Josh McEachran

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I do agree with LDN Blue if i'm honest, I mean it was rather silly to send Josh to a Swansea that was playing incredibly well and playing some rather impressive football. Rodgers was never going to break his love for Britton and Allen now was he.

Major flaw of the loan system. Clubs need to keep an eye on how much game time/progress loanees are making and should exercise options to recall them if it's been perceived as a waste of time.

[Start 22]

Major flaw of the loan system. Clubs need to keep an eye on how much game time/progress loanees are making and should exercise options to recall them if it's been perceived as a waste of time.

I agree, If we was going to loan McEachran out at first at least do it to a club where he'll get 25+ games and is almost guaranteed a starting spot. Chalobah is a perfect example of how it's worked this year.

[Leif 6,006]

Does anyone else think his skin and sometimes overly defined cheekbones gives off the impression he may do cocaine on the weekends?

[Start 22]

Does anyone else think his skin and sometimes overly defined cheekbones gives off the impression he may do cocaine on the weekends?

Haha! My mate said something similar to this the other day.

[The Skipper 20,593]

I'm not saying he should be "world-class" by now. I'm saying the club has failed to help him improve his ability. They've shipped him out, with great reluctance initially, and it seems as if he's not being considered a player who will be involved in the main squad this season with the amount of transfers we're being linked with.

These players were being nurtured internally and going on loan in places that needed these type of players. When we sent Josh to Swansea it was an awful decision, he was never going to displace those guys who were being compared to Xavi & Iniesta (LMAO) under Rogers.

Chuckled at the Xavi and Iniesta bit but I disagree that the club "failed" - there's a lot more to it than that. The Swansea loan was bad in hindsight but the idea behind it was good in my opinion - Rodgers has coached Josh before if I remember correctly, Swansea play the type of football that Josh should flourish under if used correctly - I'm sure CFC loaned him out with the intention that Swansea would play him frequently but Swansea hit form and Rodgers wasn't up for changing a team that was doing so well. Retrospectively, they should have perhaps called him back but that again depends on whether the manager would've used him or not.

I think the club did the best they could with Josh simply because we didn't have a solid, stable manager at the helm. It looks like that's changing under JM so I do have a tiny bit of hope for Josh - I think he can actually play a decent squad role for us next season, and if he hit the ground running in preseason he can easily get around 20 appearances which would be a good season for him I think.

As I've explained before, Swansea was no place to send McEachran. He couldn't displace their midfield, it was impossible. Rogers didn't need McEachran when we sent him there and all he needed was the manager at Chelsea to back him. Do you know that under Carlo, Josh made 17 appearances for the club? At Swansea, the season after, he made 5. And he only made 5 when there was an injury to someone like Britton.

I think my point above answers your point here again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22738219

Chelsea, Manchester City, Wigan and Stoke are the only clubs that fielded 0 u21 players last season. We can forget about the rest because that's not what this discussion is about. Yes Manchester United paid £15million for Phil Jones, but we were always in the hunt to try and sign him as well. The point isn't even about fees paid, because if Josh wasn't a Chelsea player then he'd get signed for those sums too. We get excited over players like Luke Shaw while we have people like Ryan Bertrand on our books and then we complain.

It's a problem across the whole of English football. For us, it had more to do with us loaning out our best English U21 players because we felt it'd be better for them to have playing time - it has worked for Chalobah well, but Josh has struggled a bit - I still think Josh will come away this season learning a lot more at Middlesborough then he would've last season at CFC even if he didn't really have a good season - it's a learning curve for him and I know I keep banging on about this but he is only 20 after all, he still has plenty of time.

Because you have to understand that Josh has been with the club since he was a child. He's seen all these players come and go. He's seen the likes of Robert Huth, Michael Macinenne and Bruma having to move on because they got no chances in the Chelsea team. You want to know why?

"Josh got his chance when Carlo was there, and played a few games under him. Now it's at a stage when the club is under pressure and the club need to play their big names and unfortunately there is not a place for him in the squad." - Chalboah said this. Even he recognizes that it's impossible to get into this squad if you don't have a value of more than £15million at Chelsea.

