Do you not think his words have been slightly misconstrued? I feel like he's saying he will reach his potential at 22 or 23 not necessarily he's ready to start playing then. 

Callum has done everything he can though. He keeps scoring and looking very lively when he comes on in the Europa.

4 hours ago, rtwelch said:

Do you not think his words have been slightly misconstrued? I feel like he's saying he will reach his potential at 22 or 23 not necessarily he's ready to start playing then. 

Callum has done everything he can though. He keeps scoring and looking very lively when he comes on in the Europa.

THIS. Sarri is saying to relax and continue to let CHO develop. While I agree he needs to be playing more, I in no way think Sarri is saying he won't play regularly until he is 23 or 24. Sarri's words are being misconstrued. 

He has a good chance at starting in Kiev I think.

It would be sensible to rest players like hazard and not make him make that trip.

Not wanting to take anything away from Pedro who had a very good game overall, but he had 3 very good chances to score + 2 other decent ones. He returned 1 goal. 

Why can't we see what CHO does with 4-5 chances a game?

Our RW is actually a big question mark for me next season. I do like Pedro in the role, but he's another year older. Willian is plain not good enough as a RW in Sarri's system. Pulisic's playing style and goal record at Dortmund doesn't fill me with confidence either for the role. (likes to carry the ball, dribble. Don't think he makes many runs in behind like Pedro. He may be coachable, but that will take time)

Why can't Sarri give CHO some meaningful PL minutes to see what he can do? Or rotate him with Pedro like he does with Kovacic/Barkley on the 60 min mark? I know his natural playing style is also the ball carrier/dribbler type, but why not see what he can do right now as Pedro's understudy?

We're risking losing both Hazard and CHO in this offseason. If our wingers next year are Willian, Pedro and Pulisic, we're in deep trouble.   

8 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

"I am convinced, he doesn’t have to do anything to convince me. He is a very good player. He needs to improve. He will be ready to be at the top in 22 or 23 years. We need to improve without the pressure of the media, and fans. His training is very good."

I don't know how accurate this quote is, I just got it from twitter, but if this is what Sarri said, then he's talking horsesh*t. Ready to be at the top by the age of 22 or 23? Why can't he be ready now? Just treat him how you would any other senior player. 

I wonder if he will think the same way about Pulisic, seeing as he's only 20....

Context is needed. He's not saying he will not start till that age, he's saying that's when he will truly hit the world class level, which isn't exactly an outrageous thing to say, CR7 had his true breakthrough season at United at 22 IIRC and before that was a bubble of inconsistentcy.

While he should have probably have had more minutes league especially all told he has made 16 appearances in his second full time year of football one of which a final and another a semi, any other club and i bet we see post after post on here about how we should follow their lead with our youngsters.

Either way and regardless of what is lost in translation he needs more playing time. It’s just that plain and simple, we can not afford to loose a player like Cho. He has the potential to be anything (could be great or terrible), but how will we know unless he plays more minutes ????

You don’t have a club like Bayern chasing you because their bored. A bit of tongue in cheek here, but I feel Roman needs to make the phone call to Sarri

2 hours ago, dustbin719 said:

Not wanting to take anything away from Pedro who had a very good game overall, but he had 3 very good chances to score + 2 other decent ones. He returned 1 goal. 

Why can't we see what CHO does with 4-5 chances a game?

Our RW is actually a big question mark for me next season. I do like Pedro in the role, but he's another year older. Willian is plain not good enough as a RW in Sarri's system. Pulisic's playing style and goal record at Dortmund doesn't fill me with confidence either for the role. (likes to carry the ball, dribble. Don't think he makes many runs in behind like Pedro. He may be coachable, but that will take time)

Why can't Sarri give CHO some meaningful PL minutes to see what he can do? Or rotate him with Pedro like he does with Kovacic/Barkley on the 60 min mark? I know his natural playing style is also the ball carrier/dribbler type, but why not see what he can do right now as Pedro's understudy?

We're risking losing both Hazard and CHO in this offseason. If our wingers next year are Willian, Pedro and Pulisic, we're in deep trouble.   

