Performance has died down in the last 20 minutes, but he's had an excellent game overall. His attacking game is more like an experienced player than rookie.

Back to Eden and Pedro on Sunday though I reckon...

1 minute ago, Scott Harris said:

Performance has died down in the last 20 minutes, but he's had an excellent game overall. His attacking game is more like an experienced player than rookie.

He's raw, learning his trade. The more he plays now will increase his learning curve. He will make mistakes but what 18yr old doesn't? Time to give him the shirt and tell him no matter what he starts till the end of the season.

Bet ITV ask him the Chelsea question

4 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Back to Eden and Pedro on Sunday though I reckon...

The excuse will be he is too tired.

2 minutes ago, charierre said:

He's raw, learning his trade. The more he plays now will increase his learning curve. He will make mistakes but what 18yr old doesn't? Time to give him the shirt and tell him no matter what he starts till the end of the season.

Yes, this......

He'll make mistakes, but the right coach will help coach him, and help him learn from these mistakes.  He'll be a better player for it.

 

Edited March 25, 20197 yr by Boston Blue

7 minutes ago, ducavis said:

The excuse will be he is too tired.

Same with Giroud though Eden wont be I guess...lol

Look, Is there really much difference between England playing him against Montenegro and Chelsea playing him in the Europa?  They are both ways to help break a youngster in and get used to the level.

1 hour ago, dkw said:

So Pedro and hazard aren't direct? 

I don't think so... 

40 minutes ago, The Brit said:

there are a number of reasons why Sarri should be sacked, giving criminal lack of game time to hudson-odoi and severely increasing our chances of losing our best youth product for a generation, is worthy of a p45 in itself. Southgate has exposed his bullsh*t for what it is tonight 

When Willian and Pedro have played the way they have this season, it's scary to think what sort of minutes CHO would have gotten if we had some competent players in our attack. 

There hasn't been a better time for the likes of RLC and CHO to break through, what else is there to lose by doing it? 

3 minutes ago, Slojo said:

When Willian and Pedro have played the way they have this season, it's scary to think what sort of minutes CHO would have gotten if we had some competent players in our attack. 

There hasn't been a better time for the likes of RLC and CHO to break through, what else is there to lose by doing it? 

To make Sarri's decision all the more bizarre is that we are in sixth...it's not as if his decision has been justified. 

4 minutes ago, The Brit said:

To make Sarri's decision all the more bizarre is that we are in sixth...it's not as if his decision has been justified. 

Mhm, there's no risk factor in playing the youngsters right now, our "key players" are underperforming, even Hazard has been in 2nd gear for the last few months, we know he can do a lot better. 

Plus, no reason why we shouldn't get them used to playing first team football now, we'll have to rely on them next season. 

Lol, his appearances for us are what led to him having this call up. Had Foden got called up due to game time in cup finals, semi finals and regular European action you'd all be w**king off Pep into a coma.

1 minute ago, Argo said:

Lol, his appearances for us are what led to him having this call up. Had Foden got called up due to game time in cup finals, semi finals and regular European action you'd all be w**king off Pep into a coma.

City are challenging for the league and CHO has had 20 minutes more game time in the PL than Foden has, CHO has also had as many minutes in the PL as Foden has had in the Champions League. 

Basically, if you check the stats there isn't that much difference between them in minutes. If we were challenging for the title, it would be perfectly understandable, I think that's the point everyone is making here.  

 

despicable treatment for CHO by opposition

Sure I'm going to get knocked for this yet will go with my interpretation never the less.

CHO was poor on the right for the start of the first half. He would not take on his man and cut inside mostly then passing backward. Only once did I see him put in a cross. I don't blame him for the goal though pundit Dixon did.

After moving to the right he suddenly looked like a decent attacker by taking on one or two players at a time. He crossed and had an assist for Barkley though think he was going for goal. The move was very similar to last goal Hazard scored for us against Wolves, except Hazard's shot was on target and didn't need a striker to convert it. It does show though he could do a job for us on the left.

This presents us with a dilemma as if the left is his favourite position he is competing firstly with Hazard and secondly with Willian.

I've said before it is likely to get messy this summer unless RM comes in early for Hazard. 

 

 

Edited March 25, 20197 yr by strider6004

2 hours ago, dkw said:

So Pedro and hazard aren't direct? 

Sorry mate, Hazard is definitely not consistently direct. He slows the play down significantly and on a regular basis beats a man 2 or 3 times instead of just going past them once and driving forward.

 

Pedro is direct but in a different sense.

10 hours ago, charierre said:

And that is why he plays. Let our defenders worry about defending. Barkley is playing well again too. Good delivery from set pieces.

THIS.

I just knew that when England conceded that goal folk would be saying THAT's why Sarri doesn't play CHO.

18 year olds will make mistakes and switch off now & again - it's all a learning process. But to ignore what a player like CHO gives us as an attacking threat because he might just switch off defensively is absolute bollocks. We saw last night the benefit of giving players like CHO 90 minutes and putting some faith in him. Just hope Sarri watched and learned something.

