Nathaniel Chalobah

[Stats 7,053]

So how a player is handled and how good the academy and coaches he has aren't important? Never mind, you're clearly just arguing for the sake of arguing now..

Well Josh and the board sure expected him to get more than 2 games. What it proves is that had Josh not been so over hyped by the fans, the board could have gotten him a more realistic loan and he would not have missed a whole year of development at a crucial age.

Definitely. I thought at first when he moved to Swansea that we are rushing him too quickly with the hope up following in Wilshere's footsteps too quickly. We rushed him too much and he should have gone to a championship team. Let's also be aware that Josh was 18/19 last season. The same age Chalobah will be when Josh was out loan to Swansea. I hope we don't rush him into the first team too quickly. While people will say a loan to a Prem club will best suit him, I would be very content if he is still on loan at the Championship last season. But I think some lower team in the table will take a risk on him and if so, that is good.

He is only 18 and while many believe his performances for Watford should mean he warrants a chance in the first team the expectations and level is much different. I have no problems with him playing PL next season, but preferably I would rather it be at another club on loan. Watford would be perfect fi they go up. We don't need to rush him into our first team, like you said.

[The only place to be 11,313]

So how a player is handled and how good the academy and coaches he has aren't important? Never mind, you're clearly just arguing for the sake of arguing now..

They work on the technical, physical and tactical aspects of a player - all of which are secondary to their character. You may think I'm arguing for the sake of it, but don't bother responding if you aren't going to read my posts.

Well Josh and the board sure expected him to get more than 2 games. What it proves is that had Josh not been so over hyped by the fans, the board could have gotten him a more realistic loan and he would not have missed a whole year of development at a crucial age.

AVB said he would use him, so by the time they looked to secure him a loan the teams had already settled on their starting line-ups to a large extent. If he had gone in the summer then he might have had a better chance.

But what Josh shows is that the Championship isn't the cakewalk some people are suggesting it might be. He hasn't looked that impressive, but he's on a different development schedule to Chalobah so he has time.

Definitely. I thought at first when he moved to Swansea that we are rushing him too quickly with the hope up following in Wilshere's footsteps too quickly. We rushed him too much and he should have gone to a championship team. Let's also be aware that Josh was 18/19 last season. The same age Chalobah will be when Josh was out loan to Swansea. I hope we don't rush him into the first team too quickly. While people will say a loan to a Prem club will best suit him, I would be very content if he is still on loan at the Championship last season. But I think some lower team in the table will take a risk on him and if so, that is good.

Have you actually watched Nathaniel play? He needs a greater test than the Championship can provide.

He is only 18 and while many believe his performances for Watford should mean he warrants a chance in the first team the expectations and level is much different. I have no problems with him playing PL next season, but preferably I would rather it be at another club on loan. Watford would be perfect fi they go up. We don't need to rush him into our first team, like you said.

No-one is suggesting rushing him. What they're suggesting is that it would be beneficial for the player and for the club for him to be part of the first-team squad next season.

We need a midfielder - he's a midfielder. I'm not saying he's certain to be the answer, but I do think he deserves a fair shake.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Agree with Only...

If you are good enough, you are old enough - mental strength is something you have or don't - that's the rub...

Sink or swim, carefully nurturing works to some extent - I guess it depends on the individual - I'd like to see Chalobah starting next season.

This thread, lets put a different spin on it:

Teenage wonderkid from Barcelona Acadamy wants to play for Chelsea in 15million deal...

Now is he ready? Now does he have the right experience? We ARE SO DOWN on our Acadamy players - never quite ready

[semiller1313 23]

Agree with Only...

If you are good enough, you are old enough - mental strength is something you have or don't - that's the rub...

Sink or swim, carefully nurturing works to some extent - I guess it depends on the individual - I'd like to see Chalobah starting next season.

This thread, lets put a different spin on it:

Teenage wonderkid from Barcelona Acadamy wants to play for Chelsea in 15million deal...

Now is he ready? Now does he have the right experience? We ARE SO DOWN on our Acadamy players - never quite ready

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.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

This thread, lets put a different spin on it: Teenage wonderkid from Barcelona Acadamy wants to play for Chelsea in 15million deal... Now is he ready? Now does he have the right experience? We ARE SO DOWN on our Acadamy players - never quite ready

No of course, that won't change a thing. You'll hardly see anyone who cares about our youth academy products more than me, which is exactly why I want him loaned until he is 100% ready to perform at the top level. Because at the first time he under performs, and he will naturally have sub-par performances in his first season in the PL, the fans will be calling for his head and manager will be under too much pressure and will probably bench him for a month.

