Why no Kakuta talk?

[BrewCrew]

With all the talk of trying to get a winger or a creative midfielder, why are we not mentioning Gael? I really don't like that he hasn't been given the chance to show what he can do. The couple appearences here and there aren't enough. I can't help but make the argument that if he was playing for a team like Santos or Lille (Neymar or Hazard) he would be a much bigger prospect. If he was playing on a team like that he would play every game and probably produce at a decent level. I understand that chances at a team like Chelsea are going to be slim or impossible, but there is obvious talent there and he just needs a chance. Sturridge got to play every game at Bolton and he showed what he can do. I think it is also vital that Kakuta is played in the right spot. He is a much better central player then winger. The two games where he played well for Chelsea was when he was inserted as a creative midfielder role.

I think the same can be said for our three youngsters. (Sturrige, Kakuta, Josh) There is talks of getting big name players in the transfer market when we have players that could get the job done if they are given a chance.

[deg0ey]

I've got to think that there's a reason Kakuta barely got a game at Fulham last season and the only conclusion I can come up with is that having watched him in training they thought he wasn't really good enough. If he was likely up to the standard we're looking for here, I would have expected him to walk straight into that Fulham side and impress in the way that Sturridge did.

[Scar]

I've got to think that there's a reason Kakuta barely got a game at Fulham last season and the only conclusion I can come up with is that having watched him in training they thought he wasn't really good enough. If he was likely up to the standard we're looking for here, I would have expected him to walk straight into that Fulham side and impress in the way that Sturridge did.

Well, every time he made an appearance for Fulham, he looked dangerous and seemed to give them an extra dimension. I remember reading that even Fulham fans were perplexed as to why he was not given more opportunities. And remember he won the golden ball in the under 19 championships last year. So he is definitely good enough. The question is, how does he fit in into our side..

In any case, I think we should and AVB will use him more in the coming season. He's got tricks, he's got pace and he's got flair -all of which we could do with. AVB spoke importantly about how he wanted to help players realize their potential and make them express themselves. Kakuta would be the perfect player to work on. He really could be great.

[Backbiter]

Like everyone I had ridiculously high hopes for Kakuta, based on how good he looked for the youth team ,for the reserves, for the French in the U19 tournament, and for us on his debut, which was phenomenal.

Since then he's done nothing to fulfil those hopes, so I'm glad there hasn't been too much publicity going his way lately.

Let's hope AVB - and RdM - bring out the very best in him, and that he makes the most of any chances he gets this coming season.

[barak81]

Sounds like people are saying simmeler things about him as they where ronaldo at the same age. Not saying they will turn out the same but he has the potential to be great.

In any job in life when your young you have to be a bit lucky, You need to get the right manager, get the right oportunitys at the right time. There is no point in queing up for a job that some one just a little bit older than you has just filled. Time to move on.

IMO AVB doesnt really need to buy that much, we need to believe in what we have. one winger would do it in my oppinion. I can see the need for an attack minded CM but i just think lampard and Yossi should have it covered while Josh matures. I wont cry about it if some one comes along however as i believe AVB is the kind of guy that would happily play two very attack minded CM

[Castiel]

Ancelotti wasn't brilliant at using the youth players really. What I've seen of Kakuta I've liked, I think he could be really effective out wide for us because he is insanely fast and has a bag full of tricks. I think he needs to work on his finishing above all else, but he can dance through defenders, outrun a cheetah and pick a pass. Lets hope AVB rates him in training and gives him a shot.

[The Moos]

I haven't been impressed by Kakuta when I've seen him play for the first team. And let's face it, he had much trouble getting to play for Fulham, so is he really good enough to play for us right now?

I think he needs to go on loan somewhere he can play more and evolve first.

[clubhappy]

If he was anything really special he wouldnt be still out on loan .

[Spiller86]

This all comes down to the expectations game. Now I think more than a few got carried away with Kakuta, and built him up to a degree that he probably wasn't perhaps worthy of certainly yet. It's my big concern with Josh to be honest, lot's saying he should be playing first team this year, If Wilshire can do it so can Josh etc. etc.

People need to temper their expectations a little and remember that these guys are still very young and only a very select few break into first teams at the biggest clubs at this age. Remember JT was nearly sold to Huddersfield during his younger days here. I have always believed that a change in coach can do everything for a player, have a look at what Frank turned into under Jose. I don't think anyone would have said when we bought him he would finish runner up in the World Player of the Year. Villas Boas might be just the guy for our younger lads.

My suggestion would be for people to hold the line for a little while with Josh and Kakuta. They are obviously very talented for their age, and they'll see time and develop this season in my view. Whether or not they'll be regulars at the end of the season I doubt it, but at 18 and 20 they aren't expected to be. As I said be patient, you can't go ruling guys out at 20.

