Our Youth on Loan

[blizeH]

Is that on TV Adam?

[Adam]

Is that on TV Adam?

 

Don't think so mate, but if your internet isn't as sh*t as mine you can watch it here:-

 

http://www.stadium-live.com/Channel4.html

 

or here

 

http://soccerpluswiz.blogspot.co.uk/p/soccer1.html

 

 

Lukaku scores for WBA!

Edited January 12, 2013 by AdamCFC

[blizeH]

Thanks, didn't know it was playing now! Would have been a nice game to watch after this Stoke match :)

[Charles Ryder]

I really hope that these two don't fall by the wayside.

 

[Lofty.]

Slightly worrying listening to Graham Stuart the other night on Chelsea TV. He doesn't think Josh has any kind of future at the Bridge. He doesn't rate him as highly as Romeo, for example, and is of the opinion that if he were going to get a chance, that chance would already have come.

 

Personally I reckon old Graham, more of an Everton and Charlton legend than a Chelsea legend, is talking out of his arse. Josh is still only 19, a couple of years younger than Romeu, and has not only worked his way through the England youth set up, but continues to impress, while gaining valuable experience, for Middlesbrough. In other words, he's learning, he's improving, and time is still very much on his side.

 

Even if he's out on loan for another couple of seasons, in Josh McEachran, we should have a ready made home-grown talent ready to step into the first team within the not too distant future.

[Adam]

Although I don't think Josh is as talented as some people seem to think he is, I definitely think that he has more potential than Romeu.

 

Next season is massive for him, a premier league loan is vital IMO. 

[Castiel]

I think Josh will make or break his chances with us when he gets a premier league loan.  Lukaku is making the most of his opportunity and I fully expect the management at Chelsea to take notice.  Sturridge did before, but unfortunately his career didn't work out for us.  I do think we've improved as a club in how we deal with youth progression since Roman arrived.  We have a long way to go, but we appear to be moving in the right direction. 

[Tim W]

Apparently, Todd Kane put in another great performance for Blackburn against Brighton last night and is quickly becoming a fans' favourite. 

[dkw]

Apparently, Todd Kane put in another great performance for Blackburn against Brighton last night and is quickly becoming a fans' favourite. 

I work with a blackburn fan and he asked me about Todd. I told him the fans would love him the way he gets up and down.

[curtis---]

I was at the Watford game today and thought Nathaniel Chalobah played well, Watford are very pleasing to watch under Zola, the fans love him.

[Nibs]

Both McEachran & Chalobah got minutes on the pitch for the England U21's last night in a very comfortable 4-0 win over Sweden.

Josh started and missed a penalty and was replaced in the 67th minute by young Nat.

 

Still think these two and Feruz have the best chance of making it with Chelsea. Let's just hope they are all given a decent chance, sooner, rather than later.

[Nibs]

Although I don't think Josh is as talented as some people seem to think he is, I definitely think that he has more potential than Romeu.

 

Next season is massive for him, a premier league loan is vital IMO. 

 

For the first time since I became aware of Josh, back during the 2009/2010 FA Youth Cup campaign, I am concerned that he is not now going to make it with us and I will have egg on my face. Not as much egg as Loz had with his "Mikel every bit as good as Fabregas", but still egg nonetheless!!

 

Even when Josh was only 16, I went on record as saying he will be our future No.10 (that was before we signed Mata, and Hazard and Oscar..........) and that he was going to be better than Wilshere. I still reckon he has it in him to be or do that but he does lack a bit of an edge. I think he needs to add a bit of aggression to his game and be a bit more selfish. I seriously don't want him to become yet another statistic of CFC youth players who never make it with the club. 

Edited February 11, 2013 by Nibs

[Zeta]

Carlo was bringing him through well before he got the sack

[corduroystrafe]

Even though he came of the bench, lukaku looked great vs liverpool, well taken goal.

[Lofty.]

Best of luck to George Saville, who's just joined Millwall on loan for the rest of the season.

 

Hoping he'll get plenty of game time, even as I write, he's on the bench at Elland Road where it's currently 0-0 after 30 minutes.

[Zeta]

http://www.weaintgotnohistory.com/2013/3/12/4094574/chelsea-fc-loan-roundup-march-12-2013?

 

