bridge views - the thinking fan's chelsea blog

Chelsea youth show promise as they blast into FA Youth Cup final

The second of two games against Blackburn inside of little over 24 hours had a rather different result than the first. Yesterday evening Chelsea’s youth took on Blackburn in the second leg of the FA Youth Cup semi final and ran out 4-0 winners (5-0 on aggregate).

It was an accomplished, confident display at Stamford Bridge from Chelsea who, aside an awkward ten minute period early in the first half, were dominant throughout. On the whole it was also a good display of heads-up, passing football.

The first two goals of the evening came via a fairly large slice of good luck. For the first, Jeffrey Bruma strode over the half way and unleashed a shot from 40 yards. Inexplicably the Blackburn keeper chose to try and control the ball – which was certainly heading wide of his left post - with his boot, but saw it pop forwards towards the edge of the penalty area. Chelsea forward Marko Mitrovic was the first to react and calmly guided the ball into the net. The second goal came in similar fashion, with the excellent Jacopo Sala expertly finishing from a tight angle following the keeper’s block of a curving shot from Josh McEachran.

The third was more a little more picturebook. Attacking from the right, Gokhan Tore shrugged off two defenders before laying the ball off to McEachran and continuing his run across the box. McEachran found Sala, who played a perfectly weighted pass into Tore who whipped a well-placed shot into the side netting with his left boot. Now that Blackburn were well out of the game, Chelsea’s fourth wasn’t a surprise: Tore caught Blackburn on the break and ran with the ball for 40 yards before unselfishly playing in Sala, who had the class to finish emphatically.

Four nil up and the tie won with twenty minutes to go, the Chelsea coach didn’t bring any older players on to give them a go. When are the over 30s going to get a chance at the club?!

Joking aside - are these the stars of the future? Well, law of averages sadly says many of them probably won’t make it. But a few did stand out. Sala, an 18 year-old from Italy, demonstrated uncommon calm and presence on the ball and his two finishes were excellent. Josh McEachran, who recently turned 17, has quick feet and pulled the strings excellently from an advanced position in midfield. Gokhan Tore, 18, moved to Chelsea from Leverkusen and seems to have prolific strength for someone his age. He showed occasional flashes of pace and flair, and if he can become a bit more consistent on the ball he’ll have a good chance. Captain Connor Clifford, who played for only 30 minutes yesterday because of injury, looks certain to be given a chance in the reserves.

Elsewhere, Bruma looked like a man amongst boys in defence (and during interviews after the game, too). He has of course already played with the senior team and comfortably looks the most likely to break through. He certainly shouldn’t be playing with the youth team next season. The entire back four deserve plaudits too however, having only conceded one goal in the competition so far and expertly keeping Blackburn out over 180 minutes of football in the semi final of the most important youth competition in the country.

If all goes to plan, hopefully a few of these promising players will graduate to the reserves next season, especially as the likes of Kakuta, Bruma, Hutchinson, Stoch and Borini get more opportunities with the first team. We’ll then get a far greater indication of who has a real chance of making the grade. Nothing is guaranteed but, in contrast to recent developments at Chelsea, the signs are certainly positive.

Chelsea will play either Newcastle or Aston Villa in a two-legged final.

Ihaven’t watched huge amounts of Chelsea’s youth team this season. If you have, I’m keen to hear who you think are the potential Chelsea stars of the future. Post a comment…

You might also be interested to read:

• Arnesen’s failings lie at the heart of Chelsea future
• A much needed chance for Chelsea youth to shine?
• Abandon the ‘off the shelf’ transfer policy

A Trojan horse for Chelsea youth? A focus on John Obi Mikel

John Obi Mikel is a divisive figure: half the Chelsea fans I speak to appreciate the young Nigerian, others don’t. Fans of other clubs (who don’t watch Chelsea games in full) invariably don’t rate him. The truth is however that he’s a rapidly improving player with talent beyond his years. For the benefit of both his and the club’s long-term future, it’s crucial that he now receives the backing his talent deserves.

