Billy Gilmour

[Tomo 21,681]

7 minutes ago, Jason said:

And Ziyech played only 30 minutes then anyway...

30 minutes to get up to speed we didn't need to give him.

All adds up.

[Jase 43,479]

5 minutes ago, Tomo said:

30 minutes to get up to speed we didn't need to give him.

All adds up.

Meh. 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Vesper 27,282]

Watching the next stage of Billy Gilmour’s Chelsea comeback

https://theathletic.com/2206639/2020/11/19/billy-gilmour-chelsea-development-efl-trophy/

As he jogged off the Memorial Stadium pitch in the 60th minute of the Chelsea development squad’s EFL Trophy group stage game with Bristol Rovers, Billy Gilmour looked satisfied that at least the “Plan B” for the final stage of his recovery from a significant knee injury had gone according to the script.

“Plan A” was for Gilmour to be in Greece 24 hours earlier, captaining Scotland Under-21s with hope of leading them to qualification for next June’s European Under-21 Championship finals. Italian referee Michael Fabbri’s bizarre decision to show him a straight red card for dissent in the 71st minute of last Thursday’s match against Croatia in Edinburgh changed all that, suspending him for the rest of this international break.

Gilmour had only been on the Tynecastle pitch for eight minutes when he was dismissed. He’d looked lively, rattling sharp passes left and right from the base of midfield as Scotland, 2-1 down against 10 men when he had been introduced, finally gained a solid foothold. They levelled the score barely a minute before Fabbri intervened to even up the sides, and played the rest of the match without their headline talent.

A Gilmourless 1-0 loss in Athens then scuppered their hopes of qualification for the tournament — though he would surely not have been with them even if they had made it. Scotland’s presence in next summer’s delayed Euro 2020 finals, which begin less than a week after the under-21 version end, seems perfectly timed for his much-anticipated breakthrough into senior international football. In order for that to happen, regaining his rhythm and momentum in a Chelsea shirt has to be the priority.

Amid the inevitable moments of rustiness at the Memorial Stadium, there were flashes of the talent that compelled Frank Lampard to promote Gilmour to the full squad in February. Operating in a double pivot with veteran outcast Danny Drinkwater in an expansive 4-2-3-1 system, the returning Scot shifted the ball sharply and sensibly — most often to his right, where the tricky running of Myles Peart-Harris was regularly supplemented by Tino Livramento’s surging overlaps.

Less than a minute after Brandon Hanlan had capitalised on Chelsea’s sloppy transition defending to score a soft opener, Gilmour initiated the move that brought the visitors level: receiving the ball on the half-turn in the heart of midfield, jinking to his right and whipping a low pass around an opponent to the feet of Peart-Harris, who played a brilliant pass to slip Tino Anjorin through on goal. His finish was unerring.

Bristol Rovers quickly retook the lead when some loose Chelsea passing in their own defensive third resulted in a shot that Karlo Ziger could only parry to the feet of Sam Nicholson. There is a ruthlessness to EFL Trophy games when it comes to unforced errors that is more often lacking in academy football, and therefore makes the competition a particularly useful learning tool for even the most talented youth prospects.

The main value of Wednesday’s match to Gilmour, the most seasoned teenager on the pitch, was as a chance to sharpen up against motivated professionals in a competitive setting, without the pressure of Premier League or Champions League points being on the line. In the 18th minute, he showed he needed it, stepping in front of James Daly in search of a ball he could not win and conceding a free kick centimetres outside Chelsea’s penalty area. Ziger parried the resulting free kick and David Tutonda headed against the crossbar before offside was signalled.

Daly got the better of Gilmour again later in the first half, robbing him of the ball just outside the Chelsea 18-yard box and forcing defender Levi Colwill to make an important tackle. But these moments were less an indictment of the Scot’s individual performance than indicative of the game as a whole: a disjointed jumble of good ideas and bad execution that combined to form an entertainingly chaotic, end-to-end cup tie.

Gilmour and former Premier League winner and England international Drinkwater understandably displayed little chemistry and rarely functioned in tandem, but both took turns to play passes that put Chelsea on the front foot and panicked their League One hosts’ defence. In front of them, Anjorin was the outstanding player on the pitch and while the ball didn’t find him as often as he found space to receive it, he oozed class and creative menace whenever it did. He is convinced he is ready to contribute to first team right now, and there was nothing here to undermine that conviction.