CHO won’t get the chances that Pedro makes for himself. Pedro is incredibly smart with movement, in fact it’s one of his strongest traits.

But yeah I want to see CHO get more game time, especially now when rotation is so important. At the moment we are only using 3 wingers really.

Callum prefers the left, i just wish we had a rock hard Ivanovic type player at LB, then Sarri might start him more.

Hope that Odoi extends his contract. He shows incredible potential so it would be a real shame if Bayern signs him up.

Sarri is 100% true by saying media and by that fans are putting too much pressure on young players. He is 18. He has played in many games and he is really a bright talent. 

That doesn't mean he is staying. Sancho is sort of a bad example being one in a million talent and taking on Bundesliga by storm. That doesn't mean CHO would make us win titles. In many of his late appearances he's been worse than Willian or Pedro. 

I wish CHO would play more and he could easily but the fact is he is 18. Pedro for example have been excellent this season. And if he fails he can handle it. CHO is still a young and potentially fragile boy in terms of mental capabilities.

I think Sarri should play him more as he can make an instant impact in a game. I hope he signs a new deal as well. I also thing Sarri is exactly the type of manager CHO needs. The style of play suit him and wingers in general. 

Everytime he does play, he looked enjoying himself out there. If he's keep getting games, it's not out of question he will sign a new contract.

I dont he should or needs to be starting games every week in the league, but he should have started every Europa league, Fa cup, and League cup game, apart from when we come up against a top side, and even then he should be a serious consideration. 

So there are 8 cup games should've started and didnt, and there are maybe 4 or 5 games he should've started in the league up until this point. 

That wouldve given him double the minutes he has had so far, and given him more experience to improve on the aspects of his game that sarri thinks needs work. 

Having seen him against spurs and city, would we really have been worse off if he was starting against Kiev, malmo, Vidi, bate, paok, Derby, huddersfield, Cardiff, Fulham, Brighton? 

I can understand sarri being a little stubborn at the start of the season, we winning games, playing well, and he was trying to imprint his tactics and philosophy, but since November he has had plenty of opportunities to develop CHO and he hasn't taken them. After what happened in January with Bayern, I thought sarri would start to use him more, but so far it hasn't been the case. 

If we get a tough draw in the next round of the Europa league, how many starts will CHO get until the end of the season? History suggest none. 

3 hours ago, Argo said:

Context is needed. He's not saying he will not start till that age, he's saying that's when he will truly hit the world class level, which isn't exactly an outrageous thing to say, CR7 had his true breakthrough season at United at 22 IIRC and before that was a bubble of inconsistentcy.

While he should have probably have had more minutes league especially all told he has made 16 appearances in his second full time year of football one of which a final and another a semi, any other club and i bet we see post after post on here about how we should follow their lead with our youngsters.

That’s not really a good stat to argue your point though is it? Why not post the minutes he’s played? A lot of those ‘appearances’ were 5 or 10 minute cameos. How many has he started? 

Can't really add any more than what we've all already said. I think EVERY Chelsea fan is of the same opinion - CHO is special and regardless of his age, he SHOULD be getting more minutes.

I think Sarri is right - he won't become a TOP player until he is in his 20's, but he won't become a top player by getting 10 minutes here - 15 minutes there. Last night, Sarri could easily have started him or at the very least given him 30+ minutes. Instead he starts Willian who put in a typical Willian type performance. Great free-kick, couple of good runs but the rest forgettable. As soon as CHO gets on the pitch you sense the excitement and anticipation in the crowd. He won't beat 4 players every time he gets the ball and he may have poor games but you know he will get the ball and run at defenders and scare them sh*tless. And he will get better & better. I think Sarri has got a lot of fans back on board (me included), but he runs the risk of it all going tits up if he gets this wrong. #STARTCHONOW!

 

48 minutes ago, EdinburghBlue said:

That’s not really a good stat to argue your point though is it? Why not post the minutes he’s played? A lot of those ‘appearances’ were 5 or 10 minute cameos. How many has he started? 

Apart from Bate and Huddersfield all of his appearances have come either from the start or from the bench with the game far from over. Even if you're only on for ten minutes, if you are coming on to help defend a lead or see out a game it's still a big ten minutes.

