Just wondering as i haven't heard his name for ages. I know he had a knee injury; is this still the issue with the lad. It appears he is the only youngster who has been really pushing for a first team spot. What exactly was Sam's knee injury problem too? Thanks.

He is still with us. I wouldn't say he is the only youngster pushing for a first team place though. TO be honest none of the youngsters seem to be near a first team place however Matic, Bruma and Kakuta are probably the most likely just now (although Kakuta is probably still a couple of years away).

He is still with us. I wouldn't say he is the only youngster pushing for a first team place though. TO be honest none of the youngsters seem to be near a first team place however Matic, Bruma and Kakuta are probably the most likely just now (although Kakuta is probably still a couple of years away).

yeh Matic looks decent and Kakuta is guranteed premiership football in next few years. Very talented indeed. But Sam was pushing at the very beginning of the season which indicates that he is very much first team standard doesn't it? i.e he could be regular? He made a few sub appearances too and was on the bench alot. I thought he recovered from the knee injury, as there was an article explaining how he was guna quit football, but then had an operation and was fine. It's not good for a young player to be out alot like Sam has been.

Also i'm not being funny, but i believe his initial problem was a hole in his knee, wand they were ding bone grafts to add bone back in. Has anyone heard of this. I can't understand why he still has problems, and if he does, how likely is it too get better. Don't uderstand it if i'm being honest....

Edited April 12, 201016 yr by slackhands

He played in the pre-season tour and made on start against QPR (he came off the bench for a few minutes in the league - can't remember who against) however the chances of him breaking into our back four are very remote as the standard is very high and right across the back four we have players well ahead of him who aren't at the tail end of their careers.

He played in the pre-season tour and made on start against QPR (he came off the bench for a few minutes in the league - can't remember who against) however the chances of him breaking into our back four are very remote as the standard is very high and right across the back four we have players well ahead of him who aren't at the tail end of their careers.

Right. I think it's a waste keeping all these young lads playing periodic reserve games. I mean how do they get the game experience? Better of playing lower league football on loan. Someone said the other day Kakuta looked rubbish in the latest reserve's match. No bloody wonder, he doesnt play anough matches to become match sharp does he? I know some players are out on loan, but only Cork is at a prem club and that's bloody Burnley.

Edited April 12, 201016 yr by slackhands

and Mancienne

and Mancienne

Oh yeh. Every time i see him play he has a shocker- bad positioning and gets pushed off the ball far to often. Can't believe he came from Chelsea tbh. If he makes it at Chelsea i will be very surprised. Jack Cork looks very hit and miss but have heard good things about him. Sam seemed the only one with a real chance imo.

We really do have a logjam with defensive prospects. Van Annholt, Bruma, Hutchinson, Bertrand, and Mancienne. Some of them may not be up to snuff in the end, but I am glad carlo is finding minutes for some of them here and there,

I guess with Ashley Cole, Alex, JT, and Ivanovic sure to stick around for many more seasons, we are going to have to let some of them go without much of a chance but thats life.

Edited April 12, 201016 yr by TheWestwayWonder

There is also Stoch who appears to be doing well in Holland (OK not the greatest league).

Mancienne has had some good games for Wolves so I think you have been very 'unlucky' in the games you have seen however I share your opinion that he is going to struggle to make the grade at Chelsea.

Their only hope are pretty much as fourth center-back for next year, behind Alex, JT and Ivanovic (and that's if we get rid of Riccy), or as second left-back (and this would only happen if we move Yuri up to challenge Malouda). It's going to take something special for the youth to break in our back four, the only one I could see making a push would be Mancienne, but as DM (if we opt to keep Mikel there and push Essien up).

There is also Stoch who appears to be doing well in Holland (OK not the greatest league).

Mancienne has had some good games for Wolves so I think you have been very 'unlucky' in the games you have seen however I share your opinion that he is going to struggle to make the grade at Chelsea.

Stoch is quite simply fantastic- Really does have it all. This is what all players whould be doing though- getting experience week in week out. I could tell you now that Stoch in particular is a player who needs game time to reach his potential. I mean if these Chelsea lads arent cutting the grade at low league premiership teams then jsut get rid. Harsh but thats how i do business....

In the circle's I work in i've been fortunate to meet both Jason Cundy and Eddie Newton. Both rate Sam as one of our brightest talents, as did Jose who took him on our USA pre-season tour as a kid.

Unfortunately, injuries continue to hinder his development, there is no doubt had he not been in this situation he'd be pushing for a first team bench spot if not the starting eleven. Even established stars ( Joe Cole as an example ) need a pre-season to get them going, Sam has been on the treatment table nearly every year since he joined us, it's a crying shame really.

