Billy Gilmour

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

4 hours ago, Strike said:

Part of this is because Reece came in and took Billy's position. Billy was attacking more often after that. 

I think he is a good fit for the CDM position but I also want a senior like Jorginho around even next season and expectations to be tempered for a bit. All this Sky Sports praise is getting overboard. 

Tbf the kid done very well in 2 games that you wouldnt say are easy.

Plus I think Roy Keanes point was spot on, weve seen guys have 1 amazing game and look poor the next even more so as a younger player, Billy backed his previous performance up yesterday. He may have off days in the future but again I think he will surprise us with how consistent he can be at this level now hes done 2 games on the trot being MOTM although it means people will expect more. I think it just comes naturally to him, physically he maybe still needs to fill out when he grows up over the next few years but again he isnt shy to get stuck in and more than anything in these last 2 performances you can tell he is relishing both sides of the game, going right into tackles or making interceptions without the ball and then showing the more aesthetically pleasing side such as some dribbling and good passing when he has the ball. 

Yes theres a long road ahead of him but I have seen enough of him from his time at Rangers, with the Scotland U21s and with us at reserve level to know that as long as he keeps his feet on the ground and lets his football and willingness to work hard to become a top player do the talking for him,  he will be absolutely fine. 

He has a real composure on the ball as well as a willingness to take it anywhere which you dont associate with 18 year olds normally, only other 18 year old MF players who had this that I can think of off the top of my head in the PL was probably Cesc when he broke through with Wenger and Jack Wilshere making his first real waves with Bolton then Arsenal before it all went tits up. Maybe a few others in Europe as well with this same traits, Marco Verratti being one in Italy with his time at Pescara prior to going to PSG. Sandro Tonali looks as if he has these too. 

I think he has got a perfect mentality in the terms he is confident in his own ability but as FL also said after the Liverpool game, he is very humble. Also you see when he has the ball his desire to always play forward regardless of if he has time or not is something that looks as if it has been coached out of a lot of British MF players, the likes of Winks, Dier, McTominay, even Barkley at times amongst others, who have a tendency to panic when under pressure and play it safe or overcomplicate it by doing too much. I think this is a cruical trait for a top midfield player not being afraid of going for that forward pass under pressure or where it could leave the team exposed if it doesnt come off,  I mean the risk is the worth the reward because for me if your good enough and confident it will come off, then it will 99/100 times. Even then he just seems to be able to play with his head on a swivel, knows what's around him at all times before he gets the ball. It reminds me very much of Cesc and Xavi in a sense, they would be scanning around them before receiving the ball in these great Barcelona and Spain teams. It seems very simple and ordinary but all the top MFers are not just able to do it but execute the pass into that player or space as well.

 

[Special Juan 27,421]

I'm all over the hype train, it's fucking great to see and hear.

[Jase 43,479]

 

[OhForAGreavsie 5,890]

On 08/03/2020 at 10:51 AM, OneMoSalah said:

Perhaps but again (and this is not a dig direfted at your post either), when we have a young player breaking through we apparently have a better or more talented one in our youth set up/out on loan when things go south or talk of interest from other teams.

Mount breaks into the team half a year later, Conor Gallagher is all of a sudden much better/talented. 

Gilmour breaks into the first team set up, moving into the first team training ground, has a great game v Liverpool, linked with City, then we have someone more talented in the youth set up.

I have seen Lewis Bates and he does look like he could be a good player but I do think if these guys (him and Conor) were truely more talented theyd be in the first team squad 100%, thats my genuine view on it. Frank has shown he isnt afraid to give minutes or squad places to academy boys so there has to be a reason why if they are more talented that they arent in the squad. I do think its due to the fact they arent quite as talented or ready to the same degree the others are. Even Conte took Hudson-Odoi and gave him his debut because it was obvious he was more talented than many others and closer to being ready than many others in the set up. 

It will be interesting to see next season what Franks view on some of the younger guys out on loan ie Ampadu, Gallagher as well as Castillo, Sterling and Chalobah too maybe but I dont think any bar Ampadu will have a huge chanve of being in there next season. More so now he can sign players, I dont think hes going to throw these guys aside in the longrun but he knows ae need more proven quality in some areas to be more competitive.

I understand that your comments are a general statement of your views, rather than a specific reaction to what I've said, but I'd like to respond to some of the things you've talked about.