Again, this is more due to the fact that we never had any stable manager when those you've mentioned came through. I think that's about to change though simply because I do have a feeling that JM is staying for quite some time now which will allow him to blood some of the youngsters coming through now, whom I do think are far more talented than the likes of Mancienne or Bruma.

The problem is keeping hold of these players. We can offer them as many lucrative contracts as we want, to try and keep them with us, but the longer it takes the club to bring through someone, the more disillusioned these guys are going to get. I don't think it's accurate to claim it's come 'leaps and bounds' because we have no proof. No-ones benefited.

No one's benefitted yet - our academy is in my opinion a lot better than it was 10 years ago, and it takes time and the right environment before these changes can be seen to the naked eye. I honestly think that time is nearing us very soon, you can tell that Roman and the club are far more geared towards developing young players now so naturally they will have a tendency to look at the academy more often than they have over the last view years.

[Leif 6,006]

I think the club didn't pick the best loans for him but had really thought out the Swansea move with good intentions since they're a passing team and he's a passing player. It didn't work out, they instantly assumed "okay he's clearly not ready for this level" and probably bit the hand off the first Championship team to show an interest in him who'd play him often.

I don't think he would have got enough playing time at somewhere like Brighton, but they probably would have been the ideal team for him had he been slotted into the Starting XI.

Now we just have to think about the future. I personally feel he's still not ready for us simply because of his lack of work rate, so I'd like to loan him to a pressing team. A pressing and passing team. But where would he get that? I'm clueless.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

I'm really disappointed with the club at the way McEachran hasn't been nurtured properly.

I mean it's saying a hell of a lot when guys like Jordan Henderson, Jonjo Shelvey &, worst of all, Tom Cleverly were allowed time and patience at their respective clubs and saw the fruition of it. Henderson even went on record to say that McEachran was a technically better player than Jack Wilshere is.

The club have a massive part to play in the damage done in not enhancing McEachran's career. There's no way Cleverly should be loaned out to a Premier League club like Wigan, when he was making his rise, and McEachran gets sent to Middlesbrough. Forgotten about.

This argument isn't even about whether McEachran as an individual, it's not about his work ethic or anything. It's about the club willing to spend millions on other players, fringe players, and then send these kids away and not even keeping a track on them.

It's embarrassing that Chelsea fielded 0 English u21's this season. We played guys like Benayoun in the center of midfield when we were short of numbers, while guys like Chalobah were making shockwaves in the Championship.

But hey.. It's only the Championship right? The level of quality isn't Premier League etc, etc. The old cliches.

Give me a break, clutching at straws and maybe not even. How about throwing some responsibility his way? How about kids who end up at top teams after the age of 20? How did they get good enough without millions backing them?

All Chelsea can do is give him opportunities to succeed and they've given him plenty. The rest is up to him.

[Spike 12,049]

The club sent him to Swansea; wasn't good enough to get in the team.

The club sends him to Middlesborough; was unanimously rubbish for 75% of the season.

Chalobah went to a Championship side and looked one of their best players and he's like 3 years younger. Josh isn't good enough. End of story I'm afraid.

Josh is and was good enough to get into that Swansea midfield over the likes of Britton, Allen and the other guy I always forget. Rodgers is just an idiot that was too afraid to put him in the first time for the sake of 'consistency'. All the blame for McEachran's failure at Swansea is Rodger's.

At Middlesborough he earned brilliant reviews while being played as a CM; which you know is his natural position. But Mowbray had a spark of a brilliant idea and moved Josh out wide to the left. He doesn't have the pace nor the physicality to play as a winger. Why did Mowbray do this?

At the end of the day though, Josh has to accept that he could have maybe done more to get into the first teams at all his clubs.

[Strike 6,989]

Josh is and was good enough to get into that Swansea midfield over the likes of Britton, Allen and the other guy I always forget. Rodgers is just an idiot that was too afraid to put him in the first time for the sake of 'consistency'. All the blame for McEachran's failure at Swansea is Rodger's.