Throughout the first half, Gilmour’s own attacking radar came and went. On one occasion, he tried to slip Marcel Lewis in behind the Bristol Rovers defence, but Chelsea’s rapid winger never committed to the run. On another, he sprinted upfield in support of an incisive Lewis dribble and gave the ball back to him in a promising position for a cross, only to see his team-mate overhit the delivery.

After the break, Chelsea’s two deep midfielders switched sides, with Gilmour moving to the left of the double pivot and Drinkwater to the right. The youngster got more opportunities to show the defensive instincts that led Lampard to trust him over Jorginho after the Premier League restart: smothering Nicholson’s run in the penalty area after he had crept beyond Dynel Simeu, then using his body to block Josh Hare’s bouncing header on the goalline with Ziger stranded.

Chelsea still trailed 3-1 when Gilmour departed on the hour mark, to be replaced by Lewis Bate. Their eventual 4-3 defeat — sealed in agonising fashion by Hare’s last-minute header after a stirring fightback — is disappointing primarily because it means that most of this group will have to get their minutes in development football for the rest of this season, even if there are still trophies to win and proud club traditions of success to live up to in the FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League.

Gilmour has grander goals in his future. Sources have told The Athletic he will be heavily involved when Chelsea’s development squad travel to the Etihad Campus to take on Manchester City in Premier League 2 on Sunday but, beyond that, Lampard is looking forward to having him back in first-team contention.

Lampard can already count on N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic as options in the deep-lying No 6 role. But judging by the ironclad confidence the Chelsea head coach seems to have in Gilmour’s physical, technical and mental readiness, coupled with the almost fatherly pride he took in the 19-year-old’s breakthrough displays against Liverpool and Everton last season, don’t be surprised if he clears a path to regular playing time for him even where no clear route appears to exist.

Gilmour is close to being fully fit again, and he has everything he needs to up-end Chelsea’s midfield pecking order sooner than you might think.

 

[NikkiCFC 7,563]

lol

 

[Vesper 27,282]

Gilmour can compete for Chelsea starting XI – Lampard

https://www.football365.com/news/billy-gilmour-compete-chelsea-starting-xi-frank-lampard

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard expects fit-again Billy Gilmour to compete for first-team action on an equal footing with the club’s big gun midfielders.

The teenage Scottish talent made a hugely impressive senior Stamford Bridge breakthrough last term, featuring 11 times in all competitions.

The 19-year-old’s campaign was cut short by knee injury in July however and the former Rangers youth star has only just returned to full fitness.

Chelsea boss Lampard has confirmed Gilmour will travel to Spain for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Sevilla and tipped the technically gifted playmaker to pick up just where he left off before his knee problem.

“He’s fit now Billy, he could probably do with some more match minutes which are hard to get in Covid times, but he’s doing very well,” Lampard said.

“It will be nice if he can get some minutes particularly over these two Champions League games, in the remainder of the group stage.

“And where do I see him? I see him hopefully coming back at the level he was at just before he got injured.

“He made a great impact and there will be so much more to come from him this time, because of the talent he has.

“He’s got a great attitude, he trains brilliantly, and he’s looking spot-on.

“So he comes in just to compete in the squad with the other players in that midfield area.”

Chelsea have already secured qualification for the Champions League’s last 16, courtesy of four straight victories in Group E.

The Blues will now battle it out with Sevilla for the top spot however, which would in theory lead to an easier knockout tie.

Chelsea’s hectic schedule leaves Lampard little choice but to rotate his resources for Wednesday’s match, but the Blues boss admitted he has plenty of players itching for a chance to impress.

“We’re fully fit and ready to go,” said Lampard. “I’ll have to give players a chance, and for different reasons.

“Some players have been playing a lot, we’ve been talking about the hectic schedule. It is hectic but we can’t say that on the one hand and then maybe not look at rotation for this game.

“And on the other side of that players who haven’t played as regularly have been training really, really well and part of the group and important to us. So some are just knocking on the door and deserve opportunities.

“So we’re not taking the game lightly, even though we’ve qualified, we want to top the group.

“I don’t expect a drop in level, but there will be an opportunity for some players to get some minutes.

“We want to win the group for different reasons, obviously your pathway through would be the beneficial position.

“Also in terms of motivation, those players that haven’t played so many minutes, their motivation is to try to show why they should be in the starting XI.

“I have different choices, and it’s an opportunity for players to give me more difficult choices moving forward.

“And as a collective, we’re on a good run, we haven’t lost since Liverpool which was a difficult game for us because of circumstances that happened in the game.