First, and absolutely foremost, I have no issue with people telling me I've got it wrong. Like all of us, I do get frustrated if people choose to be aggressive about their disagreement because that tends spiral into a slanging match and I'm no good at those. Obviously no insults in your post and I enjoyed reading it.

On Mason: My view when he played youth football was that there were elements of his play which would not transfer to senior level. I thought he did well enough at Vitesse to earn a preseason with Mauricio so was disappointed it didn't happen. My view when he joined the squad was, and remains, that he has not yet proved himself.

On Connor. I never believed I was watching a future first teamer when I saw him play development football so if/when he makes it here Connor will be one whose quality I failed to spot as a junior. For me, for now, he has it all to prove.

On Billy and Lewis Bate. The first post I ever made about Billy (before we signed him) was to say that I thought we had more talented youth players already. I have however gone out of my way to reiterate the fact that more talented does not necessarily mean better. As for Lewis, I remain confident of my opinion about that comparison. His movements are crisper, his touch is tighter, his body control is sharper, and his manipulation of the ball when dribbling is more incisive. In addition, like Billy, his passing is forward looking and he likes putting his foot in.

Where I disagree with you about Lewis is the idea that, if all this were true, it would put him ahead of Billy already. As I've taken trouble to state in several posts, talent is only one factor. SFL likes to remind people that he felt there were more talented scholars than him in the West Ham youth side. None of us have ever heard of any of them. I'm eager to see how Lewis progresses but he has more developing to do so, for now, he is rightly behind Billy.

On Ethan. I've previously said I don't think he has top four quality so, since I hope we will restablish ourselves at that level, I think Ethan faces a tough road.

[!Hazard! 3,394]

11 hours ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Investing in talented youth players could save a club a fortune in the long run. 

Exactly. Who cares about a wage budget if our net spend on transfers is near zero

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, !Hazard! said:

Exactly. Who cares about a wage budget if our net spend on transfers is near zero

The financial account does...

If we are going to start giving big contract to talented youth players but who haven't actually made it, then we better as hell make sure they go on to fulfill their talent. Otherwise, well...LOL!

[Fulham Broadway 16,829]

Good lad, even if he does look like Billy Casper

[chippy 342]

13 hours ago, Strike said:

Part of this is because Reece came in and took Billy's position. Billy was attacking more often after that. 

I think he is a good fit for the CDM position but I also want a senior like Jorginho around even next season and expectations to be tempered for a bit. All this Sky Sports praise is getting overboard. 

Yes, a vvery encouraging start but they hype is OTT and Keane saying Billy already looks world class was way OTT.  Remember how things went tits up  for Mceachran and Kakuta, so best to not get too carried away too quickly.

[Tomo 21,733]

37 minutes ago, chippy said:

.  Remember how things went tits up  for Mceachran and Kakuta, 

Kakuta wasn't even that good and McEachran was talented but passive. Put it this way, his little brother is better than he was, however he's not on our radar regarding first team promotion while Josh was considered our next big hope. Aswell as that demonstrating just how much our academy has improved it also shows just how desperate we were for a talent to come through.

Now we've actually got a score of elite prospects coming through the ranks there's no need to pretend whoever today's versions of Kakuta and Bamford are something they're not.

[Special Juan 27,421]

52 minutes ago, chippy said:

Yes, a vvery encouraging start but they hype is OTT and Keane saying Billy already looks world class was way OTT.  Remember how things went tits up  for Mceachran and Kakuta, so best to not get too carried away too quickly.

The praise from Fabregas is more worrying in all honesty, when Cesc speaks like he did of BG then we really need to stand up and listen.

[chippy 342]

42 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Kakuta wasn't even that good and McEachran was talented but passive. Put it this way, his little brother is better than he was, however he's not on our radar regarding first team promotion while Josh was considered our next big hope. Aswell as that demonstrating just how much our academy has improved it also shows just how desperate we were for a talent to come through.

Now we've actually got a score of elite prospects coming through the ranks there's no need to pretend whoever today's versions of Kakuta and Bamford are something they're not.

Kakuta turned out to be no good but he did have potential when he was young. Ballack raved about him while Carlo said Kakuta and Mceachran were the future of Chellsea. Josh had one outstanding game for us away in the CL, but rumour has it he had a bad attitude. But, yes they are long gone now and it is fantastic to see we now have lots of young players pushing for places now, which is what we've wanted and hoped for for years.