At Middlesborough he earned brilliant reviews while being played as a CM; which you know is his natural position. But Mowbray had a spark of a brilliant idea and moved Josh out wide to the left. He doesn't have the pace nor the physicality to play as a winger. Why did Mowbray do this?

At the end of the day though, Josh has to accept that he could have maybe done more to get into the first teams at all his clubs.

Incidentally, his run at CM coincides with Boro's only purple patch of the season - before Christmas

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,770]

Even the BBC cant dress up that horror show which transpired yesterday.

[Spike 12,049]

Even the BBC cant dress up that horror show which transpired yesterday.

What happened exactly?

[The only place to be 11,313]

Timid. Passive.

Afraid? Scared?

These are the words I think of when I see Josh play nowadays. People comment on his size but whatever his frame might be, he makes himself look half as small. I'm not going to get into the blame game regarding his career, but I'm terrified about his future because of his seeming mental fragility. If you look at players like Wilshere then there's a tenaciousness to their football. It's one thing to have the talent (which Josh has in abundance) but it's another thing to decide to use it and impose yourself on the game.

I can't recall ever seeing him really fight, really grab a game by the scruff of the neck and drag his team forward.

In terms of loan, I have no idea where we could send him because the team has to really be built around him not just going forward but also in defence. You need players who can cover his deficiencies in workrate and tackling which means a three man midfield is a must (in my opinion). I've said it before but I think that he might be better off staying here and being used off the bench and in league cup games mainly for the influence of Jose. It's tough to expect another team to build around him when he's only there for a year.

But it's worrying to think that he's been leapfrogged by Nat who is two years younger than him. Even Ake has caught up with him and if he's not careful then Loftus-Cheek may also be ahead of him in the pecking order for that midfield two before the season is up. Starting to think that this season could be a make-or-break season for him.

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,770]

What happened exactly?

He came off the bench, yet looked like he didnt want to. The class of the Italian midfield had him looking scared from the start.

[Tomo 21,685]

I have had a think about what to do with him this season and i think what he needs is to stay here, regardless of the game time he gets, his confidence looks shot to pieces at the moment, there's no one better to get that back for him than Jose Mourinho.

I read an article on Lenny Pidgely, who said despite being the 3rd choice keeper was included and made to feel part of the team as much as anyone. Im personally not giving up on Josh just yet because he has so much natural talent just needs a fair bit of fine tuning. I feel he can benefit from being part of the squad next year and getting 15-20 games under Jose, i really do.

[asand 7]

I have had a think about what to do with him this season and i think what he needs is to stay here, regardless of the game time he gets, his confidence looks shot to pieces at the moment, there's no one better to get that back for him than Jose Mourinho.

I read an article on Lenny Pidgely, who said despite being the 3rd choice keeper was included and made to feel part of the team as much as anyone. Im personally not giving up on Josh just yet because he has so much natural talent just needs a fair bit of fine tuning. I feel he can benefit from being part of the squad next year and getting 15-20 games under Jose, i really do.

I completely agree. He needs to train with better players and he definetely needs to bulk up a bit. And it's better if he does that here where the staff actually cares about his future. If he gets 10-15 games thats just a bonus.

[Leif 6,006]

We're much more likely to use a 4-3-3 sometimes under Mourinho, especially against cup teams, which is exactly when McEachran should play.

Say we're going up against Wigan or someone. A midfield 3 of De Rossi (hopefully) - McEachran - Ramires; could be domination. Ramires would easily cover for any mistakes McEachran makes while he also has the confidence of having a wall with legs behind him ready to fuck up anyone who dares bumps into him.

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,770]

Will be interesting to see if hes given another chance to "right the ship" today

[Start 22]

I really want Josh to go on pre-season with us for sure, hope Jose can give him a kick and give him that confidence he has drastically lost.

I agree with The only place to be above about him having the talent, he just needs to show it. And who better to show infront of than Jose Mourinho and the players that can improve him drastically, I'm sure if given the full pre-season, play in the majority of the games, him being with Mata, Hazard and Oscar will benefit his game a lot. No doubt in my mind that if he puts his head together there's a place for him at Chelsea.