That's unfortunately how it is at Chelsea. Take a look through the Bertarnd thread for example, he went from "The next Ashley Cole" to "We should recall PVA because Bertarnd is just not good enough" after a couple of below average performances.

[The only place to be 11,313]

No of course, that won't change a thing. You'll hardly see anyone who cares about our youth academy products more than me, which is exactly why I want him loaned until he is 100% ready to perform at the top level. Because at the first time he under performs, and he will naturally have sub-par performances in his first season in the PL, the fans will be calling for his head and manager will be under too much pressure and will probably bench him for a month.

That's unfortunately how it is at Chelsea. Take a look through the Bertarnd thread for example, he went from "The next Ashley Cole" to "We should recall PVA because Bertarnd is just not good enough" after a couple of below average performances.

The notion of a player being 100% ready to perform is absurd. What is he right now? 60%? 70%? You're either ready, or you're not - either way you're going to suffer bumps along the way but it's how you respond to that adversity that will decide your fate.

Secondly, the idea that any Chelsea fan would call for a young player's head after a couple of bad performances is quite frankly absurd. Any football supporter would support young players coming through.

As for Bertrand, he's 23, has over 200 first-team appearances and 2 England caps - that's a pretty large sample size for people to make judgments about. It's also a mightily unfair comparison because I think they're just different levels of player. Berts is a solid pro who will probably get into double digits for England caps, but he was never as highly-regarded as Chalobah. In fact I don't think he's given many below-average performances, he's just been average throughout his career almost. There's no shame in that.

[Muzchap 8,966]

No of course, that won't change a thing. You'll hardly see anyone who cares about our youth academy products more than me, which is exactly why I want him loaned until he is 100% ready to perform at the top level. Because at the first time he under performs, and he will naturally have sub-par performances in his first season in the PL, the fans will be calling for his head and manager will be under too much pressure and will probably bench him for a month.

That's unfortunately how it is at Chelsea. Take a look through the Bertarnd thread for example, he went from "The next Ashley Cole" to "We should recall PVA because Bertarnd is just not good enough" after a couple of below average performances.

Yeah Betrand has suffered by bein played in midfield and not really having a nailed down position. I did expect him to be an understudy for AC and play LB in cup games, weaker league games etc. but this is what happens with Managerial instability!

We need some 'manager glue' to stick our potential stars into a winning, motivated team - some can come quicker like Chalobah where we desperately need a player and some like Bertrand/PvA will have to learn the ropes

Still excited though

[Muzchap 8,966]

The notion of a player being 100% ready to perform is absurd. What is he right now? 60%? 70%? You're either ready, or you're not - either way you're going to suffer bumps along the way but it's how you respond to that adversity that will decide your fate.

Secondly, the idea that any Chelsea fan would call for a young player's head after a couple of bad performances is quite frankly absurd. Any football supporter would support young players coming through.

As for Bertrand, he's 23, has over 200 first-team appearances and 2 England caps - that's a pretty large sample size for people to make judgments about. It's also a mightily unfair comparison because I think they're just different levels of player. Berts is a solid pro who will probably get into double digits for England caps, but he was never as highly-regarded as Chalobah. In fact I don't think he's given many below-average performances, he's just been average throughout his career almost. There's no shame in that.

Agree - the whole world has gone mad on statistical probability and using a metric to define tangible qualities, on something intangible and hard to compare apples v apples...

Bert has also suffered being played out of position - much like Ramires as RW, Bertrand is no LW

So I have sympathy for him and yes I might get angry at him during games and moan about him, I do reflect he hasn't always been given the 'best' starting point. I honestly think he's gone backwards under the last 2 managers - which is a shame

[Stats 7,053]

They work on the technical, physical and tactical aspects of a player - all of which are secondary to their character. You may think I'm arguing for the sake of it, but don't bother responding if you aren't going to read my posts.

AVB said he would use him, so by the time they looked to secure him a loan the teams had already settled on their starting line-ups to a large extent. If he had gone in the summer then he might have had a better chance.

But what Josh shows is that the Championship isn't the cakewalk some people are suggesting it might be. He hasn't looked that impressive, but he's on a different development schedule to Chalobah so he has time.

Have you actually watched Nathaniel play? He needs a greater test than the Championship can provide.

No-one is suggesting rushing him. What they're suggesting is that it would be beneficial for the player and for the club for him to be part of the first-team squad next season.