It’s not been the smoothest of rides for Obi Mikel (or is it Mikel Obi? Those I sit with at the Bridge often call him Obi Wan) since he joined Chelsea back in 2006. His transfer itself was controversial of course, but in his first three years at the club he was sent off four times and collected more yellow cards than the Special One had press conferences. His discipline was clearly an issue, and not just on the pitch – three fines came for arriving late for training – and he seemed to be suffering from over-confidence.

Last season things worked better for Mikel however. Relied upon first by Scolari and then Hiddink – in no small part due to Essien’s horrendous injury – the Chelsea number 12 looked set to properly take the reins from Claude Makelele in the holding role, who had left the club the previous summer.

Strings of games followed and, to many at least, he was improving. Unfortunately a tendency towards inconsistency and the odd concentration lapse – from memory a couple of the goals in the 1-3 away defeat to Roma were down to his errors – came to characterise his ability for many looking to judge his progress. He was often – and is still – accused of being too negative, only able to pass sideways and a defensive liability.

It’s not hard to see why some Chelsea fans don’t rate Mikel. If the figures are to believed, Chelsea may have paid up to £16m for him (although the club’s recent exoneration in the deal to sign him might see some of that recouped), and such a high transfer fee brings greater expectation. He has been prone to lingering too long on the ball and he has had concentration lapses. Perhaps more than anything else, following the exemplary Makelele is very tall order indeed.

To judge Mikel by such standards however is neither fair nor realistic. He is just 22 years of age (he’s 23 next month), exceptionally young for a holding player, and actually shows uncommon discipline, reading of the game and awareness for someone of his age. How many players aged 22 have played 153 games in that position for such a high-profile club, all in just three and a half seasons? Not many.

And – it seems to me at least – parts of his game are starting to improve dramatically. Again because of an Essien injury, Ancelotti has given Mikel a sustained run in the first team and it is paying dividends. One or two errors aside (the header to Tevez in the Man City game, for example), he has been exceptionally consistent over the last couple of months, having a 94% pass completion rate over the four consecutive Premier League games he has played. A swashbuckling Essien he is not of course, but he has been more adventurous with his passing and is moving the ball far quicker. Perhaps this is Ancelotti’s influence – after all, we know that the Italian likes his deep-lying midfielders to operate as playmakers, hence his attempts to sign Pirlo last summer.

Above all, Mikel is starting to demonstrate an Essien-like self confidence in his own strength on the ball. Repeatedly over the past month we have seen him time and again receive the ball in close quarters in his own half, hold off two opposition players, emerge with the ball and move it forwards on to a blue shirt. Taking responsibility in such dangerous areas of the pitch certainly suggests a player growing in maturity.

Unfortunately, with that responsibility comes greater risk. Ultimately that greater risk will, occasionally, bring mistakes. And here lies the issue: are Chelsea – and not just the manager, but also the fans – ready to accept players, especially young players, making mistakes?

If we aren’t able have a little more patience to understand that young players need game time to improve, and if we can't accept that giving them time means mistakes might be made, the club will need to stick with its existing one-dimensional, limiting and expensive ‘off the shelf’ transfer strategy if it wants to stay competitive.

That will cost Chelsea not only money – money it probably doesn’t have - but also youthful drive and enthusiasm. For Chelsea’s management (and its fans), now is the time to recognise Mikel’s improvement and forgive his mistakes – the success of one young player could lead to the success of others. If they don’t though, it could reinforce the awkward precedent that youth doesn’t get a chance at the club, and present an almost insuperable barrier to rebuilding the squad for the future.

What do you think about Mikel? Please post a comment. And before I forget: bridgeviews.co.uk has been nominated for an award! Check out the nominees here - and drop the organisers a note about what Chelsea blog you like best and why...

The real reason why Sturridge isn't getting a run out at Chelsea

Like many Chelsea fans I’ve wondered why Daniel Sturridge has been given so little time to prove his worth in a Chelsea shirt so far this season. When he joined in the summer from Man City I felt it was a very positive signing: not an exorbitantly priced player in the twilight of his career and a sign that Chelsea were genuinely looking to buy younger, but relatively established, talent.

