Will the academy eventually help us dominate English football?

[Muzchap 8,966]

4 hours ago, Tomo said:

Bit harsh on Sterling, first season at 20 years old, he will be a fantastic player.

And that isn't the case for me, when I was a teenager, their was a group of about 30-40 of us that played football up the park almost every day (obviously not every one was out every day but that was how many came up regularly), Wembley, matches, head and Vols etc, two players stood out, both of which has trials for Plymouth one even making a couple of appearances (although he fell back in oblivion), but if every person in our group was told two of you will be pro footballers when you're older, everyone to a man (well boy at the time ) would have said those two, and if anyone said otherwise then they were quite simply trolling.

Which brings me to the "throw them in see if they sink or swim" argument, if a group of teenagers can spot the most talented players who have a chance of getting somewhere, thensurely highly qualified coaches will know who in our academy have the potential to succeed and who are complete write offs, and that's before we factor in the data they have access to in the modern day.

Maybe - but he hasn't done much IMHO - maybe he needed a season to settle in

Agree and exactly the same thought process, except 2 of my ' mates' (haven't seen them for over 20 years now) were offered professional contracts, (Arsenal and Preston), 1 ruined their chances with drugs, the other hated it and went to Uni instead. Now the others, including myself couldn't believe it - how could you give up that opportunity? But everyday people make bad decisions, with even more money at a young age - things have probably got even more tricky. It's a crying shame that this happens. Another friend was top 3 in Britain for Tennis, he won a scholarship to study in the US and I personally watched him thrash Tim Henman around the court, 2 years in USA - he got hooked on Coke and other drugs and came back as an addict and is now an Estate Agent. As his family is very wealthy, he says he doesn't care - but I find that hard to believe, again haven't spoken to him for over 18 years, just annoyed me that somebody with that talent could squander it so badly...

i guess that was the point I was trying to make, talent alone is useless, you need the whole package and to identify of the person has that, sometimes you need to chuck them in at the deep end. 

I have left the names of these people out deliberately - they are probably leading happy and contented lives and would be unfair of me to name them on a forum. 

[Fernando 6,585]

Keep saying it, it's all about the manager. 

Our club is stupid, they want youth but keep getting managers that suck for this. Mourinho and hiddink. 

I will not be surprised if Conte follows that same pattern of his predecessors. 

[Term-X 7,891]

Seems you can't get into the first team as a youth unless you resemble an NBA player, it's almost as if their is a height/physique ratio to pass before touching the turf at the Bridge. Scary, considering all the Messi/Hazard-esc players that may slip through the net.

[Tautvix 1,321]

First of all, no team will dominate English football for years.

Secondly, manager expectations are to high at Chelsea because the owner. You have to win titles because otherwise you will be fired so no manager risks playing youth.

[Captain Ahmed 528]

Loftus-Cheek's 2015-16 season in review

Quote

Appearances: 7 starts (+10 as substitute).
Minutes: 405 in Premier League; 206 in domestic cups; 77 in Champions League.
Statistics (per 90 minutes, Premier League): 50.51 attempted passes (88% pass completion); 2.49 shots (1.07 on target); 2.91 fouls suffered.

One of Chelsea's best prospects to emerge from our youth ranks, Ruben Loftus-Cheek got his first real chances last season, after impressing in pre-season tours even as far back as 2013.  The 6ft 3in midfielder made his professional debut as a late sub for Cesc Fàbregas in a Champions League group stage match in December 2014. He went on to make three further appearances for the first-team that season, including starts against Liverpool and West Bromwich when Chelsea already had the Premier League and League Cup titles in their possession.Given Chelsea's efforts at establishing a huge development network of loans to help players (at least in theory) progress by exposing them to real competition and plenty of playing time, Loftus-Cheek was a prime candidate for a major loan move in the summer transfer window. But manager José Mourinho and the club decided to keep the player at the club instead so he could improve under our own watchful eyes, even if by the same token, he would not be getting as much actual playing time as he would've gotten elsewhere.Amidst public challenges from the manager -- RLC's "attitude" has been questioned repeatedly since his lackadaisical efforts in our post-season games back in June -- as well as unkept promises of changes within the team after our crushing loss to Southampton in the first half of the season, Loftus-Cheek only managed 5 appearances - 3 starts and 2 coming from the bench - while Mourinho was still in charge. Matters went from bad to worse when the realization set in that the young man's contract was expiring in 18 months.  The "tough love" approach by Mourinho coupled with a lack of first team chances weren't doing the situation any favours.Mourinho's departure didn't immediately improve the outlook for Loftus-Cheek, but eventually he did get a few opportunities from Guus Hiddink.  Stamina was still a problem for the 20-year-old Englishman, exacerbated by his lack of match fitness from the first half of the season, and he was finding a bit of trouble trying to assert himself against non-youth opposition. Nevertheless, the Chelsea Academy product finally signed a new five-year deal in February, with the rumoured wages ranging from £40,000 to £60,000-per-week.Loftus-Cheek finished the season with 17 appearances (7 starts) and driven by our restless desires to see "one of our own" make it at the club for the first time in two decades, was even almost voted the WAGNH Player of the Year.  Make no mistake however, there is true, immense talent here.  The key is trying to unlock it.

The Good: Loftus-Cheek's first Premier League goal of his career, scored against Aston Villa in our 4-0 win over the relegated side. All in all a great showing from the Boy in Blue (who wore black at the time).

The (not so) Bad: Performances such as the last match of the season, against Leicester City, failing to influence proceedings on the ball and not working hard enough off the ball.

Verdict: Given how badly things went not only for Loftus-Cheek but for Chelsea in general in the first half of the season, it's safe to assume that he could have gotten more playing time - and possibly developed a bit further - had he went on loan along with other Chelsea prospects either to another Premier League club or abroad.  The increased opportunities in the second half of the season were more than welcome.

The big question remains what will be Loftus-Cheek's main position as a professional player. Having come through the academy as a central midfielder, nowadays both club and country seem intent on deploying him further forward, as a No.10.  And yet his size, his style, and his skillset seem far more suited to a box-to-box role, in the mould of a Paul Pogba.  Hopefully there is a proper plan for his development in place.The other big question is whether to keep him at the club and see if Conte can help him make the same leap that Paul Pogba did under his guidance, or whether to take a few more guaranteed minutes somewhere else on loan.  Either way, it's a difficult decision, and if Chelsea get this wrong, it will be yet another stick with which to (justifiably? unjustifiably?) beat Michael Emenalo.

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