Posted March 7, 200816 yr a friend of mine and i were debating this the other day. he said he had read an article comparing the "crown jewel" young players in each of the premiership clubs, and that chelsea held the short end of the stick. - ManUtd: Ronaldo (22 yrs) - Liverpool: Torres (23 yrs) - Arsenal: Fabregas (20 yrs) for these clubs, it's easy to see who they can build their future around, who will be the dynamic player, the face of the club, the man who holds (or soon will hold) the most power, who can pin your hopes on. but Chelsea? - Mikel (20 yrs) -- at times he looks to be a cross between Makelele, Lampard and Essien, and at times he just looks like a red card. even if he is our future, is there something dour about having a demolishing defensive midfielder as your club's bright hope? - Kalou (22 yrs) -- not consistent or dynamic enough. he's a fine player, but you sometimes get the sense that he doesn't feel he belongs on the first team, or that he wants to shoot the ball when the game is on the line - Joe Cole (26 yrs)-- maybe the most likely, but he's at the prime of his career right now, as opposed to being in the ascendancy
March 7, 200816 yr i like both Mikel and Kalou, but i can't say anything about which one I feel is the better prospect. i think that they are both prospects, but completely different players. Although i will say at 20, Cesc is way ahead of mikel in what he offers the team
March 7, 200816 yr You need to take Harry Worley off your list. http://www.myfootballnews.co.uk/news_ju ... ory=807592
March 7, 200816 yr Gael Kakuta - think Christiano Ronaldo Miroslav Stoch - think Joe Cole Franco Di Santo - think Hernan Crespo Jacob Melis - think Lamps Michael Mancienne - think Stevie Wicks Adam Phillip - think Robbie Fowler Michael Woods - think Gordon Strachan or Michael Essien Get stuck into that brothers!
March 7, 200816 yr You need to take Harry Worley off your list.http://www.myfootballnews.co.uk/news_ju ... ory=807592 Damn it,
March 7, 200816 yr Ben Sahar (On loan to Sheff Wed) Rhys Taylor Anthony Grant (On loan to Southend) Carl Magnay Liam Bridcutt (On loan to Yeovil) Jack Cork (On loan to Sc**thorpe) Sam Hutchinson Lee Sawyer Ryan Bertrand (On loan to Norwich) Michael Mancienne (On loan to QPR) Jimmy Smith Michael Woods Stuart Searle Adrian Pettigrew (On loan to Rotherham) Shaun Cummings Patrick van Aanholt ames Simmonds Ricardo Fernandes Sergio Tejera Fabio Ferreira Miroslav Stoch Phil Younghusband Per Weihrauch Franco di Santo
March 7, 200816 yr ive heard some good things about clifford. and some italian striker (borlini?). hopefully now some time, money and effort has gone into youth development after years of neglect, we might start to see some players progress.
March 7, 200816 yr Ben Sahar (On loan to Sheff Wed)Rhys Taylor Anthony Grant (On loan to Southend) Carl Magnay Liam Bridcutt (On loan to Yeovil) Jack Cork (On loan to Sc**thorpe) Sam Hutchinson Lee Sawyer Ryan Bertrand (On loan to Norwich) Michael Mancienne (On loan to QPR) Jimmy Smith Michael Woods Stuart Searle Adrian Pettigrew (On loan to Rotherham) Shaun Cummings Patrick van Aanholt ames Simmonds Ricardo Fernandes Sergio Tejera Fabio Ferreira Miroslav Stoch Phil Younghusband Per Weihrauch Franco di Santo Will any of them step up to the mark ?... maybe there is one jewel in there... but our recent track record isnt great... name a firsts team regular that come through the ranks at Chelsea... it stops at JT ??? As for real prospects, Obi Mickel absolutley stands out... he needs mentoring a bit, and maybe Maka is the man (Would love to see him stay in a coaching capacity)...
March 7, 200816 yr Good point about our lack of obvious starlet, but it is also worth pointing out that none of the other three's stars, especially Torres, are exactly 'home grown'. Granted Fabregas and Ronaldo have developed immeasurably at their respective clubs, but there were widely ackowledged to be stars in the making before they moved to England. (although admittedly I didn't know of them) So, while it would be extra sweet if our starlet came from our youth ranks, having been at the club for years, we do also need to get better and spotting and capturing young players on the verge of becoming something special. Huntelaar being the only one that perhaps fit the bill of which I can think off the top of my head.
March 7, 200816 yr kakuta is the one that stands out for me every time i watch him. but we need to give the acadamies time. until roman put some money in our youth setup was knowhere near the other big teams. we barely had one at one point.