Romelu Lukaku (West Bromwich Albion): Another game, another goal. Lukaku now sits on 13 for the season, and could easily have been 14 had he converted his penalty on Saturday. His all around game has come so far this season that West Brom now looks like a totally different team when he's starting at center forward as opposed to Shane Long. I don't think I'm alone is wishing we had recalled him in January, as he'd be starting the majority of our games.
●
Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid): Thibaut's streak of not conceding at home came to an end this weekend, as Atletico lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad. To put things in perspective, the last time Courtois allowed a goal from open play at home, Mark Clattenburg was busy sending off a pair of Chelsea players and allowing an offside goal to stand. My, how things have changed in that time...
●
Michael Essien (Real Madrid): Essien was not involved when Madrid knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League, but he started at right back over the weekend.
●
Lucas Piazon (Malaga): Piazon started again for Malaga over the weekend, and had a fairly excellent 77 minutes. He'd draw a free kick that he'd eventually take, earning an assist on the only Malaga goal of the contest. he had plenty of moments where he looked a bit indecisive, but that's to be expected from someone his age.
●
Kevin De Bruyne (Werder Bremen): De Bruyne was absolutely sensational in a 1-1 draw for Werder Bremen. He had an assist, a goal-line clearance, six shots (two on target), 81% passing accuracy, and was generally a menace every time he touched the ball. He's still fairly anonymous defensively, but there is little question that he's already a better player than Marko Marin or Yossi Benayoun.
●
Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburger SV): Bruma was back starting at center back in HSV's 1-0 win this weekend, and he had an excellent game overall. He's notably better in the air this season than in the past, and certainly made his case for more minutes this weekend.
●
Matej Delac (Inter Zapresic): Delac saw another start, but ended up on the wrong side of a 2-1 score. One of the goals was nothing he could have done anything about, but he did his best David de Gea impression in controlling the rebound on the winner.
●
Tomas Kalas, Patrick van Aanholt, Gael Kakuta (Vitesse Arnhem): Vitesse won again this weekend as they kept within three points of league leading Ajax this Sunday. All three Chelsea players started, but Tomas Kalas was pulled at halftime after a pair of crucial first half clearances, and was playing well enough that I'd assume it was injury or illness related. Gael Kakuta was very good, and had a goal disallowed that probably should have stood. PvA was the standout though, and was easily the man of the match. What Chelsea do with him next season will be one of the more interesting storylines of the summer.
●
Kenneth Omeruo (ADO Den Haag): Omeruo took up his usual starting position at right back, and Den Haag drew with AZ Alkmaar. Omerou was largely responsible for marking the in-form Jozy Altidore on set pieces, and did a fairly excellent job in containing the American. I'm not sure I'd be bringing the Nigerian back to Chelsea next season, but he's probably ready for a more aggressive assignment. This weeken'd game against Vitesse will be fun.
●
Amin Affane (Roda JC): Not involved again after clashing with the coaching staff, it appears he'll return to Cobham to see out the last two months of his contract before leaving the club in the summer. This is probably the last time we'll see Affane in the loan report.
●
Thorgan Hazard (Zulte-Waregem): Hazard reportedly continues to impress in Belgium, although his side ended up on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline this weekend. Unfortunately I didn't get to see this one when I couldn't find a stream, but that just made it possible to catch Ulises Davila instead.
●
Josh McEachran (Middlesbrough): McEachran played 59 solid but unspectacular minutes for Boro midweek, and was not involved this weekend due to sickness. The club has been in awful form for the bulk of the calendar year, and has dropped all the way to 9th in the Championship table.
●
Sam Hutchinson (Nottingham Forest): Hutch made a late cameo against Ipswich, after being surprisingly included on the bench. He's probably not anywhere near a return to the starting 11 yet, but it's nice to see him back in action. Forest have pushed all the way up to 6th in the table, and have been in excellent form of late.
●
George Saville (Millwall): Saville waas not involved on Tuesday, and started this weekend's FA Cup tie with Blackburn on the bench. He didn't leave the bench though, and anyone unfortunate enough to watch that game in hopes of seeing Saville should ask for those two hours of their lives back. Ugh.
●
Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford): It was a shortened week for Chalobah, as he only saw 45 minutes of action in Watford's pair of games. he started on the bench on Tuesday, but came on with Watford trailing at halftime and helped spark the comeback to win 2-1. He played very well in that second half, but would pick up a slight hamstring problem that kept him out of the weekend's game.
●
Ulises Davila (CE Sabadell): Davila started this weekend on the bench, but came on at halftime in a 3-0 loss. I actually got to see this game, and Davila did little of note. Sabadell looked fairly poor on the whole though, and didn't create much in the way of chances.
●
Patrick Bamford (MK Dons): Bamford returned to action this week with just over half an hour against Sheffield United. It was a quiet game from the Forest academy product, but it's just nice to see him back on the pitch.
●
Sam Walker, Billy Clifford (Colchester United): Both Clifford and Walker started a pair of games this past week, with Colchester picking up one point out of a possible six. Clifford was pretty good in both games, and has been one of Colchester's best players since arriving on loan. Walker was excellent for the vast majority of the pair of games, but had an Arsenal netminder moment late on the weekend that probably turned a draw into a loss.
●
Jhon Pirez (Leganes): Did not play, but was on the bench

[Joust]

Interesting point in the above post as to what we do with PVA. I personally rate him as a better footballer than Bertrand. From what I've seen, he looks like a more gifted player, and Bertrand has a year or so on him. I don't know what you guys think about that, and I could imagine the debate of Bertrand being more involved in the squad and having more experience than PVA, and of course Bertrand is English which is a plus for the club somewhat, and don't know if foreign youth players count as homegrown with the UEFA regulations etc.. But on the merits of footballing ability, I reckon we keep PVA instead.