Sturridge started his Chelsea career excellently with a well-taken goal against the Seattle Sounders – the first of Chelsea’s pre-season campaign – and I was fairly impressed with that first showing. Since then however he’s oscillated between either being on the bench for the first team but not making an appearance and not even making the bench at all. Aside for one or two fleeting appearances in the league and an ill-fated run-out in the Carling Cup (after which his performance was unfairly criticised, I thought), he hasn’t got a look in.

Gael Kakuta meanwhile was given an immediate 30 minute opportunity against Wolves at the weekend immediately after his ban was suspended by CAS, and has also been named in the squad for tomorrow’s game against Porto. Matic also got his first run-out against Wolves and Borini was awarded a further chance to impress the Stamford Bridge faithful.

In light of the opportunities given to others the lack of opportunities for Sturridge – older and more experienced than those players, don’t forget - seems strange. Why hasn’t he been given more time?

He did suffer an injury earlier in the season, which perhaps hampered his chances to some extent. There also haven’t been huge numbers of games where, like against Wolves at the weekend, Chelsea were 3-0 up and out of sight after 20 minutes allowing Ancelotti to make more ‘risky’ substitutions.

Sturridge’s transfer fee hasn’t yet been set – the amount Chelsea need to pay City for his services is due to be decided by tribunal. Perhaps another reason why Chelsea are holding him back could be to prevent the panel lifting his fee beyond acceptable levels? Alternatively, perhaps Ancelotti feels Sturridge just isn’t good enough.

I’m just guessing. But, interestingly, Pat Nevin might have inadvertently given us a clue as to why the young Englishman hasn’t had more of an opportunity to make an impact at Chelsea – and it doesn’t bode well. Nevin’s weekly piece published on the Chelsea website today is worth a read – he talks about Kakuta’s performance at the weekend and the pressures faced by young players making their debuts. In addition however, he also wrote the following:

“His (Kakuta’s) breakthrough also gives hope and belief to any other young players trying to break into what is a world class team. One player who I hope has the right reaction is Daniel Sturridge. Nothing should spur him on more than the knowledge that if you do have the right attitude, the belief and the work ethic, success awaits. In simple terms it is up to him”.

I could well be reading too much into what is just a few words, but I suspect Nevin knows something we don’t. It sounds very much like Sturridge might have an attitude problem – Nevin’s statement is pretty challenging. He doesn’t say “if you have the talent, you’ll get a chance”, rather “if you work hard, you’ll get a chance”. Why single out the need for the right work ethic over pure ability if that isn’t a particular concern? I’m only speculating, but perhaps Sturridge expected more from his first few months at Chelsea and hasn’t reacted well to playing second fiddle to first Drogba and Anelka and then Borini.

Hopefully I am reading too much into it – before he joined Chelsea the consensus was that Sturridge was one of the brightest English prospects around. Here’s hoping he gets it together – the chances given to Kakuta, Matic, Borini, Hutchinson and Bruma this season offer encouraging signs that Ancelotti will reward him when he does.

What do you think of Sturridge - do you think he's deserved more of a chance? Any other reasons why he might not be getting a run out that I’ve missed? Post a comment.

Chelsea v QPR preview - finally, a chance for youth to shine

Another day, another London derby. This time it is QPR coming to the Bridge for what is an eagerly awaited clash, particularly for the Hoops.

I’m looking forward to the game particularly because it represents the best chance Chelsea’s younger players have of making an impression that we’ve seen for a long time. Too often over the last few years younger players have either been written about but never seen or made fleeting appearances of the bench only to disappear back into perpetual life in the reserves. You can read a critique of Arnesen's youth development that I posted earlier in the leauge here.

I’ve always appreciated that, so long as the pressure remains to win every game and compete to win trophies, the scope to blood younger, less experienced players is limited. Despite this I’ve also always argued that Chelsea need to focus less on bringing in established talent and that opportunities to field Chelsea’s existing younger players have presented themselves but haven’t been taken. Why hasn’t Sturridge – who played very well in pre-season - had a chance this season, for example? There have been at least two league games this season that have been won with twenty minutes still on the clock that would have provided a great opportunity to bring him on. Perhaps Chelsea have been saving him from first team duty to prevent his transfer fee – which is still to be decided by tribunal – increasing higher than expected.

