I would really want Carlo to field a young team for the carling cup with the players under 22,23 given preference . It is very pleasing when those players win you matches . Do we really want the likes of Lampard , Terry , Drogba , Cech in every match of the carling cup ?

Carling Cup is cup for young players. I think that Carlo should give a chance to them in this tournament!

totally agree, especially with the squad thinner this year there should be as much need to play all the senior players who havent been getting a game. weve seen how good arsenals youngsters have done, and our current crop is as good as ive seen from any team, you only have to look at our last 3 seasons in the F.A. youth cup. 2 finals in 3 years!

And the young players of Arsenal and ManUtd win them matches and give those players a lot of confidence . Last season for every carling cup match , We were playing most of the first team regulars and it was disappointing to say the least.

My Carling cup formation ,

------Turnbull----

Mancienne---Bruma---Alex/Rajkovic----Van Aaholt

Ramires/Cork

--------Benayoun ------ Matic------

---Sturridge---- Borini --- Kakuta ---

How is this for a lineup ? ;) . Senior players can occassionallu chip in here and there ..

I don't favour the sheep dip approach that Arsenal opt for. By all means use the League Cup to blood 3-4 youth players but do it in such a way that they are allowed to show what they can do whilst playing alongisde regular first team players. Only that allows them to develop properly and will give Ancelotti a chance to see if they could step in when needed in 'higher priority' games.

Playing a full team of under 23s will teach him nothing and them very little.

I don't favour the sheep dip approach that Arsenal opt for. By all means use the League Cup to blood 3-4 youth players but do it in such a way that they are allowed to show what they can do whilst playing alongisde regular first team players. Only that allows them to develop properly and will give Ancelotti a chance to see if they could step in when needed in 'higher priority' games.

Playing a full team of under 23s will teach him nothing and them very little.

I agree with the blooding in of a handful of our players, likely Matic, Kakuta, and Sturridge. The other nice thing about the Carling Cup for a club like Chelsea is that it gives players like Zhirkov, Kalou, Paulo, and other players who are used to starting games on the bench a full 90 minutes, which can help both their fitness and their attitude.

I want my Chelsea to win every competition we enter - including the Carling Cup - Let the Mancs and L'Arse despoil the competition by putting out teams of teenagers, I want as close to a first team as possible, allowing for one or two of our youngsters to get a game and some experience. Loz got it right, I think, "Playing a full team of under 23s will teach him nothing and them very little"

kev

I don't favour the sheep dip approach that Arsenal opt for. By all means use the League Cup to blood 3-4 youth players but do it in such a way that they are allowed to show what they can do whilst playing alongisde regular first team players. Only that allows them to develop properly and will give Ancelotti a chance to see if they could step in when needed in 'higher priority' games.

Playing a full team of under 23s will teach him nothing and them very little.

This.....

I would imagine that Ancelotti will use the League Cup to further blood youth players who are already in the first team, i.e. the likes of Bruma, Kakuta, Borini, etc...

3-4 young players ( Bruma,Kakuta,Mancienne,Sturridge) combined with first team players that dont get a lot of appearances is ideal for me. something like that maybe...

------------------------Hilario-----------------------

---Mancienne---Ivan-----Bruma---Zhirkov--

------------------------Mikel------------------------

------------------Ramires--Matic-----------------

---------Kalou------Sturridge-----Kakuta----

^ Now that's a lineup I'd like to see in the Carling Cup.

3-4 young players ( Bruma,Kakuta,Mancienne,Sturridge) combined with first team players that dont get a lot of appearances is ideal for me. something like that maybe...

------------------------Hilario-----------------------

---Mancienne---Ivan-----Bruma---Zhirkov--

------------------------Mikel------------------------

------------------Ramires--Matic-----------------

---------Kalou------Sturridge-----Kakuta----

I agree with Yorkley in that I too want us to win every tournament we enter and with that in mind I would say that the line up above involves too many changes. I favour a more settled 6 players, maybe three experienced players who don't get as many games and then two young players with more young players on the bench.

Plus if Ashley and Malouda are on the bench, I'd prefer to see Zhirkov in an advanced role, not stuck at LB...give PVA a run out.

Plus if Ashley and Malouda are on the bench, I'd prefer to see Zhirkov in an advanced role, not stuck at LB...give PVA a run out.

Thats glue isnt it?

Thats glue isnt it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PVA

:lol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PVA

:lol:

Yay, I know stuff...

Yay, I know stuff...

I added van Aanholt's name to the "PVA" page on wikipedia for the sole purpose of allowing me to continue calling him PVA and save myself time from typing out his name.

Also....Paralyzed Veterans of America...what downers.

And the young players of Arsenal and ManUtd win them matches and give those players a lot of confidence . Last season for every carling cup match , We were playing most of the first team regulars and it was disappointing to say the least.

My Carling cup formation ,

------Turnbull----

Mancienne---Bruma---Alex/Rajkovic----Van Aaholt

Ramires/Cork

--------Benayoun ------ Matic------

---Sturridge---- Borini --- Kakuta ---

How is this for a lineup ? ;) . Senior players can occassionallu chip in here and there ..

Isn't Cork on loan?

carling cup = chance for Kakuta, Matic, Bruma, Van Aaholt, Borini, etc...

I don't favour the sheep dip approach that Arsenal opt for. By all means use the League Cup to blood 3-4 youth players but do it in such a way that they are allowed to show what they can do whilst playing alongisde regular first team players. Only that allows them to develop properly and will give Ancelotti a chance to see if they could step in when needed in 'higher priority' games.

Playing a full team of under 23s will teach him nothing and them very little.

Totally agree. Arsenal's method is great for hype generation and building of false confidence for thrashing lower league sides.

I do think that age, appearances and injury history should be the guiding considerations on who plays. Frank has been an ironman his whole career but I would hate to see him starting a CC game against Bury when chelsea may wind up playing 60+ fixtures this season

I added van Aanholt's name to the "PVA" page on wikipedia for the sole purpose of allowing me to continue calling him PVA and save myself time from typing out his name.

Also....Paralyzed Veterans of America...what downers.

I made a similar edit to this page-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipper_%28disambiguation%29

I actually believe tournaments such as the Carling Cup require a bit of passion and so I would not be averse to playing Lamps and JT. They'd also be able to provide guidance and lead the younger players by example. Too many second string + youth players is a recipe for disaster. There's no point if we get knocked out at the first hurdle. For the "kids" to learn and gain experience, we need a bit of a run in the tournament.

My Carling Cup side would be:

Turnbull, Ferreira, van Aanholt, Terry, Bruma, Essien, Lampard, Matic, Kalou, Sturridge and maybe Benayoun, but with Kakuta figuring prominently off the bench, meaning at least 30 minutes each time.

Cheers,

Butch

Agreed, Benayoun in the first squad in Carling Cup will be very good option!

I agree that too many young players will not do and it is complete waste if we lose in the first round. Let us atleast not field a team akin to a permier league line up . Thats what Carlo almost did last season . Even though we had a stong team , we lost to Blackburn.

Let us not do a Arsenal , but a good mix of 6 senior Pros + 5 young players . This season , it is very important for us to have Essien fully fit throughout the season . I really believe he is the main man for us against stronger opposition. Our fitness freak Lampard also has to be injury free . Though he is one of the fittest guys around , We would need him to play for years at CFC .

Agreed, Essien must be fit to play throughout the whole season!