He's certainly had more significant game time than say Foden who only really gets brought on when the game is safe, and he's constantly used as an example of how it should be done with CHO.

55 minutes ago, Argo said:

Apart from Bate and Huddersfield all of his appearances have come either from the start or from the bench with the game far from over. Even if you're only on for ten minutes, if you are coming on to help defend a lead or see out a game it's still a big ten minutes.

He's certainly had more significant game time than say Foden who only really gets brought on when the game is safe, and he's constantly used as an example of how it should be done with CHO.

How many top midfielders do City have? They are all playing well aswell. Chelsea only have 1 winger playing better than CHO this season. 

1 hour ago, Nibs said:

Can't really add any more than what we've all already said. I think EVERY Chelsea fan is of the same opinion - CHO is special and regardless of his age, he SHOULD be getting more minutes.

I think Sarri is right - he won't become a TOP player until he is in his 20's, but he won't become a top player by getting 10 minutes here - 15 minutes there. Last night, Sarri could easily have started him or at the very least given him 30+ minutes. Instead he starts Willian who put in a typical Willian type performance. Great free-kick, couple of good runs but the rest forgettable. As soon as CHO gets on the pitch you sense the excitement and anticipation in the crowd. He won't beat 4 players every time he gets the ball and he may have poor games but you know he will get the ball and run at defenders and scare them sh*tless. And he will get better & better. I think Sarri has got a lot of fans back on board (me included), but he runs the risk of it all going tits up if he gets this wrong. #STARTCHONOW!

 

He is very talented for sure and I 100% agree with you that he should be getting more minutes but I don't have any problems with his current situation. Sarri is currently using CHO in situations where there're no repercussions for the team or for the player if he fails. The first part is important because the manager himself is still under immense pressure. If he started CHO instead of Pedro or Willian, there's a bigger chance of conceding. And right now this topsy-turvy team with fragile egos needs stability and cushioning more than anything. This is the unfortunate side effect of the short-termism we see from both the club and fans - the manager must then ultimately prioritise the short-term goals no matter what the actual objectives are.

It's also easy to say that when things have settled and we have some sort of stability with regards to performances that we can expect to see him more often. Look at Foden at City - Same age, very talented, in a more settled team that are much further along in its development cycle; and yet he has about half the number of minutes as CHO.

36 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

How many top midfielders do City have? They are all playing well aswell. Chelsea only have 1 winger playing better than CHO this season. 

I know that is a popular narrative among some fans but let's be real. Yes CHO is a talent, but there's not a manager in the world who would start him ahead of Willian or Pedro in a big game. And right now that's just about every game. CHO is hardly playing, so how can he be playing better than others?

And ideally you want to introduce youth players when you are playing well. Not when the team are under-performing.

33 minutes ago, venom2011 said:

He is very talented for sure and I 100% agree with you that he should be getting more minutes but I don't have any problems with his current situation. Sarri is currently using CHO in situations where there're no repercussions for the team or for the player if he fails. The first part is important because the manager himself is still under immense pressure. If he started CHO instead of Pedro or Willian, there's a bigger chance of conceding. And right now this topsy-turvy team with fragile egos needs stability and cushioning more than anything. This is the unfortunate side effect of the short-termism we see from both the club and fans - the manager must then ultimately prioritise the short-term goals no matter what the actual objectives are.

It's also easy to say that when things have settled and we have some sort of stability with regards to performances that we can expect to see him more often. Look at Foden at City - Same age, very talented, in a more settled team that are much further along in its development cycle; and yet he has about half the number of minutes as CHO.

But that is because of the quality ahead of him in the City squad. Much more difficult to force your way into the City side than the current Chelsea side.

You are right about the short-termism at our club and it has been a problem for all our youngsters. And that is the danger - we could end up losing a real gem because of the lack of minutes and that will be inexcusable as it could be so easily avoided.

 

38 minutes ago, venom2011 said:

I know that is a popular narrative among some fans but let's be real. Yes CHO is a talent, but there's not a manager in the world who would start him ahead of Willian or Pedro in a big game. And right now that's just about every game. CHO is hardly playing, so how can he be playing better than others?