As for Mancienne, my local postmaster is a Wolves season ticket holder, how he manages to get Saturdays off is beyond me but he says he will never be good enough for Wolves in Central Defence or Full Back let alone Chelsea, although he has been impressed with him in the holding midfield role. Bruma is a different kettle of fish, a cert for the starting 11 in the next few years and a regular on the bench for the immediate future.

I really feel our youth development is finally coming along, i've been critical of Arneson in the past but i'm never one to overlook improvements and we are talking giant strides here.

We are five years behind the likes of Lyon, who have an unbelievable youth set up and the masters in the current field Barcelona, no fewer of seven of their best players have come through their youth ranks. Maybe the Chelsea Youth Cup Final side will be the one that saves us millions, unlikely but you never know !

Star - if you reckon Sam might have been pushing for a place in the starting line up (injuries permitting) who do you think would be dropping out (assuming a back line of Cole, Terry Alex/Carvalho, Bosingwa/Ivan) - personally I don't think he would have a chance of breaking into that back four.

ANother player we haven't mentioned who is on loan in the Premiership is Di Santo. Granted his chances have been limited and the style of play at Blackburn is not entirely suited to him but I must say I have been pretty underwhelmed by what I have seen.

I stated beginning of summer we should of unloaded Carvalho as we have so much depth at back and many exciting prospects.....now we have had a horrid time with injuries at the back so perhaps it worked out not to sell Carv, but I will be a little unhappy if he is here next season for the following reasons (he is still a fantastic defender, but IMO surplus to requirements)

1) Sell him while we can still get a good return for him

2) Get his wages off the books

3) let a younger/cheaper prospect get a few senior matches in

No "prospect" is going to get through JT/Carv/Alex/Ivan...only someone we would purchase for 15m plus would even get the chance too, so lets sell Carv and still have 3 fantastic, reliable, proven CBs and allow a prosect of 2 to get some games in also!

Ive heard Mancienne is looking pretty good as a holding midfield, but I dont see him fulfilling that role here......

DiSantos.....what can you say? dissapointment surely, but is it due to him or the environment he was loaned out too?

I don,t understand why people keep saying give them another few years, would they not be better being blooded in sooner before its to late to learn off the likes of terry,lampard,drogba.

Yeah I've a mate that's a Blackburn fan who says that he's been unimpressed by him up at Blackburn, but it's tough to say when he's playing with little service.

I think it's a shame for the defenders trying to break through, and I've seen Sam play in the pre-season and he looked very good. However, as pointed out, we've Bruma, Van Aanholt, etc all fighting for a spot too. I think they are all good enough, and with the possible exit of Carvalho, I'd say keep Terry and Alex as the CB pairing, and have the youth fellas fill in the ranks if needed during suspensions/injuries/cup games.

Seems to be that Mancienne isn't going to make it, even if he has hopes of the DM role. And I fear Sam's injuries may be his ultimate downfall

Scott

it's not hard to simply go with three experienced central defenders and leave a spot for a promising youngster, the problem sam has, and mancienne if and when he returns, is that jeff bruma is (for his age) a very special player. if he continues his progess (which is a big if) he could be first choice to partner jt in a few seasons.

Star - if you reckon Sam might have been pushing for a place in the starting line up (injuries permitting) who do you think would be dropping out (assuming a back line of Cole, Terry Alex/Carvalho, Bosingwa/Ivan) - personally I don't think he would have a chance of breaking into that back four.

ANother player we haven't mentioned who is on loan in the Premiership is Di Santo. Granted his chances have been limited and the style of play at Blackburn is not entirely suited to him but I must say I have been pretty underwhelmed by what I have seen.

I'm sure Star will have his own response but the fact is Sam could be another Branners in the making in that he's very capable of making a position his own. He can play anywhere across the back four plus he is a leader in the nature of JT and a certain future captain if he was able to remain fit. For sure he would have picked up as many games as the likes of Alex this season if he'd been available.

Edited April 13, 201016 yr by geezer

The likes of Alex? That's a great defender you're talking about.

If Sam can't stay healthy, this may not be the game for him...

the only one I could see making a push would be Mancienne, but as DM (if we opt to keep Mikel there and push Essien up)

And Mancienne will have strong competition from Jack Cork for the backup DM position

Oh yeh. Every time i see him play he has a shocker- bad positioning and gets pushed off the ball far to often. Can't believe he came from Chelsea tbh. If he makes it at Chelsea i will be very surprised. Jack Cork looks very hit and miss but have heard good things about him. Sam seemed the only one with a real chance imo.