Edited July 9, 2011 by Spiller86

[Scar]

This all comes down to the expectations game. Now I think more than a few got carried away with Kakuta, and built him up to a degree that he probably wasn't perhaps worthy of certainly yet. It's my big concern with Josh to be honest, lot's saying he should be playing first team this year, If Wilshire can do it so can Josh etc. etc.

People need to temper their expectations a little and remember that these guys are still very young and only a very select few break into first teams at the biggest clubs at this age. Remember JT was nearly sold to Huddersfield during his younger days here. I have always believed that a change in coach can do everything for a player, have a look at what Frank turned into under Jose. I don't think anyone would have said when we bought him he would finish runner up in the World Player of the Year. Villas Boas might be just the guy for our younger lads.

My suggestion would be for people to hold the line for a little while with Josh and Kakuta. They are obviously very talented for their age, and they'll see time and develop this season in my view. Whether or not they'll be regulars at the end of the season I doubt it, but at 18 and 20 they aren't expected to be. As I said be patient, you can't go ruling guys out at 20.

The thing is that even if we as fans are patient with youngsters, will the club show the same patience we do ? We have just sold off Jack Cork to Southampton because he was 22 and could not make it to the first team at his age. I kept following burnley and looked keenly at player ratings at the end of the most games to see that even though he was young, jack looked the calmest on the pitch,could pick a pass and was voted MOTM many times.All I wanted to see was him given a chance to see if he can cut it at the highest level but we'll never find out. No one remembers that we bought Lampsy in when he was 23 and he grew into the world class player he is because of the level he played at and players he trained with. Why couldn jack achieve the same ?

Anyway, because of the incredible standards set by the likes Messi, Hazard, Wilshere and other teenage superstars, we expect our youngsters too to blossom before 20 and if not, they re stamped "not good enough" . The same thing is happening with Bruma , who at 19 already has dutch caps but I'm sure his loan deal at the end of 2 years will be made permanent and we'll have sold another of our promising youngsters without ever giving them a chance at Chelsea.

Last year was supposed to be the year when we used our youth and Ancellotti will tell you that he did and they weren good enough but the truth is that he dint use them right or dint use them at all. The game we lost to sunderland 3-0 at home, Carlo played Paolo at centre back when he could have easily given Bruma a chance. And the game against Aston Villa, Bruma had a fine game but Carlo attributed Heskey's headed goal as Bruma's fault and we never saw him again.

With Kakuta, Bayern were after him last year and we promised him game time and got him to sign a 4 year deal but after one start (he was substituted at half time) and a couple of 80th min substitutions we loaned him out. Carlo always took to the 'safety first' approach playing Malouda and Kalou and Anelka ahead of Kakuta or even Sturridge for that matter. Perhaps Josh was the exception but even he was played out of position because it was safer.

There is no point boasting of a young squad if we're constantly buyin super talented youngsters at the age of 21 for 25 million pounds. The fans are prepared to be patient if the club recognizes the potential of our academy and is patient through the process of unlocking it in a player. Here's to hoping that AVB and his new management team are going to put things right at CFC.

[SydneyChelsea]

While I would agree with the sentiment of your post, the seeds of Lampard's emergence were sown by Ranieri and were blooming by 03/04. Even by that stage he was described as the deadliest attacker in the EPL not named Henry. Jose took Lampard's consistency and added the confidence to play in tough games, but he very much benefited from Ranieri's groundwork.

[Crystal Phallus]

I think Hamburg are interested in getting him on loan.

[Hutch]

This is what I wrote about Kakuta in the Is CFC the right club for youngsters ? thread:

Kakuta wasn't good enough when he was given the chance. He was also badly off form for the reserves. He seems to have picked up a bit while on loan at Fulham. It's a possibility his time will come yet, but to blame the management for Kakuta failing to live up to expectations, even Ancelotti with his aforementioned preferences, simply flies in the face of the facts.

Fact is there's been plenty of talk about Kakuta. As others have already stated, expectations that he would go on to reproduce his earlier form in the reserves for the first team were widespread. Kakuta's development was undeniably hindered by that ridiculous ban and later by a period out injured. With all that behind him, it's no wonder he struggled to regain his form.

Whilst on loan at Fulham he showed glimpses of his earlier potential. Being over-cautious, I don't want to state his case any stronger than that. He's still young, has time on his side, but the truth is none of us know how he's doing in training, what AVB will make of him, or where his future lies. AVB himself has stated that he needs to assess the current squad before deciding what needs to be done, and with the players only having been back in training for a couple of days, this period of assessment is currently under way.

So again, patience is called for. Also a little faith and trust not only in the new manager, but the new management structure, wouldn't go amiss.

[PloKoon13]

Kakuta has the talent to be as good as anyone, but I've always had this horrible feeling in the back of my mind that, in the case that he doesn't put the work in/ is unlucky, he could just end up being the next Joe Cole rather than the next Zidane.