We need a midfielder - he's a midfielder. I'm not saying he's certain to be the answer, but I do think he deserves a fair shake.

I have watched him several times and like you I think he is one of the best talents to have emerged from our academy. But, regardless how much progress he makes I would prefer him to be loaned out purely because there is a much bigger gap between Premiership and Championship quality. We already have Mikel, Romeu, Ramires, Lamps, Luiz can play there and we are very likely to see another addition. Chalobah will not get much first team chances next season and I can understand why.

I treat him different to the Lukaku case because Chalobah is a bit younger than him and Lukaku has played international first team football and a season of Premiership football with a lower placed team. That is what Chalobah needs IMO before even being considered for the first team. By the time next season starts he still will be 18 and with the pressure that goes on with players at the club he will be best off getting football in a team with less pressure.

That is how Lukaku has flourished and I am sure Chalobah can do the same. I have no doubts he will make it here, but is he going to be miles better than what we already have for next season? I am unsure and the staff here will not take a risk to see if that is the case, I am sure anyway.

[Guest FullEnglishBreakfast]

No matter how many years he is on loan and how many games he has under his belt. His first Chelsea match will still be his first Chelsea match, no amount of experience and whatnot will change that. If he impresses he impresses if he falls flat on his face exactly that happens.

[English Freak 456]

No matter how many years he is on loan and how many games he has under his belt. His first Chelsea match will still be his first Chelsea match, no amount of experience and whatnot will change that. If he impresses he impresses if he falls flat on his face exactly that happens.

Exactly. I'm just hoping he doesn't fall flat on his face

[CHOULO19 24,332]

No matter how many years he is on loan and how many games he has under his belt. His first Chelsea match will still be his first Chelsea match, no amount of experience and whatnot will change that. If he impresses he impresses if he falls flat on his face exactly that happens.

But that's exactly why you train and loan players, so that they are ready when they get a chance at Chelsea. Of course every loan they get affects tremendously whether they impress or fall flat when they do.

[Guest FullEnglishBreakfast]

But that's exactly why you train and loan players, so that they are ready when they get a chance at Chelsea. Of course every loan they get affects tremendously whether they impress or fall flat when they do.

But that means nothing. You could loan a player out to Portsmouth and see them fail, but if they were kept at Chelsea you could watch them flourish and succeed. It isn't some static system that is easily converted. Loans mean nothing to me, people are excited and happy with Lukaku at West Brom, I'm not. I won't pass his judgement till he plays for Chelsea.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

But that means nothing. You could loan a player out to Portsmouth and see them fail, but if they were kept at Chelsea you could watch them flourish and succeed. It isn't some static system that is easily converted. Loans mean nothing to me, people are excited and happy with Lukaku at West Brom, I'm not. I won't pass his judgement till he plays for Chelsea.

Of course you need to find the right loan, but loans are extremely important for young players because they offer them a chance to learn and get valuable experience through actual match time. That's something they won't get here.

[Stats 7,053]

But that means nothing. You could loan a player out to Portsmouth and see them fail, but if they were kept at Chelsea you could watch them flourish and succeed. It isn't some static system that is easily converted. Loans mean nothing to me, people are excited and happy with Lukaku at West Brom, I'm not. I won't pass his judgement till he plays for Chelsea.

Loans are very important and a major part in a player's development. Sturridge's loan helped him when he came back to Chelsea. Bertrand benefited with a couple of loans. Look at the likes of Welbeck at Sunderland who is now a firm part of the United squad. Same with Cleverley, who is now a regular started at United. The Wigan loan helped him greatly. If we don't give Chalobah minuted here he will not improve, compared to being out on loan at another team. Wilshere, the list goes on.

[Guest FullEnglishBreakfast]

I've always been against loans. Either give them a chance at Chelsea here and now or tell them to leave. There are too many variables with loans at least if they are at Chelsea everything can assessed properly.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

the like's of pogba,de sciglio,badstubber,muller,rafael etc did not go out on loan.They were thrown into the deep end but they were talented(like chalobah) hence they worked hard and did not dissappoint their managers and fans.I would like to recall chalobah next year as an understudy to mikel and eventually replace him.

[English Freak 456]

I've always been against loans. Either give them a chance at Chelsea here and now or tell them to leave. There are too many variables with loans at least if they are at Chelsea everything can assessed properly.

How would you assess a player if he's better than the reserve team but not good enough to be in the first team yet? (eg McEachran)