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Breaks - the good, the bad, the ugly and the clean.


Dorset

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Ho hum... another day, another English Football International Break. Two weeks worth to be precise, but not for me Clive, because it's no exaggeration to say that boredom set in early doors and long before England crossed swords with Croatia, yet again. Still, at least the latest of my fortnightly cravings for Chels-related stuff has been somewhat satiated by the guff written about Messrs Barkley, Mount and Loftus-Cheek. Nothing like an unsubstantiated Media gab fest to keep us fans in the paranoid state we have become accustomed to and have been accused of being in since Roman times and the Academy Empire was first built. Fast forward a decade and around this time in 2014 pre-World Cup any impartial punters would probably have glanced at this triumvirate of names and judged them to be a firm of solicitors. But not now, not post-WC 2018, not with the hype surrounding Chels-acquisition Ross Barkley, Chels-stagnating-at-Vitesse-loanee Mason Mount and Chels-wantaway-to-be-a-loanee-again Ruben Loftus-Cheek,.all of whom just happen to be vying for a place in an England team that at the moment is as much in need of a midfield superstar as it is a meaningful fixture.

Don't get me wrong, if any of these three had actually starred on that foreign field in front of anything resembling a live audience (FA officials do not count) I would have been the first to shout it from my hilltop, let alone a Croatian one. But they didn't, as only Ross made it to the starting line-up and even though he didn't play badly every expectant midfield hopeful, along with the already ego-bruised Marcus Rashford, must now be prepared to play second fiddle to the new publicity bandwagon that can't wait to churn out Jadon Sancho Ragtime. But such is life for the so-called potential young International stars of the future and ours can still fight for the creative role in the England side, albeit as contenders hamstrung by association with their parent club and the drip-fed media-fostered notion that Chelsea's youth development system has always been a hinderance rather than a help.

Indeed, it seems the club still cannot avoid flack even in the most encouraging of circumstances. For instance, I find it quite bizarre that critics expect us to buy into the idea that Ruben Loftus-Cheek's progression into the England team and an appearance at the World Cup is anything other than a great success story. Okay, he may well have to battle for his place in the side with Mason Mount in the years ahead, but this says more about the way Chelsea have developed these players than it does about any perceived deficiencies in our Academy system. Another moot point concerns Man City's Phil Foden and Gareth Southgate's recent comment that he has less experience than Mason Mount, an advantage gained at Vitesse, a club that became the butt of many a joke made by rival fans and pundits alike who see their first team squad as the archetypal graveyard for Chelsea loanees. How ironic is that, especially when you hear the England manager refering (indirectly) to this loan as the main reason for Mount moving ahead of Foden in the International midfield pecking order.

And so, belatedly and after years of fake news, we come to the real truth of the matter, which has at last been openly admitted to by one daily newspaper (The Guardian) in an article reviewing young talent worldwide and accentuated in the following quote:-

Mason Mount has become the latest poster boy of Chelsea’s academy, which draws plenty of cynicism but has helped develop 19 of the 128 players picked for England’s representative sides from under 17s to seniors in this international window. No club can match that, whether those kids go on to play for Chelsea or elsewhere.”

Nuff said you would think, yet sadly this sudden media epithany arrives at a time when even the most diehard Chels believers in a breakthrough coming at the Bridge are starting to doubt it will ever happen, the catalyst being what looks very much like Maurizio Sarri's cold-shouldering of Callum Hudson-Odoi. Why no appearance in the Europa League or even a cameo in the Carabao Cup? Keeping CHO happy should be of paramount importance at both playing and boardroom level, but it appears there is little appetite for appeasing any youngster with a growing reputation who 'arrives' only to shift restlessly on the bench for a game or two and then disappear from view altogether. We can only hope that the plan for Callum has yet to unfold and is currently wedged firmly in Sarri's back pocket while Hazard performs his miracles and Willian, Pedro and Moses provide backup. Normally, with a first team undefeated and well in contention for the title, this policy would brook no argument, but where is the forward-thinking when you consider Hazard's contractual state and status, Real Madrid's interest in him and the fact that the other three are not getting any younger and will never fill his boots abilitywise anyway.

That isn't to say CHO is bolted on as Hazard's natural successor, but he is the closest we've got in terms of potential and by now he should be a lot nearer to achieving full recognition than he seems to be. Moreover, if he can be likened to anyone in the England young gun armoury at present it has to be Jadon Sancho, both flair players who buck the typically English playing trend in so many ways, but the last thing we would want is for Callum to buck it further by copying Sancho's brave Euro route to the top. Truth be told, the more he is ignored the more obvious it becomes that he has no natural home in any of our Development Squads, having outgrown them quicker than any of his predecessors, and if he doesn't fit in the first team setup he doesn't really fit in at all, no matter the pre-season game time he had, the impression he made and the amount of praise heaped upon him to date. The boss has a major problem here, the forerunner to it being RLC and Andreas Christensen's current unrest and their gentle rocking of our boat in what are otherwise seen as calm blue Premier League waters. Make no mistake, this will be nothing compared to the tsunami should Callum decide to seek pastures new.

Maurizio Sarri has been something of a magician for us so far this season, but, even though he's got the smokes, I'm not sure he has the mirrors to distract the critical gaze for too much longer when it comes to the kids and their first team opportunities. Introducing them with a flourish is one thing, putting them in a substitutes box and then making them disappear is another, but getting them to come back for the briefest of recognition cameos becomes as boring as an International break. Let's face it, an audience soon grows tired of seeing the same trick performed repeatedly and after a while begins to wonder what it is, if anything, these magiciian's assistants can actually do on the big stage.

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It could be worse, you could be Irish.

I usually go to all home games but its not worth it now with the amount of sh*t football that Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane serve up.

I, and any Irish Chelsea fan I know, count down the days for the real football to come back and not to be subjected to 90mins of hoof ball. 

:o

 

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On 15/10/2018 at 10:20, Delnino said:

It could be worse, you could be Irish.

I usually go to all home games but its not worth it now with the amount of sh*t football that Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane serve up.

I, and any Irish Chelsea fan I know, count down the days for the real football to come back and not to be subjected to 90mins of hoof ball. 

:o

 

Gave up my Irish season ticket for the first time in 6 years this year, says it all really. Even the games we win are just abysmal to watch. 

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