Over the past few years Chelsea have taken the Carling Cup very seriously, playing pretty much full strength sides throughout. I’ve agreed with this approach as it has shown both the competition and paying fans respect. I’m also convinced by the argument that winning the Carling Cup in February can help take pressure off the team and provide a good platform to push for other honours.

But it’s a question of balance, and in terms of giving youngsters an opportunity to progress I don’t think Chelsea have always got it right. The noises coming out of Stamford Bridge suggest that tonight’s game against QPR may prove the exception to the rule however, and while we can welcome Joe Cole and Zhirkov back into the fray (two players that really could make a difference to a season that has already started well) I would expect them to be joined by only a few of their senior team-mates.

Borini came on against Spurs at the weekend, but didn’t really have much time to show what he can do – hopefully he’ll start tonight. Sturridge should also get a game, as should Hutchinson. Turnbull may well start in goal despite a couple of nervy performances in the reserves.

It’s a shame we won’t get to see Kakuta – I’m sure he’d have got some time this evening if it wasn’t for FIFA – but I’ll be fascinated to see how the rest of them get on as well as how Joe Cole and Zhirkov return from injury. Look out for the normal match report and reaction on www.bridgeviews.co.uk tomorrow.

It’s worth a quick word on our opponents – QPR are under the microscope at the moment because of the ongoing Briatore speculation, but I wouldn’t have thought Magilton will let this affect his players’ performance on the pitch. The injection of cash since the Ecclestone, Briatore and Mittal takeover back ion 2007-8 hasn’t paid off following a string of managerial changes. Our local West London rivals can only be said to have made a solid start in the Championship this season, winning just two games from seven. It’s worth pointing out that both of those wins have come away from home.

bridgeviews.co.uk prediction: I admit that I don’t know too much about QPR but I would hope that, despite a changed starting XI, I would hope that Chelsea should still have enough to see off QPR. I reckon Chelsea will win 2-1, with Zhirkov scoring the first goal.

You might also be interested to read:

• thechelseablog.org’s take on this evening’s game, including a look at the pre-match comments coming out of each camp and recent results between the teams

Chelsea make new signing despite FIFA ban - signing young players isn't the devil's work

Well, well, well. Sepp Blatter will have been fuming yesterday as news emerged that not only have Chelsea signed a new young goalkeeper despite their ban from FIFA, but the selling club were actually very happy about it.

It was revealed yesterday that Chelsea have agreed a £2.5m (approximately) deal to bring 6’2” 17 year old goalkeeper Matej Delac to West London from Croatian side Inter Zapresic. Delac will join Jan Sebek, another young goalkeeper who recently moved to Chelsea, as soon as FIFA’s transfer ban has expired.

This is an interesting development even just on face value: the FIFA ban clearly won’t stop Chelsea dipping into the market to buy young players on agreements that bring them to the club on a future date. Arguably the ban might even help Chelsea purchase younger players as smaller clubs will be able to benefit from keeping their player in the short term.

More interesting however is the response of Zapresic’s Director, Branko Laljak, who said this of the deal:

“This transfer will save our club from bankruptcy. We are sure this transfer will help us, as now the whole world will know the name of our club. We are proud that we made a player for one of the biggest clubs in the world”.

Laljak’s comments are certainly a far cry from Lens’ finger-pointing that we heard a fortnight ago, and perfectly illustrate that there is a broader argument to the debate around the trade of younger players that is not currently being discussed in formal circles or the media. In a similar way that I argued two weeks ago that the transfer window is actually a serious restriction of smaller clubs’ ability to do vital pieces of business to protect themselves financially, Laljak’s comments suggest that most smaller clubs can benefit from doing business with giants of the game over their young talent (provided everything is above board, of course) both financially and reputationally. Indeed in Zapresic’s case, the Chelsea deal has saved them from liquidation.

