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Franco Di Santo

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I have kept tabs on blackburn a bit this season just to check how young franco has been playing, and whilst he has certainly showed some potential he has only managed one very easy goal in 15matches. Along the way he has blown some glorious opportunities. What should be more worrying for poor franco is that in the meantime players such as sturridge, borini and kakuta have been playing well when they get their chances in our first team and if/when franco returns he will find himself a long way down the pecking order.

Has he got a future with the blues?

 
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I think he'll get another chance on loan. One more season to prove that he's actually got the talent. If he fails again, he'll be gone. If no one wants him... he'll be gone.

 
blackburn have only scored about 25 goals all season, and after watchnig them last night i have nothing but sympathy for franco over the way he`s left isolated and hardly ever has a chance created for him. he spent the whole match chasing down defenders , running into space and never getting a decent pass or any help. we cant make a decision on the way goals he hasnt scored at blackburn, mainly because none of their other strikers have scored many either.

 
Playing up front for Blackburn is not the easiest job in the world for sure. But it begs the question as to why he was sent out on loan in the first place and why he hasn't been called back.

Presumably, Ancelotti doesn't rate him as highly as either Sturridge or Borini. If that is the case then it's hard to see much of a future for him at Chelsea.

 
I just mentioned Di Santo in another thread about "players you were wrong about."

I had, and in all honesty still do, have high hopes for the lad. I watched his movement, and off the ball it was excellent. I then started reading that Argentinians were touting him as the next Hernan Crespo, and I got really excited. Hernan was, and still is a great striker, and I was always upset that his personal issues forced him to want a move back to Italy.

Anyway, one of my good friends in Scotland is a massive Blackburn fan and when he and I have talked about him it's always "nothing special." Doesn't take his chances, and last time "can't believe we're keeping him on loan!"

Shame. However, I will echo the sentiment that he's not exactly getting the best service, nor is he playing for a high scoring side. I would like to see him back at Chelsea, given a chance to find a place in the first team (or its periphory) and see what he can do. If nothing, then let him go!

Scott

 
mad_mac said:
Anyway, one of my good friends in Scotland is a massive Blackburn fan and when he and I have talked about him it's always "nothing special." Doesn't take his chances, and last time "can't believe we're keeping him on loan!"
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Similarly there is a girl I work with who used to be a season ticket holder at Blackurn where she was brought up. She still goes to 9 or 10 games a season when she gets back down from Scotland and she streams most of their games in the same way we do.

She isn't impressed either (although she acknowledges that the team as a whole are under performing and that it is hard for him to make an impression in that team).

 
From what I've seen, the good chances he's had, he's missed horribly.

I would still like him to make it, because he's enthusiastic, and has some pace as well as height....but he's done nothing to convince me he will make it at Chelsea.

 
I think it would be wrong to write off Di Santo just let. He is currently playing for a very poor Blackburn Rovers side. If I was him I would next season try to go out on loan to a club like Everton, Sunderland etc., or rather clubs where A ) He is likely to play reguarly, and B ) Is likely to get a good quality of service from midfield.

 
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I'm in favour of Di Franco staying at Blackburn because if he comes back in January he more than likely will end up in the Reserves. I believe Ancelotti will give Sturridge and Borini opportunities to play alongside Anelka. Sturridge will surely play a role during the AC period. Staying with Blackburn will give Di Santo lots of opportunities in the Premiership to prove his worth and it will show whether he can eventually make it into our first team.

 
He looks strong enough and quick enough to play at this level. He will develop given time, Drogba at his age wasn't even playing football let alone registered at a club like Chelsea.

He plays for a team that does not create a lot and he works his balls off for them. He might not have scored as often as we'd all hoped but he's worked hard for Blackburn and been a part of some of their best moves/games.

I admire what he's doing and wish him all the best.

 
Epic said:
He looks strong enough and quick enough to play at this level. He will develop given time, Drogba at his age wasn't even playing football let alone registered at a club like Chelsea.He plays for a team that does not create a lot and he works his balls off for them. He might not have scored as often as we'd all hoped but he's worked hard for Blackburn and been a part of some of their best moves/games.

I admire what he's doing and wish him all the best.
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Of course he was playing football. However he was only at a division 2 team in France. Players like Drogba who bloom into such world class talents late though are very rare.

He has been getting a lot of gametime at Blackburn and no matter the lack of service behind him a striker still has to do better than one goal in all of that. He has missed some absolute sitters and if he is to return to Chelsea i just see no way that he will be above sturridge or borini (not to mention kalou) in the pecking order of strikers. If he can't improve when he is getting gametime at blackburn how is he meant to develop getting no gametime at chelsea?

 
If finishing is his only issue I would consider that a very good thing as it's something that can be fixed with experience and training.

 
Qaz said:
If finishing is his only issue I would consider that a very good thing as it's something that can be fixed with experience and training.
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Actually I think that is the one thing you can't teach for a player at his age anyway. Natural finisher is a natural finisher no matter what you feed him. Not sure it is an age issue even..

I'm sure he is a good finisher. I don't think we would have bought him otherwise.

He just needs to get back to his finishing ways...

 
QUOTE (Qaz @ Jan 16 2010, 09:52 AM)

If finishing is his only issue I would consider that a very good thing as it's something that can be fixed with experience and training.

evissy said:
Actually I think that is the one thing you can't teach for a player at his age anyway. Natural finisher is a natural finisher no matter what you feed him. Not sure it is an age issue even..
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You are absolutely right evissy. You cannot teach a player how to finish. It's like saying you can teach someone to have pace.

 
There are drills that help improve players pace....and fitness regimes to get them into the right shape to be able to use it.

But I do think finishing is usually natural. If a player can get into the position to score, he should convert a lot of the time....which Di Santo hasn't done much of at Chelsea, or Blackburn. Usually finishers exhibit the talent throughout their entire youth career, and have the ability to find the net when they make it. The downfall of young strikers is often positioning (and strength), not finishing.

 
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I think you can train someone to the extent that their finishing can improve by a certain amount but I agree that there is only a limited amount you can do. if a player isn't a 'natural' finisher then they never will be no matter how much training they get.

Kalou could spend two solid years at the school of finishing with personal training from Van Basten, Lineker, Greaves and Puskas and still be a poor finisher at the end of it. I fear Di Santo is in the same camp.

 
I remember reading a media story bout Zlatan Ibrahimovich where he talked about how he had finishing training over and over and over again and credits it with his recent "clinicalness" in front of goal.

Zlatan is not a player I would refer to as a "natural finisher"

 
You can practice all you want but it only gets you so far.

The 'naturalness' of a finisher is an intellectual ability to instinctively calculate the weight, power and angle of a shot to be successful compared to using a series of learning contingencies.

 
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