter criticism. Will this happen to Chalobah as it happened with Kakuta and is now happening with McEachran? I hope not and I hope deep within myself that McEachran proves everyone wrong and Chalobah proves everyone right. How lovely would it be to have those two featuring week in, week out? It would be more than sweet, it would be an immense mixture of pride and happiness.

Kakuta will never reach this level, not because he is a Frenchmen or anything silly like that, it's because of his seemingly wrong attitude and approach to the game. He rides from his natural talent, he doesn't work hard enough to achieve greatness, I believe in his mind he believes greatness is something you are born with, something that falls into the laps of those fortunate enough. Maybe once upon a time that was true, but it's always been a fact that greatness is something you grab and create for yourself. Napoleon reached for the stars and seized greatness, Charlemagne was born with the benefits but he still had to grab hold of it. Kakuta is still a young man with the world at his feet, with hard work and determination he can be a great player, but he must dedicate his life to football, only then will he succeed. To achieve greatness he desires, he must sacrifice so much, his social life will suffer, his romance will suffer, but only when a man gives up so much can he finally reach his potential. It's the same in all of life, those who study hard at university while giving up social aspects will go further. Of course this doesn't apply to each of us on the whole but the general principles apply to all of us.

Chalobah on the other hand seems to have it all. Confidence, ability, physicality. Everyone can see it, it's so obvious. His potential is limitless. But first things first, what is he? Is Nathan a utility player? a centre half? or a midfielder? I don't want Nathan to end up like Phil Jones; all the potential in the world but no area to apply all of it to. Jones has been dragged around the park too much by Sir Alex and I know it's being detrimental to his development. I really fear the same will happen to Chalobah if this isn't sorted out soon. Gianfranco Legend Zola believes Nathan's future lies in the midfield and so do I. He is calm on the ball, patient and willing to do what needs to be done. People have been comparing Chalobah to Yaya Toure, but I don't think that's fair to Yaya. Toure didn't show half of this talent when he was Nathan's age, even Arsene Wenger didn't think Yaya was worth the time and money. Sure in hindsight not signing Toure was a very poor move as he turned out to be a late bloomer, but I know Chalobah can exceed Toure's plateau of excellence. Chalobah is a leader of men, he has worn the armband for both England youth and Chelsea youth teams. He influences games with his voice and his presence. This can only lead to great things. I don't know whether it was his humble beginnings in Sierra Leone, his parents and mentors or his personality that has instilled these traits. But it doesn't matter where he gained them from in the end, as long as he leads with respect and integrity, both aspects I think he is more than capable of. I'm dreaming of a Chelsea captain that not only instills respect in Chelsea fans but in football fans in general. If he continues on his current path, I'm certain he will be a Chelsea starter one way or another. The only thing that can go wrong is bad luck and I don't believe in luck.

McEachran...our prodigal son. How I wish for his return to Chelsea is filled with success. I've had high hopes for him ever since his debut in 2010 (I can not believe it's been that long) and my hope are still equally high. Technique, grace, poise, McEachran embodies all the technical aspects not often seen in the English and to see such ability is a joy but the lingering fear of his ability being wasted is heartbreaking. England need a player like Josh, England needs a player like him for the future. England has the physicality, the pace, the hard worker, but no once can thread a ball through the eye of a needle like Josh can. Well...there is Jack Wilshere but in my eyes his short career is over, his ankle is destroyed and any hope of him leading the Three Lions to victory dying a slow death. But Josh is small, very small, he needs to eat more steak, drink more protein shakes and hit the gym. People often worry about the size of players like Mata, Hazard and Oscar but poor old Josh is even thinner than they are! How can be battle in the midfield against the likes of Scotty Parker and Moussa Sissoko if he is so slight in frame? And I think his reserved and calm demeanor on the pitch is due to this, he has no confidence in his physicality. How can he succeed in England with no confidence in his physical abilities? Sure he was agility and quick feet but they can only help so much. Wilshere for instance has similar agility but he can also fend off midfielders, he isn't the strongest out there, but he is a leagues ahead of Josh in these terms. He can make it at Chelsea, I know he can, but has to work even harder, I get the feeling Josh works very hard on the training ground always looking to impress, but the has to take a page out of Lampard's book and not be content with the status quo. Much like Kakuta he has to take the extra leap for greatness. His passing and vision is world class already, he just needs to add more to his game.

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[English Freak 456]

Good post. I hope McEachran can add more tools to his game. He needs to build on his physical and mental aspects in the coming seasons...

At the moment, I see McEachran becoming a squad player at Chelsea..hopefully by the time he's 23-24 he'll be ready to break into our first team.

Hopefully Chalobah isn't rushed.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Nice post and agree with all of that, especially the Phil Jones bit. Turning him into a utility player a la John O'Shea really has robbed him of the chance to take any position by the balls and make it his own.

Gael needs to do something amazing to have a shot at a career here, otherwise he's just another in a long line of players who look amazing at youth level but fail to translate that to the professional game. The same goes for Josh in many respects. He needs a bit of nastiness about him, and hopefully he'll respond to his first sustained period of struggle and criticism in the right way.