In looking to stop the fair and legitimate movement of young players as has been mooted, FIFA not only delay the best young players from moving to get experience that matches their ability but also to some extent prevent smaller clubs from being completely free to take benefit from the players they have ‘created’. Putting a stop to young players being sold internationally would probably lead to the sort of deal that we have seen between Chelsea and Zapresic becoming commonplace, having far-reaching consequences for scouting and wasted transfer expenditure.

When and how young players can be bought and sold is a complex issue but, if Laljak’s comments prove anything, there’s more to the arguments supporting greater freedom of movement than meets the eye. One thing is certainly clear to me: stopping young players moving clubs isn’t necessarily a positive ambition on its own. 

In the meantime Chelsea have, in a way, defied FIFA. How do you like that, Blatter?

Loan watch: Chelsea's Sinclair and Mancienne get off to solid starts at Wigan and Wolves

I’ve posted quite a bit on Chelsea’s youth policy – and it’s results – over the past month or so, largely bemoaning the lack of both players breaking through and opportunities for those who are showing promise.

Despite my general negativity, there are a few younger players who are on the cusp of making the standard and a few of them have made loan moves to Premier League clubs this season: Di Santo (Blackburn), Sinclair (Wigan) and Mancienne (Wolves).

Both Sinclair and Mancienne have been out on loan before, but this is the first opportunity they both have to get Premier League football and I’d like to keep an eye on how they’re getting along. As Wigan and Wolves clashed at the JJB on Tuesday, it seemed an opportune moment.

Michael Mancienne

Having joined them on loan before, Wolves fans are very familiar with Mancienne and tend to be big admirers of the youngster. Word on the street is that he was a little nervy on his first Premier League outing with the club on Saturday as they crashed to a two nil home loss to Zola’s West Ham (he played 67 minutes before being substituted). The media’s opinion him was divided however, with the Sun rating his performance at a not-too-shabby 7/10 and the Times 5/10.

It went slightly better for Wolves against Wigan on Tuesday however as they ran out one nil winners. Again, the Sun was glowing about Mancienne’s performance, rating it at 8/10, and football fans rated him the second best player on the pitch (with a score of 7.3) on the Daily Telegraph website.

After the game, Wigan fans took the time to post on a popular Wolves forum on how impressed they were with Mancienne’s performance. Some of the comments included: “Mancienne and Craddock played very well, the few times we challenged them they came out on top every time” and “Mancienne looked very good I thought”.

Wolves fans on the forum were generally impressed with their loan signing too, despite one assertion that “he needs to get out of the superstar mentality asap…he had a bad game on Saturday”. One fan took a contrasting view, suggesting “he’s a young lad with his feet firmly on the ground, he did ok against the threat of Carlton Cole on Saturday, we got a good hour out of him”. Another supporter probably took it too far: “Mancienne is the new Beckenbauer! What was he doing at the end trying to beat Wigan on his own?”

Scott Sinclair

Sinclair hasn’t had the benefit as the same amount of game time as Mancienne, and as such probably hasn’t had the opportunity to make similar impact. In both of Wigan’s games so far – the opening day win over Aston Villa and the following loss to Wolves – he’s been brought on for 30 minutes as an impact substitute and the Sun rated both as 5/10 performances. Reportedly against Villa he looked good, taking players on with confidence. This was in the context of a two nil lead however, and he was less impressive against Wigan, even contriving to head wide a good chance to level the scores in the dying moments of the game.

All that said, Wigan fans’ early opinion seems to be optimistic. On one fans’ forum, Wiganer.net, produced gushing praise for the winger, including: “This lad looked good, a few times he seemed to just waltz past defenders. Do you think we have any hope of making his move permanent?” and “After yesterday he will defo be an awesome signing. Get this boy signed up”. Most encouraging – and I don’t know how much experience Wigan fans have of the world’s most talented players – one fan said: “he looks very promising and will develop to be a world class player”.

Of course, there’s a very long way to go and (hopefully) both Sinclair and Mancienne will get plenty more time to learn their trade at the top level and show us what they’re capable of. We’ll keep an eye on all the players out on loan and try and keep you updated at how they’re getting on.

Are you happy with these two going out on loan? Wolves and Wigan fans – how do you rate your loan signings?