Play players in form don't play them on reputation.

 

7 hours ago, EdinburghBlue said:

Sorry mate, Hazard is definitely not consistently direct.

Being direct all the time is just as dumb as not being at all. Hazard knows very well when to slow down and when to go at them. CHO must look at him as great example. If he looks at the ball in his legs all the time, trying to open space for shoot/cross he will: A) get exhausted in 25 minutes; B) get predictable. 

Well done to Callum, on his full England debut England last night

Callum Hudson-Odoi's full England debut brought joy to Gareth Southgate - and hopefully a measure of embarrassment to Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri.

Southgate has shown more faith in 18-year-old Hudson-Odoi in 10 days than Sarri has shown all season at Stamford Bridge, an instant elevation from England's under-21 squad followed by a debut as a substitute against the Czech Republic at Wembley on Friday then a first start in Montenegro.

The teenager's career is being played out back to front because of Sarri's reluctance to incorporate the gifted attacker into his tactical framework at Chelsea.

And on the evidence of his performance on the pitch in the 5-1 win in Montenegro and his strong, mature, measured response after the game when questioned about the disgraceful racist abuse suffered by England's players, he is an all-round class act and will be for years to come.

He is getting his chance, the show of faith in his talent, from England. This is a youngster with two England caps to his name before he has made a Premier League start for Chelsea - a stark statistic that does not reflect well on Sarri.

Chelsea's fans have become increasingly mystified by Hudson-Odoi's continued marginalisation and the temperature on those feelings will only have been turned up several notches by the maturity of his performance here in the hothouse of Podgorica, where natural passion boiled over into shameful incidents of racist chanting aimed at England's players.

Hudson-Odoi was not only one of England's stand-out performers, helped by Southgate's successful early switch from right to left, he showed character beyond his years in this unforgiving, unpleasant atmosphere.

He was composed amid the acrimony from the terraces, picking up an object thrown from the crowd in the aftermath of Raheem Sterling's goal before getting back to the business of ensuring England recorded another dominant win after Friday's 5-0 dismissal of the Czech Republc at Wembley.

The winger is seriously considering following his England team-mate Jadon Sancho's route to the Bundesliga. Sancho, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Tuesday, has been a huge success since leaving Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund.

It cleared a pathway to the England team for Sancho and now Bayern Munich are willing to pay well in excess of £30m to take Hudson-Odoi, whose contract expires at the end of next season.

Hudson-Odoi showed he has the temperament and talent for England and yet he still seems to have to prove himself to Sarri. It is a situation that gives a clearer insight into the Italian manager than it does to Hudson-Odoi.

It would be gross negligence on Chelsea's part to let a young player of such promise go and it may well be that Sarri's departure will be their best chance of keeping him.

Hudson-Odoi will be coveted by many clubs and if he is not valued by his own manager then he clearly has the strength of character and self-belief to take his chances elsewhere.

He made a difficult start in Podgorica, occasionally running into blind alleys and showing a weakness in an aerial challenge in the build-up to Montenegro's opener from Marko Vesovic.

Southgate acted with that switch of flank and suddenly Hudson-Odoi was released. He cut inside and his shot across goal was turned in by Ross Barkley, then a magical slalom run in the second half brought a fine low save from Montenegro keeper Danijel Petkovic.

His performance was full of menace, ironically proving to be exactly the sort of player a Chelsea side that occasionally lacks threat requires.

If Chelsea are to show they are a club where young talent can fashion a career then Hudson-Odoi should be their poster boy, not the one who got away.

Southgate has embraced him in the England fold and barring unforeseen circumstances he is there to stay, part of an emerging young group that is bringing verve and excitement to the national side.

"It was a fabulous performance," his manager said. "He showed what we have been seeing all week. His application has been excellent."

The pressure on Sarri to play Hudson-Odoi will only increase when he performs as he did for England and the teenager's desire for action at the elite level will only be sharpened by his international experiences.

Chelsea's only benefit, should they fail to persuade him to stay, will be that his price will increase as he gets the wider exposure.

The Stamford Bridge club must make it top priority to ensure it does not come to that. Sarri must come to his senses and follow Southgate's template, stop holding this untamed talent back.

If Hudson-Odoi feels under-used and under-appreciated (although not by Chelsea's fans), there is no danger he will suffer similar disappointment with Southgate's England.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47701796

There was a period of this contest when Callum Hudson-Odoi was unplayable. Panicked Montenegrin defenders crumpled to the turf as he swerved beyond them at pace, the winger leaving a trail of markers floored in his wake. This was his stage, that jaw-dropping spell at the start of the second half seized as an opportunity to showcase lavish talent. It is baffling to contemplate that this was a player yet to make a Premier League start.