[killer1257 3,282]

Kakuta turned out to be no good but he did have potential when he was young. Ballack raved about him while Carlo said Kakuta and Mceachran were the future of Chellsea. Josh had one outstanding game for us away in the CL, but rumour has it he had a bad attitude. But, yes they are long gone now and it is fantastic to see we now have lots of young players pushing for places now, which is what we've wanted and hoped for for years.

Kakuta had a serious knee injury when he was young and lost a lot of pace due to that. That is why he shifted into an AM. Nowadays he seems pretty good. Was immense against PSG.

But Boga for instance was way superior to Kakuta at youth level

Gesendet von meinem SM-G920F mit Tapatalk

[Special Juan 27,421]

Selected for the under 21's to play for Scott Gemmill

[Jase 43,479]

4 minutes ago, Special Juan said:

Selected for the under 21's to play for Scott Gemmill

 

[communicate 2,703]

18 hours ago, Special Juan said:

The praise from Fabregas is more worrying in all honesty, when Cesc speaks like he did of BG then we really need to stand up and listen.

Fab is right though however. I don't listen to Roy Keane praise, that is bs. But fab praise Billy quality in term of offering passing angle, quality on the ball and decision making. Those are true . But imo the next step is the hardest part if he want to become elite. In epl I don't think his future is as sole holder, he will need to play higher where not only he will be asked to feed player between the line but he need to find killer pass. Plus he will play with less space. 

[Fernando 6,453]

To think all this talent would have gone to waste with Mourinho, Conte, Sarri and who knows what else manager. 

That's why the work that Lampard is doing is the dream that I always had. 

Keep up the good work, and hope that also Lampard improves as a manager in the next season or two. Because this season he has also made some rookie mistakes which was expected. 

[Vesper 28,767]

How ‘little boy’ Gilmour is making a huge impression at Chelsea

https://theathletic.com/1662484/2020/03/08/billy-gilmour-chelsea-little-boy-jorginho/

Ross Barkley had two assists, Mason Mount scored his first goal since December and Willian and Pedro sliced infield from the wings like it was 2016 — but Chelsea’s clear man of the match against Everton was the 18-year-old at the base of midfield that Olivier Giroud affectionately referred to afterwards as “the little boy”.

Billy Gilmour’s other nickname could be “the scourge of Merseyside”. Five days after making Fabinho go viral for all the wrong reasons in a 2-0 FA Cup win over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, the slight Scot left Everton chasing shadows with pretty, probing passes that powered Chelsea’s most convincing performance at home all season.

Watching him scamper around and between established, highly decorated professional footballers at Stamford Bridge this week, it is staggering to remember that Gilmour was signed from Rangers’ youth academy less than two years ago. He went into this season expecting it to be a consolidation year with Chelsea’s development squad.

Even when Lampard told him to move permanently into the first-time building prior to the March international break, no one thought his breakthrough was this close at hand.

First Premier League starts are not supposed to look this composed. Gilmour completed 74 of his 80 attempted passes, more than anyone else on the pitch. Many of them were short and simple and a good number were forward. Every one of them helped Chelsea move the ball with pace, precision and purpose around Everton’s half-hearted press and into their front three.

“He’s receiving the ball in difficult areas on the pitch,” Lampard said of Gilmour after the match. “If you don’t move it quickly, firstly you don’t get the rhythm in our play and it breaks down from you, and secondly if you give it away in those areas it’s dangerous. You need confidence to do that.

“I was going to say a rude word then. Yes, let’s go with balls. Jorginho has it, Billy has it too. One of the most pleasing things for me with Billy was that he showed those balls in the first half, but then when he stepped up and played one of the higher positions in the second half he instantly took it on board — arriving in the box, playing passes higher up the pitch.

“He showed he can do both, which is a great thing for me when I’m thinking about how the midfield looks.”

Gilmour didn’t claim an assist, but his positional intelligence and passing vision were key to both of the first-half goals that blew the game open.

For the first, he receives the ball in front of his back four with time to turn and quickly slides it into the feet of Mount, who has drifted into the space between Tom Davies and Bernard. Mount drives into the final third and finds Pedro on the left flank, continuing his run into the box where he receives the return pass on the turn and lashes a shot beyond Jordan Pickford at his near post.