You might also be interested to read:

• Chelsea struggling to attract best young talent as Jonjo Shelvey knocks the Blues back
• Arnesen’s failures lie at the heart of Chelsea’s future

Chelsea sign Serbian starlet - could there be life in youth development yet?

Chelsea have continued their pursuit of younger targets and finally wrapped up a deal for Serbian Nemanja Matic from MFK Kosice.

Earlier this summer I made a call for the club to embrace a more youth-focused transfer policy (bringing in bigger names where available and reasonably priced) and, like many other fans, was encouraged when the likes of Sturridge and Turnbull were brought to Stamford Bridge.

Since then, a series of younger players left Chelsea either on permenant or loan deals, including Di Santo, Sahar, Tejera, Stoch, Nouble and Mancienne. Whilst I completely accepted that the law of averages says that some players simply won't make it, as it became that each player wouldn't make an impact at Chelsea (or at least not this season) it increasingly seemed to me like Arnesen and Chelsea's youth policy were going well and truly down the drain. When Charlton's Jonjo Shelvey knocked us back to hold out for a potential move to West Ham, Chelsea's ability to attract the best young talent looked terminal.

Today however there's a bit of better news - MFK Kosice have announced that the long-rumoured transfer to Chelsea of their talented 21-year-old midfielder, Nemanja Matic, has gone through. Supposedly Chelsea have paid around £1.5m for the Serbian's services (not a huge monetary risk to take in this day and age) and he'll be ready to train and make appearances for the reserves once he fully recovers from a metatarsal injury sustained during this summer's European under-21 Championship.

Of course, one signing alone doesn't suggest Chelsea are suddenly a destination of choice for promising youngsters and I'd clearly like to see us take more of a chance on younger players. But it's an encouraging sign. Fingers crossed this one doesn't go the way of Sahar and Tejera.

I don't know much about Chelsea's new signing - only that he plays in central midfield, had a trial with Middlesborough last season, is over 6'4" and has made 74 appearances for Kosice (scoring 4 goals) and two appearances for the national side. Anyone seen him play?

You might be interested to read:

• JustChelsea.com posted an early look at Nemanja Matic in some detail here. Check it out - apparently he's the Serbian Vieira

Chelsea youth system gets another kick in the teeth

It doesn’t rain, but it pours. Well, for Frank Arnesen and Chelsea’s youth set-up, at least.

Yesterday I posted on Arnesen’s poor record at Chelsea and the lack of young players pushing for a place in the first team. In what has become a vicious circle, it looks like the general shortage of young talent at the club has combined with the lack of opportunities afforded to those who do have ability to make Chelsea a very unattractive prospect to players learning their trade.

It’s reported today that long-time Chelsea target, Jonjo Shelvey (he was included in the bridgeviews list of rumoured Chelsea transfers back in early June), has turned down the opportunity to join the Blues. Now I haven’t seen the Charlton man play, but reportedly he’s a rising star, a box-to-box midfielder who has a bit of everything to his game. The news will come as a double blow to Arnesen after Frank Nouble, the striker who learned the game at Chelsea and scored 12 goals for the under-18s last season, refused a new contract and joined West Ham two weeks ago. Two seventeen year olds turn down one of the biggest clubs in the world inside of a month. Is that some kind of record?

Breaking it down, you would imagine that Chelsea would generally be an attractive prospect for youngsters – learning alongside some of the best in the business, training at the very best facilities and so on. So there’s obviously a perception out there – and a fair one - that young players don’t get chances at Chelsea, and other clubs that can offer less in other departments are deemed more attractive (in the case of Shelvey, West Ham). To reverse that perception young players need to be given opportunities, and to an extent that is down to the manager. Encouragingly, Ancelotti looks willing to give the likes of Mancienne, Hutchinson and Sinclair a go.

But if Ancelotti is to do it consistently, two things will need to change: Arnesen will have to provide the players; and both the board and the media will need to reduce their expectations of the side to win everything immediately. Without those two things, Carlo might not have enough room to manoeuver.