March 7, 200816 yr Good point about our lack of obvious starlet, but it is also worth pointing out that none of the other three's stars, especially Torres, are exactly 'home grown'. Granted Fabregas and Ronaldo have developed immeasurably at their respective clubs, but there were widely ackowledged to be stars in the making before they moved to England. (although admittedly I didn't know of them)So, while it would be extra sweet if our starlet came from our youth ranks, having been at the club for years, we do also need to get better and spotting and capturing young players on the verge of becoming something special. Huntelaar being the only one that perhaps fit the bill of which I can think off the top of my head. Tim makes a very good point here, in so far as it is all too easy to confuse home grown players with those that are expensive imports who slot into a team immediately (Torres, Narni and Anderson) and those that develop quickly under, arguably, minimal tutelage, but still cost (Clichy, Fabregas, Eboue, Bendtner and to a lesser extent Walcott) who form the basis of Jose’s criticism of the Wenger kidology. Comparisons with what Chelsea are doing at youth level and in the Reserves are difficult to make, but, if we must, the nearest are Kalou, Mikel, and Di Santo (in terms of cost) and it’s strange that of all the players named only Bendtner has gone out on loan, which suggests that the lone brigade may be a different breed altogether. I think they are because they’re perceived to be only one step away from the first team, yet as the years roll on could also be that same step away from being released. If you categorise the players listed by Andy into loaners likely to make it eventually I’d say they’ll mainly end up around Championship level with the exception of Mancienne, Sawyer, Bridcutt and possibly Bertrand, although this might depend on whether Van Aanholt’s development is as a left back or central defender. This also begs the question of whether or not Arnesen is a believer in the old adage ’if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ and, from what he has said on Chelsea TV, it would appear that around the twenty mark is the make or break time, unless you are exceptional (Kakuta, dkw?). If this is regarded as the next band it means the likes of Smith (who has been on loan), Hutchinson, Ferriera, Simmonds and Cummings are in it and of these Hutchinson (reputedly highly thought as future captain material) and Cummings (great defence/attack versatility) look the best bets to succeed. The last group form the nucleus of tonight’s youth team and, apart from the aforementioned Kakuta (a gem), you could make a case for more than half a dozen of them making the grade with us. In fact, I will and I’ll start with a name missing from Andy’s list - Jeffery Bruma is a potential star who could test the Arnesen/Grant nerve to blood him in defence before he reaches the tender age of eighteen. Nana Ofori-Twumasi (also not on list), Tejera and Stoch can all stake their claim and Woods has been championed by Lamps as being a similar style of player to him at the same age. Taylor looks a good, steady keeper to me and the same could be said of Magnay as a central defender in the Reserves (if we let Worley go, it’s probably a sign that he’s got a future with us despite his Sky background). Those that remain unheralded from Andy’s list have been because I don’t know a great deal about them or I’ve not seen them play (that’s not strictly true in Younghusband’s case, but strikers/attacking midfielders either catch the eye or they don’t and, to be honest, he hasn’t, whereas Mellis (who could have been included above) from the Academy has and Kakuta is another animal altogether). Talking of strikers/wingers, Sinclair must be mentioned in dispatches and I really do hope he has a long career with us, bearing in mind that a lot of time and effort has already been invested in him and, if anybody deserves his chance, he does. P.S. Nearly forgot a long, long term potential star - Frank Nouble - who, in five years time, could make Didier look positively anorexic.
March 7, 200816 yr bruma certainly looks a bit special. and as you mention, carl magnay has been keeping worley out of the reserves. was he the lad who won the tv thing? ive heard we signed someone from benfica this seasons too, i think hes called kabi or kaby, whos supposed to be extra special. ive also liked the look of bertrand too. he looks like a young version of dennis wise, or even maka. the upshot is that a lot of the last bacth of youth players such as jimmy smith, mancienne, hucthinson etc will probably never become first team members. whereas belwo them are a lot of talented players who might.
March 7, 200816 yr bruma certainly looks a bit special. and as you mention, carl magnay has been keeping worley out of the reserves. was he the lad who won the tv thing? ive heard we signed someone from benfica this seasons too, i think hes called kabi or kaby, whos supposed to be extra special. ive also liked the look of bertrand too. he looks like a young version of dennis wise, or even maka. the upshot is that a lot of the last bacth of youth players such as jimmy smith, mancienne, hucthinson etc will probably never become first team members. whereas belwo them are a lot of talented players who might. That's right, Magnay won the Sky competition in the second year and he certainly looks worth all the effort. Agree about Bertrand, but I think Mikel is a cert replacement for Maka, unless his temperament gets the better of him, then maybe Bridcutt is his biggest threat. Of the names you mention Hutchinson has been unlucky with injuries and Mancienne has nailed his place at QPR, even playing at right back, which would be useful for us if he made it - a bit like the van Aarnholt situation on the other side.
March 7, 200816 yr In recent years not only JT came through the ranks, there was also Eddie Newton, Frank Sinclair and Jody Morris (ok Jody turned into a prat but played a big part in games such as the 3-1 win over Barcelona). To be honest the youth scene went down the pan under Luca, wasn't redeemed under Claudio and it wasn't until Jose's 2nd year that we started to up the tempo in the youth academy again. The fact they have reached the semi's of the youth cup this year for the first time since JT was in the team is a reflection that things are progressing very nicely again. It's too early just yet for these lads to break into the first team but fair to say the future is beginning to look rosy again as the crop is beginning to show some quality 'melon's' as Jose would have said.
March 8, 200816 yr In recent years not only JT came through the ranks, there was also Eddie Newton, Frank Sinclair and Jody Morris (ok Jody turned into a prat but played a big part in games such as the 3-1 win over Barcelona). Jon Harley, Robert Huth
March 10, 200816 yr Of the three big names mentioned (Torres, Fabregas, Ronaldo) - only Fabregas is the equivalent of Mikel. Torres has been one of the biggest players in Spain for the last 4 years or so, and Ronaldo was one of the best players in the Portugese League when he was at Lisbon. We were actually linked with both players well before they signed for Liverpool or Man United. Signing players like this (think Benzema, Huntelaar etc) is easy. Everyone knows who they are - offer enough money and the right playing conditions and you can sign them. Getting the likes of a Fabregas or a Mikel isn't as easy. Both of these guys were plucked from relative obscurity based on good performances in youth world cups. Signing players like this is very hit an miss though. The only way of increasing our chances is to sign lots of promising youngsters, and hope that one out of fifty or so makes the grade. The good news is that this is exactly what we have been doing over the last few years with Arnesen and the youth academy - and with players like Sinclair and Sahar, we are hopefully just about to see the results. P.S. In my opinion, Kalou is the "jewel in the crown" - if he can learn to make the right decisions and finish. At the same age, this was exactly the same problem a certain Theirry Henry had.