“In football my experiences are that if you’re going well and you decide you want to flick the switch off, and flick it back on again, it doesn’t work that way.

“So we have to remain consistent in our approach.”

[Vesper 27,282]

Napoli interested in Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/transfer-news/report-napoli-interested-in-chelsea-youngster-billy-gilmour/

Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour is surprisingly being linked with Serie A and Europa League club Napoli. 

According to Calciomercato, Italian side Napoli are interested in the 19-year-old Blues star and have been admirers of his since last season.

The report states that Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso is keen on trying to sign the Scottish teenager and could offload current midfielder Stanislav Lobokta to make room in the centre of the park.

It is explained that the Italians would look to try sign him on an initial loan in the January transfer window before making the deal permanent if he fits their style.

Gilmour was given his first senior minutes since July in midweek, as he returned from a long-term knee injury with a late cameo performance in the 4-0 Champions League victory over Sevilla.

He is an all-action central midfielder that made a big impression when breaking into the Chelsea first-team during last season and will now be looking to re-establish himself.

Gilmour is extremely comfortable in possession and operates smoothly as a deep-lying midfielder, which is why he could be perfect cover for N’Golo Kante.

It would be a surprise to see the rising star exit Stamford Bridge, especially as senior manager Frank Lampard has previously raved about his qualities and integrated him to the main group.

“What an incredible performance from a young player against the best team in the land,” Lampard said in March after his FA Cup performance against Liverpool, as quoted by the Daily Star. 

“People might look at him and see he’s quite slight (but) he’s huge in personality… I have absolute trust in him. If he is small in stature, he is huge in personality and talent.”

[lucio 5,371]

How was he?

[The Skipper 20,593]

1 hour ago, lucio said:

How was he?

Man of the match as per. 

[Vesper 27,282]

 

Chelsea fans react to Billy Gilmour’s Champions League performance

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/club-news/chelsea-fans-react-to-billy-gilmours-champions-league-performance/

 

Chelsea recorded a 1-1 home draw against Russian club Krasnodar on Tuesday night – and some of the club’s fans on Twitter picked out midfielder Billy Gilmour as a major positive from the contest. 

It was a fairly dull affair at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, as the Blues played out their final group stage match having already sealed top spot. 

Ex-Newcastle man Remy Cabella put visitors Krasnodar ahead in the 24th minute, but Jorginho equalised from the spot just four minutes later to earn a draw.

Manager Frank Lampard was able to rotate with 10 changes to his XI, which included a first ever start for academy graduate Tino Anjorin.

A selection of Chelsea fans on social media were in awe of 19-year-old Gilmour for his contribution on the European stage.

 

 

[kellzfresh 7,226]

Baller, a genuine talent for ages

[Atomiswave 6,072]

What a fucking star man, he is composed and clever, cold blooded. FL will be delighted to have him.

[killer1257 3,282]

Best thing for him would be a loan move. Otherwise, he would waste his potential here.

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[Atomiswave 6,072]

6 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

Best thing for him would be a loan move. Otherwise, he would waste his potential here.

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Nahh fuck that mate, FL will give him plenty chances im sure. Let him develop further here, absorbing the winning culture we have at Chels.

[killer1257 3,282]

Nahh fuck that mate, FL will give him plenty chances im sure. Let him develop further here, absorbing the winning culture we have at Chels.

I don't see Billy getting many chance here. Mount plays most matches, Kovavic is in a very good form and he is sitting more often on the bench because of Havertz. So Mount, Kai and Kova will play most of the matches and currently, I think the no. 8 position is his best position because we do not have the players around him, so he could play the Pirlo role.

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[The Skipper 20,593]

6 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

I don't see Billy getting many chance here. Mount plays most matches, Kovavic is in a very good form and he is sitting more often on the bench because of Havertz. So Mount, Kai and Kova will play most of the matches and currently, I think the no. 8 position is his best position because we do not have the players around him, so he could play the Pirlo role.

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We literally have Jorginho deputising for Kanté atm - would rather see Billy there imo. He's equally as good at 6 & 8 imo. 

[Atomiswave 6,072]

13 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

I don't see Billy getting many chance here. Mount plays most matches, Kovavic is in a very good form and he is sitting more often on the bench because of Havertz. So Mount, Kai and Kova will play most of the matches and currently, I think the no. 8 position is his best position because we do not have the players around him, so he could play the Pirlo role.

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Plenty matches to go around, injuries etc. Now FL might send him away for a season soon but something tells me Lamps wont go for that option.