Out of the Carling Cup - one less distraction?

[FWTDrogbafan 0]

Great post OP. Getting the younger players action in top flight competitions can only make them better. I wish I could see McEachran play, you guys rave about his play.

BTW, what is Hutchinson doing? Saw him play last year but haven't heard about him so was just wondering.

[eldo 868]

i have watched a lot of games for him in our reserves in our u -17 and with Netherlands and he only impressed me when playing against other youngsters but whenever he is up against a real challenge with a decent striker he flops .

and whenever he plays with the 1st team he flops .. i mean even sturridge who was completely useless yesterday had his good days with the 1st team like the community shield mach , PVA impressed many times playing with 1st team , kakuta has always impressed since his first cameo against wolves and mccehran had his days as well like yesterday ...

so my point is if a youngster flops in a match it's not a problem because i know he is going to improve but at least you have to show some potential in any of the games like what (kakuta and the others did ) but the problem with bruma is that i haven't seen any glimpes of a solid defender from him in a 1st team shirt .

He has only played 112 minutes of first team football last season. And you really speak nonsense. Bruma was great against Crystal Palace. You must also have in mind that at one part of the game whole Chelsea team started to play bad. There was absolutly no midfield. NU were passing the ball with ease.

Why do you mention Kakuta in your every post?

[Kostas 1,468]

BTW, what is Hutchinson doing? Saw him play last year but haven't heard about him so was just wondering.

Sam retired,checkthis thread

[EskWeston 696]

I am also sure he would have been more confident last night with Mikel in front of him and Cech behind

Actually i think we really missed Mikel last night, Ramires did a good job but Mikel has really stepped up

Great post OP. Getting the younger players action in top flight competitions can only make them better. I wish I could see McEachran play, you guys rave about his play.

BTW, what is Hutchinson doing? Saw him play last year but haven't heard about him so was just wondering.

Hutchinson has been forced to retire from football due to chronic injury problems...

[YankinBlue42 72]

I tend to agree that I care little about this loss. The Carling Cup only matters to the team that wins the trophy. We have bigger fish to fry and this will let us rest our stars throughout the fall and focus our mid-week attention on CL games.

[BLionheart 516]

Bruma has been solid everytime he has played for the first team, apart from when he has played at right back. He wasn't perfect last night, but at 18 years old and playing for the first team you can't expect him to be!! Van Aanholt had defensive lapses, Kakuta wasn't as effective as he could be - this is how young players learn and improve for the first team. Bruma has played for the full Dutch squad already and done well, we are not talking about an average player here! The more games he plays the more comfortable and better he will be. Like i said, there is not a better 18 year old centre back out there.

i have no problem with the other youngsters , my only concern is Jeffrey Bruma , i don't think he is a top defender . i have watched him a lot mostly with the reserves and his positioning is poor and his tackle timing is even poorer and i have never seen any thing very encouraging from him to be our 4th choice CB .

[BLionheart 516]

He has only played 112 minutes of first team football last season. And you really speak nonsense. Bruma was great against Crystal Palace. You must also have in mind that at one part of the game whole Chelsea team started to play bad. There was absolutly no midfield. NU were passing the ball with ease.

Why do you mention Kakuta in your every post?

i mentioned kakuta , mcecheran , PVA because they are the other youngsters that i compare bruma's progress with and i think all of them has shown much more than bruma .

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I'd like to point out I did not once say I didn't care we lost - to be honest I'm disappointed, but not so much I feel down about it. It's not as if we've been knocked out of Europe.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

Our squad has only 19 players that are aged 23+, of course some youth will play regularly at times, with rotation, resting and injuries.

[CFCwehatetottenham 2]

So angry. Season over already.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

So angry. Season over already.

Erm, overdramatic or what?

[eldo 868]

i mentioned kakuta , mcecheran , PVA because they are the other youngsters that i compare bruma's progress with and i think all of them has shown much more than bruma .

Can't compare attacker Kakuta and defender Bruma. He is fantastic in bringing the game from back forward. I agree that he still needs to work on his defending, but that will come with games and age. And playing alongside our other CBs.

But then it was you who has said that he doesn't rate Alex, so i understand why are you harsh on Bruma.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Erm, overdramatic or what?

I think he was being sarcastic.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

I think he was being sarcastic.

Didn't give any hints.

[BLionheart 516]

Can't compare attacker Kakuta and defender Bruma. He is fantastic in bringing the game from back forward. I agree that he still needs to work on his defending, but that will come with games and age. And playing alongside our other CBs.

But then it was you who has said that he doesn't rate Alex, so i understand why are you harsh on Bruma.

i didn't say i don' rate alex !!!!! i said that him and terry is not the perfect partnership and that i think that a fast mobile defender will make a better couple with terry ....

and i am only comparing kakuta's , PVA's , McCehran's and bruma's progress . i know you ccan't compae players who play at different positions but i am only comparing which one of them is more close of being 1st team quality and i think bruma is the last one

[*History* 8]

Forget the league cup.

Just imagine winning the FA Cup again, three in a row!

[EskWeston 696]

i have no problem with the other youngsters , my only concern is Jeffrey Bruma , i don't think he is a top defender . i have watched him a lot mostly with the reserves and his positioning is poor and his tackle timing is even poorer and i have never seen any thing very encouraging from him to be our 4th choice CB .

Don't mean to be patronising or anything, but if you have watched Bruma play a lot in the reserves and judged his positioning and tackle timing poor then you must have been watching the wrong player. Even in last nights game he put in some excellent well timed tackles, one in particular coming across brilliantly to stop a clear run on goal. Centre back is the most high pressure position on the park, he got a little caught when giving the free kick, but we have seen JT, Alex and Ivan do the same this season, the difference being that Newcastle scored from this free kick, which was poor positioning from Turnbull.

For me this is one of the biggest problems with bringing youngsters through, the pressure from the fans is so high, and particulary for defenders a couple of small mistakes and you are deemed not good enough. Attackers make mistakes and no-one noticies, Van Aanholt had a couple of defensive lapses, but because he scored one and set up one those are easily forgotten. You have to take the performances of these young players as a whole, mistakes are EXPECTED at this stage.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

From a more, selfish?, approach I'm quite disappointed we went out so early. It means chances to going to see Chelsea play become limited. Carling Cup and FA Cup games are usually £20 or £30 each, a reasonable price. The Premier League games are almost £50 a pop!

It's why I love Carling Cup and FA Cup game. They're affordable and tickets are more/less always available, with us going out so early The FA Cup is the only competition left for affordable games and I think this season they maybe more in demand. I guess I'll just have to build up my loyalty points for that though

In the context of your season I think BL is right. It is one less distraction from the main trophies we want, The Premier League, The FA Cup & The UEFA Champions League. If you think about it, from this Saturday, in the last 2 weeks Chelsea would've have played 5 games. If you think about it, in 2 weeks that a lot of games and means our players are more prone to injuries.

Those who think your youth chances will become more limited, well they probably will. But with the impressive performance of Josh McEachran vs Newcastle and the fact Carlo played Bruma, McEachran & Kakuta vs Zilina shows he actually is willing to give these kids a chance. I can see this season the kids starting to come on more and more in games, perhaps even getting some starts? They'll definitely play in the FA Cup and maybe even some of our Champions League games (remember, we still have Zilina at home!)