Given your knowledge of our youth/ reserves I'll give that post a skip. You surely haven't watched Mancienne off late and you surely do not see his ability to rise to occassions and deliver MOTM performance in back to back games. Whether he is of Chelsea class or not is tough to respond as we seem to hardly put any faith in our youngsters. Though to suggest Mancienne has been shocking at Wolves is being unfair to a very promising youngster.

Given your knowledge of our youth/ reserves I'll give that post a skip. You surely haven't watched Mancienne off late and you surely do not see his ability to rise to occassions and deliver MOTM performance in back to back games. Whether he is of Chelsea class or not is tough to respond as we seem to hardly put any faith in our youngsters. Though to suggest Mancienne has been shocking at Wolves is being unfair to a very promising youngster.

LOL LOL! Look its pretty obvious from all the decent replies that 1) Sam Hutchinson would have played a fair few games this season had he not been injured, and been a regular on the bench. 2) Mancienne CANNOT defend! i like Mancienne but not as a defender, holding midfield perfect- Chelsea does not need him!

What don't you get? I have watched most of the reserves and feel Sam was the only one with the desire/belief to make it at Chelsea. 'Star' highlights this very well. I want to understand his injury. When I used to play to a fairly high level (was due to have Leicester city trials), but one ankle injury killed me dead because i didnt rehabilitate it correctly. (to be fair the NHS didn't tell me how too) But my point is that perhaps Sam's injury isn't a knock a such, so its unfair callling him a lightweight etc as someone has labelled him. I used to love getting knocks and i think every pro does. It's part of the fun and competition isn't it? Fair play for him for sticking at it imo. Must be going through hell i imagine for such a promising youngster. oh well, sh*t happens though. But he's at CHELSEA- he gotta make it. I reckon he should just play through it, whatever even if he has short career i would do it. he's young, take anything at that age.(I realise i contradict myself; i do that alot!)

Edited April 13, 201016 yr by slackhands

Given your knowledge of our youth/ reserves I'll give that post a skip. You surely haven't watched Mancienne off late and you surely do not see his ability to rise to occassions and deliver MOTM performance in back to back games. Whether he is of Chelsea class or not is tough to respond as we seem to hardly put any faith in our youngsters. Though to suggest Mancienne has been shocking at Wolves is being unfair to a very promising youngster.

I actually agree with slacky, he simply isnt a central defender.

Star - if you reckon Sam might have been pushing for a place in the starting line up (injuries permitting) who do you think would be dropping out (assuming a back line of Cole, Terry Alex/Carvalho, Bosingwa/Ivan) - personally I don't think he would have a chance of breaking into that back four.

ANother player we haven't mentioned who is on loan in the Premiership is Di Santo. Granted his chances have been limited and the style of play at Blackburn is not entirely suited to him but I must say I have been pretty underwhelmed by what I have seen.

I'm only going on what Jason and Eddie's comments Loz, but I know from them that Jose believed he was a certainty to make a long career in our first team.

What followed was two or three years of a knee injury that brought him close to retirement from the game, all I have witnessed has been assured and committed displays when he has played, even though in the back of his mind the thought of fitness problems must run wild.

I was fortunate to spend 20 mins with Tommy Docherty recently who said the old cliche "If they are good enough they are old enough" If the Doc' didn't have the bottle to play the likes of Ossie and Chopper at a young age, who knows some of us wouldn't have experienced the magical times when a lot of us first supported Chelsea, Dave Sexton may have won the trophies in 1970 and 71, but without Tommy blooding them early, who knows what might have happened.

The Doc' was fortunate, there wasn't the pressure then as today to win at all costs, but i'm sure given an injury free 2005 -2009 Sam would, had he been given a chance, taken to our first team like JT did. Ivanovic has proved what an injury brings, opportunity, as nobody would have believed what he was capable of, the Bosingwa injuries put him in the frame and how he has taken the chance. I'd have liked to think Sam would have taken over from Carvalho, but alas due to injury we will never no.

What we do know is that after the USA tour Sam was made skipper of the reserves and as he has been here since he was ten and was often seen cleaning JT's boots and following his example through the ranks, twinned with the fact that he never went on loan, he was being primed for the route to the first team.

As for Di Santo, agreed, gets into a lot of good positions but clearly misses too many, he reminds me of Trevor Aylott bigtime !

Don't think he will make it here or at a top side in the Premiership, abroad could be his best optiion.

Di Santo has had the same problem at blackburn that he had on his rare appearances for us. He always gets into good positions but he never gets the ball.

IMO he either deserves a proper chance with us or with a side that will actually give him a real chance to prove himself