No wonder he is coveted by Bayern Munich and no wonder Chelsea are so eager to retain his services, their contract offer likely to be improved in the months ahead as they try to convince him to commit. Three times the full debutant had darted away from Filip Stojkovic or left Adam Marusic or Mirko Ivanic dazed and confused. Twice he picked out Raheem Sterling at the far post with pinpoint accuracy, stretching opponents whose early lead had been such a deception. He darted infield himself on the third occasion, feigning to shoot to tip defenders off balance and eke out that extra yard of space, before skimming away a shot which Danijel Petkovic did well to turn behind for a corner.

This was a player having the same riotous fun he once enjoyed bamboozling friends in the cages of south London, on the playing fields of Whitgift school, and in Chelsea’s all-conquering youth system. His was a simple joy, a youngster undaunted by the occasion and dazzling in the limelight. It is something to enter the fray when a match is already won and revelling in the ease of it all at a jubilant Wembley, as Hudson-Odoi did against the Czech Republic last Friday when becoming England’s youngest debutant in a competitive game. It is quite another to thrive on what was, initially at least, an awkward occasion away from home amid a febrile atmosphere in Podgorica.

Yet a player who was eight days old when David Beckham first captained his country never looked even vaguely fazed. He is taking this all in his stride, doing what comes so naturally. No one created more chances in the tighter of the two halves. It was Hudson-Odoi, with the game level seven minutes from the interval, who cut inside off the left flank away from those familiar foes, Marusic and Stojkovic, to whip away a shot which was touched beyond Petkovic by Ross Barkley to establish the lead. “It is not about me, it is a team performance,” said Hudson-Odoi, but he stood out in a dominant display.

It will be intriguing to see whether that elusive first Premier League start now comes at Cardiff on Sunday. Certainly, he will return to his club to find a clamour for his inclusion that has never been louder. The 18-year-old’s progress into the senior England side has not reflected particularly well on Maurizio Sarri given the winger has been given less than two hours of Premier League football this term. The Chelsea manager has consistently pointed to the fact that his more experienced options, players he trusts more readily – perhaps justifiably given the occasional naivety of youth and given that his job seems permanently on the line – have rarely been unavailable.

Sarri has offered the youngster some game time – 413 minutes in the Europa League and 300 in the domestic cup competitions to go with the 119 in the top-flight – even if the head coach has spent the last few months warning of the perils of heightened expectation. “I am convinced [of his quality] but he will not arrive at the top of his game until he is 22 or 23,” he said this month. “It’s very dangerous, at 18, to have this pressure.”

The frustration has been an underlying short-termism to selection. Hudson-Odoi, like Pedro, Willian and Eden Hazard, is out of contract in 2020 and being courted aggressively by Bayern. As the current poster boy for the Chelsea academy, he will surely be a player around whom the club want to build the future.

In other respects, Sarri has a point. There was evidence here of why Hudson-Odoi must still work on the defensive phase of his game. That early goal shipped at the end of Montenegro’s first attack of any substance exposed a lack of defensive nous. Zarko Tomasevic beat him in the air too easily at Stefan Savic’s crossfield pass, but more alarming was the teenager’s failure to react as Marko Vesovic burst away. The untracked Legia Warsaw player eventually curled a shot beyond Jordan Pickford. Kyle Walker, barking instructions at his young teammate, made it clear thereafter that defensive duties were not to be neglected.

But such discipline will come with greater game time. For now, Hudson-Odoi offers so much as a fearless, lavishly skilful and pacy attacking talent, the kind who can light up a team’s performance. England have now scored three goals or more in four of their last five games, having scored three or more in only three of Southgate’s first 28 in charge. They can seem irrepressible when they burst forward, whether it is Sterling or Hudson-Odoi, Jadon Sancho or Marcus Rashford slicing down the flanks. They, like Hudson-Odoi, are a joy to watch.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/mar/25/callum-hudson-odoi-england-montenegro-skill-lack-of-fear

Lots of praise flooding in for CHO, many saying what a lot of us have for months now. 

Equally, lots of questions being asked of Sarri why he's not played him more. 

 

I would love to think CHO will be given a fair chance after impressing over the last 10 days but I think we all know the stubborn old fool won't. 

Who knows how Sarri will play it?

He probably won't want to bow to the "told you so" many and put him in starting line-up as he'll be accused of only doing so on the back of Southgate. Then again, if he leaves him out, he will just be open to more criticism - especially if we struggle for results.

The games coming up are Cardiff away, and I would be inclined to have CHO on the bench for that one as I could see Warnocks side kicking him off the park, but we then have Brighton and West Ham both at home and I would start him in both of those and tell him NOW that's what will be happening.

 

1 hour ago, Droopy said:

Being direct all the time is just as dumb as not being at all. Hazard knows very well when to slow down and when to go at them. CHO must look at him as great example. If he looks at the ball in his legs all the time, trying to open space for shoot/cross he will: A) get exhausted in 25 minutes; B) get predictable. 

Not sure about that, Robben seems to have made a pretty good career out of being direct at all times.