And ideally you want to introduce youth players when you are playing well. Not when the team are under-performing.

Who has asked for CHO to play in all the big games? CHO cant even get in the team against second rate Europa teams, league cup and fa cup games, the point is that would be a good start. You think of all the games CHO could have started in the cup games and that would be vital experience.

For people to say CHO has started 16 games is a rubbish stat, doesn't suprise me Sarri likes to bring that stat out. 10minutes at the end of the game is not the same as starting or playing 60mins.

Also Chelsea have had 2 wingers who have really under performed this year, so what would Chelsea have lost in playing CHO more this season. I know we have most likely lost CHO now, then we have to spend another 60m to replace him in the summer unless we keep Pedro and Willian again.

He has 4 goals and 3 assists, played 503 minutes and has 126 minutes per goal scored. He took his chances pretty well and deserves to start the next game, that's my opinion and I will bash Sarri if he doesn't put him in the starting lineup.

11 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

He has 4 goals and 3 assists, played 503 minutes and has 126 minutes per goal scored. He took his chances pretty well and deserves to start the next game, that's my opinion and I will bash Sarri if he doesn't put him in the starting lineup.

Why wait, might as well start now cus he aint starting sunday

I posted the video because it's worth another look - awesome to see CFC Youth products participating & creating a goal in a meaningful match

 

7 hours ago, evissy said:

Sarri is 100% true by saying media and by that fans are putting too much pressure on young players. He is 18. He has played in many games and he is really a bright talent. 

That doesn't mean he is staying. Sancho is sort of a bad example being one in a million talent and taking on Bundesliga by storm. That doesn't mean CHO would make us win titles. In many of his late appearances he's been worse than Willian or Pedro. 

I wish CHO would play more and he could easily but the fact is he is 18. Pedro for example have been excellent this season. And if he fails he can handle it. CHO is still a young and potentially fragile boy in terms of mental capabilities.

I think Sarri should play him more as he can make an instant impact in a game. I hope he signs a new deal as well. I also thing Sarri is exactly the type of manager CHO needs. The style of play suit him and wingers in general. 

Sarri is wrong because the pressure isn't being put on Hudson-Odoi, the pressure is on Sarri to play him. The fans accept that Hudson-Odoi won't be perfect at his age, pretty much everybody has accepted that he will make mistakes and I don't expect him to start ripping league teams to pieces. All we ask is that he get's more time on the pitch than he is currently getting.

Pedro's form has been patchy at best, and he has been injured, he's definitely not having an excellent season. Willian has been poor all season. Hazard has been rested in almost every Europa League and Cup game, so there is no good reason why Hudson-Odoi isn't getting a few more starts at the very least. 74 minutes in the Premier League all season......he's not going to learn anything from that.

For all the guys saying "CHO's played a lot of games" when he has only gotten 74 minutes in the BPL and 5 starts in all other comps...... I hope you have wives that give you a peck on the cheek every now and then and claim "Don't expect any sex, you get plenty of sexual activity"..........that's what you deserve!!!!!

Sarri isn't really being misinterpreted in the context of what he has said over multiple press conferences. He has spoken on this many times and been consistent in what he says.  He feels CHO has gotten more than enough minutes already.  The plan of progression he has laid out (if we don't change his definition of a "game") means CHO will likely be a few years into his 20's before he'd be what a reasonable person could consider a starter. Again, 74 minutes for CHO this season so far in the league and Sarri thinks that's actually probably more than he should have given, because what other teenager is getting those minutes?

But then again, why even debate this? CHO isn't going to be here by then.  Since the window closed we've had a very busy schedule and he's played less than 2 games equivalent despite playing some of the weakest teams in the league/weak EL competition and despite the fact he has been taking his chances well and the players ahead of him have given Sarri no reason to play them ahead of CHO.

The only pressure CHO is feeling right now I suspect is likely sources close to him saying "better keep that transfer request handy come the summer if you want to play regular first team football next season"  and quite frankly the way things are going, whose going to argue against that?