[Barry Bridges]

Interesting point in the above post as to what we do with PVA. I personally rate him as a better footballer than Bertrand. From what I've seen, he looks like a more gifted player, and Bertrand has a year or so on him. I don't know what you guys think about that, and I could imagine the debate of Bertrand being more involved in the squad and having more experience than PVA, and of course Bertrand is English which is a plus for the club somewhat, and don't know if foreign youth players count as homegrown with the UEFA regulations etc.. But on the merits of footballing ability, I reckon we keep PVA instead.

 

In my opinion, that's an easy call.  Bertrand isn't a bad footballer but nowhere near the level we need to replace A.Cole.  If Shaw and A.Cole arent both at Chelsea next season he should be the understudy and Bertrand should be sold.  If PVA doesn't cut it, atleast we'll know without being any the worse off.  Just back to where we are right now with a young LB that's just not good enough.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Barry Bridges

[Joust]

In my opinion, that's an easy call.  Bertrand isn't a bad footballer but nowhere near the level we need to replace A.Cole.  If Shaw and A.Cole arent both at Chelsea next season he should be the understudy and Bertrand should be sold.  If PVA doesn't cut it, atleast we'll know without being any the worse off.  Just back to where we are right now with a young LB that's just not good enough.

That's it really, what it all boils down to, replacing Cole. And herein lies the problem because we've grown used to having one of the best full backs of his generation for the guts of a decade. Once Cole does leave I hope either PVA/Bertrand or indeed Shaw if we sign him are adequate enough to step into the big boots Cole will leave behind. I think PVA is more agile and comfortable on the ball and more akin to Cole than Bertrand, but one thing's for sure is both players won't settle for sitting on the bench as they're entering very important parts of their career, especially as Bertrand has gotten used to being called up for international duty. Both are also too good of footballers to be bench warmers, the club is going to have to cut ties with one of the 2, and we're going to have to grit our teeth in the meantime because we'll be saying farewell to a potentially top player. I have the feeling the club will stick with Bertrand however, whom I don't think is near good enough to replace Cole from what we've seen. Like you said, PVA should at least be given a season to see if he can cut it or not in England.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Joust

[sals]

A column i frequently read on skysports talking about the lower leagues discussed Chalobah today. This is what they had to say:

 

However, Watford's Nathanial Chalobah, who can play at centre-half or centre-midfield is someone I would put in the England squad now. He is elegant, athletic and has a great temperament, while he has also excelled at all international age groups he has represented; he reminds me of a young Yaya Toure in that he can influence a game from any position. He is THE outstanding talent in English football and could POSSIBLY replace Frank Lampard in the Chelsea's engine rom next season but will DEFINITELY play for England.

 

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,,15231_8581114,00.html

 

Haven't seen much of the lad outside of highlights but been hearing so much praise and when you read things like that ^ its enough to really get excited.

Edited March 24, 2013 by sals

[Nibs]

Good to see McEachran come on for the U 21's at half-time last night (in place of Chalobah) and put in an impressive performance and convert a penalty.

 

For the first 25 minutes of the second half, he was easily the best player on the pitch - cutting Austria open at will with precision through balls.

[ForeverCarefree]

Good to see McEachran come on for the U 21's at half-time last night (in place of Chalobah) and put in an impressive performance and convert a penalty.

 

For the first 25 minutes of the second half, he was easily the best player on the pitch - cutting Austria open at will with precision through balls.

 

What did you make of the two Red Cards for Austria? I think we got the rub of the green with those decisions last night.

 

But nice to see both Chalobah and Josh getting a run out. 

[Nibs]

What did you make of the two Red Cards for Austria? I think we got the rub of the green with those decisions last night.

 

But nice to see both Chalobah and Josh getting a run out. 

 

They were both extremely harsh - talk about a no-nonsense Ref!!

 

Just happy to see both our lads give a good account of themselves, especially Josh.

[ForeverCarefree]

They were both extremely harsh - talk about a no-nonsense Ref!!

 

Just happy to see both our lads give a good account of themselves, especially Josh.

 

the keepers red it was tough to argue that it denied a clear goal scoring chance because none of our players had the ball under control at the time as it was a lofted ball over the top from Shelvy. 

 

second one, yes it hit the guys arm but he had turned his back to the ball and had thrown himself in front of the ball to block the shot, it was a penalty but not sure about a second yellow.

 

Anyway, Josh took the penalty calm as you like but looked pretty relieved it went in as for a moment it looked like the keeper didn't buy into the staggered run up. 

[Samdwich]

Good to see McEachran come on for the U 21's at half-time last night (in place of Chalobah) and put in an impressive performance and convert a penalty.

 

For the first 25 minutes of the second half, he was easily the best player on the pitch - cutting Austria open at will with precision through balls.

I'd like to see them playing together at the heart of midfield, reckon they'd make a fantastic combination for us in future years.