There are a few roles in which Kakuta could flourish (I believe we're in the hunt for a creative midfielder/trequartista), so no need to despair yet. Hopefully he'll get more chances next season; the amount of effort we put into getting him suggests we're not going to give up just yet.

[dkw]

Kakuta wont actually be here for the start of the season will he? Isnt he at the under 20`s world cup until the end of august?

[mrjhay]

He needs to bulk up a bit too for the Premier League... same can be said for Josh mind. Lacks the physical presence but definitely has the technical ability from what I've seen - although tries to over complicate things sometimes. As someone said, if he puts the work in he could be very good...we'll see..

[Maverick]

Kakuta wont actually be here for the start of the season will he? Isnt he at the under 20`s world cup until the end of august?

Yes he will be away for the under 20's. Having been through a few posts on this thread a lot of them talk about him not being good enough to break into Fulham. The point that most posts miss is that Fulham were then dragged into the relegation dog-fight and its highly unlikely that a manager would give a youngster "on loan" a run as compared to experienced heads like Duff/ Dembele etc. Though 2 starts and 5 sub appearance in the league is not as bad as some out here are making it look.

[nonotnowjim]

has he gone to the u20 world cup already? I see he played for us against Wycombe the other day, but didnt feature against Pompey. Also AVB mentioned that the players used against Portsmouth today would be the players who travel to asia (Plus cech, rajkovic and alex)....

[wevegotkalou]

has he gone to the u20 world cup already? I see he played for us against Wycombe the other day, but didnt feature against Pompey. Also AVB mentioned that the players used against Portsmouth today would be the players who travel to asia (Plus cech, rajkovic and alex)....

He may be able to play on the right of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 but he certainly hasn't shown enough to be regularly involved.

[wxwax]

I was able to watch the first half of France-Colombia in the U-20 World Cup.

Kakuta was playing in the hole, behind the striker. Judging by that half, he has a long way to go before he's ready to play for Chelsea.

On the good side, he clearly has skill. He tries to play one-touch football, he likes to run onto the ball, he puts himself in dangerous situations and he's quick.

On the bad side, his first touch let him down a lot in that half. His one-touch attempts failed more often than not. But worst of all, to my mind, is that he was a jogger. In other words, when he didn't have the ball or think someone was about to pass it to him, he sort of jogged around. He really didn't seem interested in trying to win the ball back. Less a fighter, more waiting to be served.

It was only a half. But it was against his peers. And it seemed to me that he's just not a complete player.

On the other hand, Arsenal's Gilles Sunu scored a fantastic goal for France. Tremendous skill and power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LRlGlWQRc8

Edited July 31, 2011 by wxwax

[Zeta]

There are some players who come into the team and look at home straight away, they don't look out of place and if you knew nothing of any of the players, you wouldn't think they were necessarily much less experienced than the rest. Players like Josh, PVA and Bertrand.

But then you look at players like Bruma, Kakuta, Clifford, etc... to name a few recent ones, and you can just tell they aren't at the same level as the other players around them. Not to say they won't get there, but i've seen nothing from Kakuta so far over the year or so that we've had him to suggest it was worth the hassle to sign him.

[german-blue]

Certainly a confidence problem that he has right now... as others said he played quite well when given a chance for Fulham but it also must be hard to only play so little when you get loaned out in the first place. With all the potential that he has Im still hopeful that he will finally live up to all the hype that has been created around him. I just hope AVB will give him plenty of chances to re-establish him in our squad, beeing away during our Asia-Trip certainly didnt help his chances though

[Nibs]

There are some players who come into the team and look at home straight away, they don't look out of place and if you knew nothing of any of the players, you wouldn't think they were necessarily much less experienced than the rest. Players like Josh, PVA and Bertrand.

But then you look at players like Bruma, Kakuta, Clifford, etc... to name a few recent ones, and you can just tell they aren't at the same level as the other players around them. Not to say they won't get there, but i've seen nothing from Kakuta so far over the year or so that we've had him to suggest it was worth the hassle to sign him.

I'd go along with that.

Still plenty of time for him to make the grade but Unfortunately for Kakuta, at Chelsea you don't get too many chances and if you don't take your chance, you tend to end up being history.

I hope I'm wrong, but I get the feeling Kakuta will always be a bit of an enigma. Will show a bit of brilliance now and again but will never be a consistent enough performer to hold down a regular place.

[dkw]

I'd go along with that.

Still plenty of time for him to make the grade but Unfortunately for Kakuta, at Chelsea you don't get too many chances and if you don't take your chance, you tend to end up being history.

I hope I'm wrong, but I get the feeling Kakuta will always be a bit of an enigma. Will show a bit of brilliance now and again but will never be a consistent enough performer to hold down a regular place.

So basically a French Joe Cole?

[Nibs]

So basically a French Joe Cole?

Nicely summarised!!