It’s fundamentally great play from Mount, but the ball does not end up in the net if Gilmour is even marginally slower to realise that his team-mate has taken up a good position — on the half-turn inside the Everton half — to get Chelsea on the attack, and then find him with a pass ideally weighted to help him control, turn and run in a single motion.

Gilmour’s role in Chelsea’s second goal is even more impressive. Once again, he has possession just in front of his back four, but this time closer to the right side of the pitch than the left. As he deftly turns away from Richarlison’s pressuring run, he manoeuvres himself into a position where he has an opportunity to play a short, sharp pass into the Everton half.

Andre Gomes moves towards Gilmour, while being careful to make sure he still cuts off any passing angle to Barkley behind him. The most obvious progressive option would be to play a short pass into the feet of Willian, who is showing for the ball on the right wing. Lucas Digne, however, is in close proximity, and the Brazilian would likely be forced backwards on receiving the ball.

Gilmour recognises this, and finds a more elegant solution that takes Everton’s midfield line out of the game. He shapes his body to pass to Willian, getting Gomes to lean to his left, but then whips a short pass slightly across himself into the feet of Giroud, who has only shown for the ball a split second earlier. It’s a subtle fake, but it’s enough to fool Gomes into giving him the passing angle.

Giroud immediately lays it off to Barkley, and suddenly Chelsea again have the ball at the feet of one of their midfield creators with time and space between Everton’s lines. Barkley needs just one touch to slide an excellent pass in behind the visiting defence and meet the kind of run that Pedro has been making his entire career. He provides a clinical finish to a slick move, and the lead is doubled.

Gilmour’s brilliance in the lead-up to this goal is easy to miss in real time, but offers an insight into why so many people are so excited about him. It takes real talent to recognise what an opposition defence is giving you and exploit it, but the next level — manipulating opposing defenders into giving you what you want — is a special gift that very few possess.

The fact that Gilmour misplaced just five of his passes into the opposition half while playing with this degree of imagination and ambition is hugely promising for his future. Carlo Ancelotti paid a steep price for not emulating the tactical ploy of Marco Silva at Stamford Bridge last season, when Richarlison was tasked with ensuring that Chelsea couldn’t play through Jorginho.

Everton’s commitment to 4-4-2 this time around ensured that Chelsea had a numerical advantage in the middle of the pitch, and Gilmour took full advantage to run the game.

He didn’t do it alone. Barkley produced arguably the best all-round display of his Chelsea career against his former club, while Mount worked tirelessly with and without the ball beyond simply ending his goal drought. Both tracked back diligently, gaining possession a combined 12 times and snapping into tackles either side of Gilmour.

On a day in which Chelsea’s three most established central midfielders — N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic — were all unavailable due to injury or suspension, their individual performances and collective balance indicated that at least in one area of his squad, Lampard is not short of depth.

Jorginho may come to regret the unfortunate confluence of his Premier League and Champions League bans. In addition to producing similar stats with the ball at his feet, Gilmour was also solid defensively for the second time in a week against high-level English opposition.

The closest we got to a Fabinho-level gif from this Gilmour masterclass was a short clip of him losing the ball to Gomes on the halfway line, then immediately chasing down Richarlison, shepherding him into pressure by the touchline, and then calmly picking his moment to time a clean tackle that left the Brazilian tumbling on to his backside and Cesar Azpilicueta dribbling the ball upfield.

In 60 minutes as Chelsea’s deepest-lying midfielder against Everton, Gilmour was not dribbled past once. That is partly a mark of the protection he received from Barkley and the tireless Mount, but it’s also testament to his own positional discipline. For context, Jorginho has only achieved the same feat twice in the Premier League this season — both times against a very defensive Newcastle.

Last season, following the January sale of Cesc Fabregas to Monaco, Maurizio Sarri lamented that he had no one in his Chelsea squad capable of playing the Jorginho role. If he had taken a walk over to the academy pitches at Cobham he might have spotted Gilmour — though to be fair, perhaps Gilmour wasn’t ready a year ago. He clearly is now.

 

[Fulham Broadway 16,829]

6 minutes ago, Vesper said:

though to be fair, perhaps Gilmour wasn’t ready a year ago.