Over-promoted Arnesen’s failures lie at the heart of Chelsea’s future

Frank Arnesen, who was poached from Spurs in 2005 to help spearhead Chelsea’s drive to create a world-leading youth academy, today defended his ‘record’ at the club. One of the few people out there to be promoted despite achieving nothing – in a recession no less – Chelsea’s new Sporting Director was today quoted in the Berlingske Tidende, saying:

"It is clearly laid out in our long term planning for 2004 to 2014 - after which we aim to be self-financed - that from 2010 and onwards our top priority is to introduce one player [per year] into the Premiership squad. But that is from 2010. It was never the objective that I should be delivering two talents for the first team from 2007 on a yearly basis. I don't know how that misunderstanding has surfaced. You don't create talents at the assembly line. Patience is a virtue. In a top club like Chelsea you do not waltz into the team at the age of 18-19 years.”

An interesting statement, if only because Arnesen obviously felt there was a need to defend his record. On the face of it though, he hasn’t really much of a record to defend, having singularly failed to bring through even one young player to make consistent first team performances in the four years he’s been at the club. Yes, I’m sure patience is a virtue – but in my view Abramovich and Chelsea fans have the right to expect more from an academy that has had money chucked at it (to fund both facilities and personnel) left, right and centre.

And if Chelsea’s board are happy to give Arnesen five years to produce just one young player of sufficient ability to play in the Premier League, they’re not setting their expectations high enough. Look at the youth set-up at rival clubs – for example Arsenal and even West Ham – and you would expect Chelsea’s expensive academy to be working more like an assembly line. Arnesen is suggesting that it’s too much to expect that any of the 16,17 and 18 year old players bought when he arrived in 2005 (or already at the club) should now be making the first team. Frank – that would make them either 20, 21 or 22 now. How many players at that age – or younger - have made their debuts with our main rivals, Man Utd, Arsenal or Liverpool? And how many of them have made successful debuts? There has been plenty of time to either grow or identify young talent.

And on another one of his points, Arnesen is just plain wrong. 18-19 year olds are ‘waltzing into’ other top clubs – and also clubs that have been more successful than Chelsea over the past four years. I’m not talking about Arsenal, who are a unique example and have achieved little success. But how old was Evans when he debuted for United last year? How old were Messi or Bojan when they started playing for Barcelona? Pato at AC Milan, Balotelli at Inter or Lucas and Insua at Liverpool? While United were blooding Evans and Macheda last year, Chelsea’s Mancienne, Sinclair and Di Santo were either on loan, on the bench or in the reserves. Mancienne, perhaps Chelsea’s most promising young player, made four appearances last season. Evans made 34 for Utd. Both sides had significant injury problems in defence.

This summer, long-term hopes Sahar, Nouble and Tejera have left the club permanently while Taiwo and Stoch have gone out on loan. Of course it’s ok for players to not make it and for others to go out on loan for more experience. Clearly Mourinho didn’t think it was too much to ask that one or two might break through, but he was one of the people suffering from the ‘misunderstanding’ Arnesen cites in his quote. Just crossed wires, and certainly not ol’ Arnesen’s fault.

But let’s make one thing clear: this doesn’t have to be about finding the next Messi. The first priority of a good youth system for a top class side, in my view, should be to unearth an alternative stream of talent to supplement signing more established players. Chelsea are fast approaching a situation where a large number of the squad will need replacing inside the next 3-4 years – as I mentioned in this morning’s post on Chelsea potentially buying Pirlo, the club already has 11 players over 30 in the first team squad. The lack of good, if not excellent, young players coming through the ranks puts real pressure on the club to bankroll expensive new signings, and damages its ability to break even, if that is the aim. On the playing side, it also boxes the management into a tricky corner with regards to coming up with a strategy to replace those ageing players – they can’t afford to release them gradually without viable replacements getting game time.

Arnesen’s role sits right at the heart of the future of the club. Despite what he says, he hasn’t delivered – and if he continues in that vein his failure will pose significant problems both on and off the pitch.

Are Chelsea preparing for 6+5?

The transfer gossip linking Chelsea with the biggest players in world football has gone quiet over the past week or so. Dull, dull, dull.

We do need one or two choice additions but it’s not time to get worried just yet – the transfer window isn’t even formally open. Let’s see who Abramovich, Kenyon and Ancelotti rustle up in the next few weeks.