Chalobah....I think I've made it clear what I think of him. Technically great, physically blessed but most importantly he has the right attitude to football and to life. The same could be said for Lukaku and a couple of others (and if we're talking about attitude, then it could go either way for Islam Feruz. The swagger either makes him a great or it becomes a chip on his shoulder that weighs him down). He's a leader, and that's what you need as either a centre-back or a defensive midfielder. In fact I think the Josh example does highlight why Chalobah does stand a good chance of succeeding. With Josh there was always a nagging question about his size but the problem is that his character and personality actually makes him seem smaller than he is. He doesn't play with his chest out, but actually hunches over like he's trying to disappear inside himself sometimes and that's not something you can really fix in the gym because it's something inside him.

He needs to be a bit of a cunt. At the moment he needs his Boro teammates to play at the top of their game, for their movement to be spot on and then he can start to work his magic. When it comes together, there are few players better at picking a pass. With Chalobah it's different - he actually makes his teammates better. He's the one who can put them into better positions, covers their mistakes and enables them to flourish which is impressive at any age, but at 18 is just spectacular.

Good post. I hope McEachran can add more tools to his game. He needs to build on his physical and mental aspects in the coming seasons...

At the moment, I see McEachran becoming a squad player at Chelsea..hopefully by the time he's 23-24 he'll be ready to break into our first team.

Hopefully Chalobah isn't rushed.

I don't know if Josh can be a squad player at any club because what he does is so unique that you probably need to build a team around him. It's not like you can just slot him into an old system and expect him to do a job like you could with a Cleverley or Ramires.

[Guest FullEnglishBreakfast]

It's good that some of us on the same page. These lads need to play at Chelsea. I don't care how well they play at Watford or Middlesbrough, their debut at Chelsea is their debut at Chelsea. They could float or sink irrespective of what they did on loan.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

I think chalobah is good enough to be getting regular minute's at chelsea as is josh.I believe mceachran is a player that will be a squad player till 25-26 and after that he will show his real potential like most players of his position do(xavi,pirlo,benat etc).

[Strike 7,217]

McEachran has the eye for a pass unlike our current mids. In a few years, provided that he can cope physically, he can be moulded into starting material bit like Wilshere

[Guest FullEnglishBreakfast]

McEachran has the eye for a pass unlike our current mids. In a few years, provided that he can cope physically, he can be moulded into starting material bit like Wilshere

Just for reference. Look at the size of Wilshere's legs compared to McEachran's. Neither are big people but the comparison is stark.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Just for reference. Look at the size of Wilshere's legs compared to McEachran's. Neither are big people but the comparison is stark.

Probably because the pic Wilshere is from this season when he's, what? 20? 21? While that picture of Josh was probably when he was 16 (look at the kits, his face, the fact that PVA is next to him..)

[Santiago. 1,500]

Am I the only one since the beginning that never ever rated Kakuta?

[Kieran. 6,317]

Am I the only one since the beginning that never ever rated Kakuta?

I didn't either. As soon as people started calling him the next Messi, I wrote him off.

[Guest FullEnglishBreakfast]

Probably because the pic Wilshere is from this season when he's, what? 20? 21? While that picture of Josh was probably when he was 16 (look at the kits, his face, the fact that PVA is next to him..)

Not much difference, really.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Not much difference, really.

A lot of difference, imo. But what does it matter really?

[Guest FullEnglishBreakfast]

A lot of difference, imo. But what does it matter really?

I don't see any difference. I just see a different angle. What does anything matter? What does football matter? Why do I spend time doing this?

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Not much difference, really.

To be fair, Wilshere is 170cm tall, Josh is 178cm. Might be a visual effect.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Tonight's U21 match really highlighted the difference between Josh and Nathanial. Chalobah is the kind of physical presence you want in your midfield. Very dominant and knows when to pick his forward runs. His defending was very good as well.

Josh on the other hand is the kind of player who controls the tempo brilliantly. His best asset is and has always been his passing. Great accuracy and vision that is matched by none. He's not as aggressive as Nathanial and is more disciplined (although I'd like to see him given a bit more freedom to go forward). His technical abilities are also outstanding. His off the ball movement was excellent tonight (especially in the first 30 mins).

Two very different players, and there is no reason what so ever that both can't make it here.

[5354 204]

Keep the faith!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[blu35_army 551]

Tonight's U21 match really highlighted the difference between Josh and Nathanial. Chalobah is the kind of physical presence you want in your midfield. Very dominant and knows when to pick his forward runs. His defending was very good as well.

Josh on the other hand is the kind of player who controls the tempo brilliantly. His best asset is and has always been his passing. Great accuracy and vision that is matched by none. He's not as aggressive as Nathanial and is more disciplined (although I'd like to see him given a bit more freedom to go forward). His technical abilities are also outstanding. His off the ball movement was excellent tonight (especially in the first 30 mins).

Two very different players, and there is no reason what so ever that both can't make it here.

So,,I assume that Josh is DLP type and Chalobah can develop as DM type. than both of them can covering each other as Double Pivot......