In the last week however, Chelsea have been linked with a few lower profile players. Firstly Sturridge, whose move on a free transfer (ish) from Manchester City seems to be all but done. Secondly we’ve been linked with Charlton playmaker Jonjo Shelvey – just 17 years of age and supposedly one of the hottest prospects in the country (see how Sky Sports reviewed him here). Finally, Ross Turnbull, the Middlesborough goalkeeper. From what I remember, Turnbull has been at a number of clubs (mostly on loan) before finally deciding to leave Middlesborough this summer. At 24, he’s still very young for a goalkeeper.

Clearly at least two of these deals are still to go through, but two thoughts immediately occur: one, that Chelsea do finally seem to be making their threat to buy for the future look genuine; and two, that they’re looking at English players.

New Champions League rules introduced last season placed new restrictions on the number of foreign players that could be named in each squad, so perhaps ‘buying English’ is merely the club’s attempt to give us as many options as possible in that competition. But the rumours also left me wondering if Chelsea are also preparing for the possibility that UEFA and FIFA will somehow get their way on 6+5, and are buying English players that could stay at the club whilst the new rules are being rolled out over the first half of the next decade. I’ll write more on the 6+5 debate over the next week or so, but fingers crossed these transfers aren’t being made now because the club know something we don’t on the issue.

On the other hand, many see having an English core as a desirable thing and the club might be looking ahead to a time when Terry, Lampard and the Coles have retired. Whatever the motivation though, I’m almost more encouraged that Chelsea are being linked with these type of players than I was a few weeks ago and the string of outside-bet, big money transfer rumours.

Know more about what we might expect from these three players if they joined than me? Have a different view on our supposed transfer targets? Post a comment.

Abandon 'off the shelf' approach: Chelsea's transfer policy

Everyone has a view on who Chelsea should be signing - or who they will sign (check out what the papers think here). Aside from a few token names, papers and fans alike almost exclusively seem to discuss the biggest names in football - Ribery, Aguero, Villa... This time last week we were buying Kaka for £73.5m.

If Abramovich is prepared to spend the kind of money needed to secure the services of these players, then that's all well and good, and of course exciting for the fans. But an 'off the shelf' transfer policy that revolves around looking for players that are established, world names shouldn't become the norm. We unearthed Robben in 2004. Man Utd found Ronaldo the same year. Barcelona found Messi when he was in his young teens. It can be done and not at such exorbitant cost. Much as been made of Chelsea's world class youth set up (by Chelsea it must be said) but - as Mourinho complained - it hasn't yet delivered. To become sustainable it has to, and the club need to show far greater nous in the transfer market.

The likes of Mancienne (who played and scored for England U21s on Monday), Sahar, Stoch and Katuka look promising, but in the push for honours the team hasn't been performing well enough to provide them with opportunities to play. Furthermore, the constant changing of managers over the past few years has left the club devoid of continuity and decidedly short-termist in approach, lessening the chances of these players breaking through further still.  Now rumours circulate that they are up for sale. All of this stands in stark contrast to Man Utd's purchase of Fabio and Rafael (the Brazilian twins) who have made an immediate impact in the first team at Old Trafford.

Of course, there is a balance to be struck - I'm not suggesting reverting to an Arsene Wenger-style policy of only blooding youngsters (which itself is inconsistent - compare the respective chances awarded to, say, Gibbs or Denilson over the past two or three seasons with Walcot, despite the potential of the latter). Some players of this ilk, like Kalou, have been given a chance, but Chelsea have been far less willing to take a risk on a player and have the prospect of a Nani or a Dos Santos on our hands than the rest of the so-called 'big four'.

This summer, Chelsea have been linked with younger, lower profile players - Sturridge and Arnautovic, for example - and perhaps this does suggest a desire to move  to redress the balance. Maybe Ancelotti will achieve success quickly enough to stay in the job and allow the club to follow a coherent transfer and youth policy. But therein lies the problem: purchasing these sorts of players presents risk, and if you set expectations sky high and won't countenance not meeting them, all risks become unnacceptable.