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One look at Chelsea’s youth academy will leave you with mixed expressions; that of awe, surprise and hope, especially if you are a Chelsea fan. The youth side has won two FA youth Cups and has one semifinal appearance to its credit in the last three years. In reality, Chelsea’s youth academy has been churning out exciting prospects for some years now. Top talents like Scott Sinclair, Miroslav Stoch and Fabio Borini have all been a part of the academy in recent years and are looking to forge successful careers, albeit with other clubs. The main concern is the difficulty or the failure to integrate them successfully into the first team squad.
Peter Kenyon, the former club chief, had boldly predicted in 2005 that the club’s academy would produce one player every season who’d fit into the first team squad. That fairly unrealistic expectation hasn’t quite yet materialized. So what is the underlying problem? The training facilities at Cobham, often considered among the best in the world, are certainly not to be blamed. The problem as I see it is the difference between the philosophies of the first and youth teams. Chelsea’s first team has been built on the principles of physical power, pace and strength and is capable of bullying any team, a legacy which was built on Jose Mourinho’s philosophy of ‘Us against the World’ mentality. The club went on to win everything with this philosophy including the recently won Champions League. In comparison, the youth team relies on a more technical and expansive approach.
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The reason behind this philosophy of the youth team is the club’s various Dutch connections which have hugely helped with regard to establishing the academy philosophy and Roman Abramovich’s supposed obsession with Barcelona-esque football. Until recently, the club’s technical director post was held by Frank Arnesen, a Dane who spent almost his entire life with Dutch clubs. Frank Arnesen, after taking over as the technical director of the club has been instrumental in shaping the structure of the academy and has had a considerable influence on the style of football. One can say that he has been relatively successful because the club has produced three exciting squads at youth level, one that reached the semifinals of the FA youth cup and two others that eventually won it. The Dutchmen, Piet De Visser and Guus Hiddink, who are Abramovich’s personal advisors have laid the foundations for the current youth academy along with Frank Arnesen.
Notable names among Chelsea’s youth coaching system are Neil Bath, a highly respected man in footballing circles who has been associated with the club’s coaching system since 1993 and who rightfully holds the post of Academy Director. He, along with Mike Forde, Steve Holland and Dermot Drummy are responsible for the day to day development of the youth academy. Michael Emenalo’s appointment as Technical Director came as a surprise and scare to the club’s fans world over considering his not so impressive credentials, but his transfer record so far has been good enough to lay most of their fears to rest.
There seems to have been a change in the transfer policy under Di Matteo this season with the signings of technically gifted players like Eden Hazard, Marko Marin, Kevin de Bruyne and Oscar dos Santos, indicating a departure from the physically imposing style of football to a more possession based approach. There finally seems a definite plan in place and a concrete structure for the youth to be embedded into, some of the highly rated academy players and who the fans can hope to see in the first team in the near future are:
Josh McEachran
Arguably the academy’s finest young prospect, Josh made a promising debut for the first team under the watchful eyes of Carlo Ancelotti. He was soon rewarded with a new deal along with Ryan Bertrand. He scored his first goal for the senior side the following season under Andre Villas-Boas against Aston Villa. But things quickly went downhill for him as the season went on, Andre Villas Boas’ team was in a bad position and he made way for the more experienced names. Although a loan move to Swansea didn’t work out as expected, the belief among the club’s coaching staff is that he will carry forward the baton from club legend Frank Lampard.
Nathaniel Chalobah
At 18 years of age the young defender captains both the England and Chelsea youth teams and has been with the club since his pre-teens. An imposing figure at 6’2, he can also play as a defensive midfielder. Tall and robust, he reads the game very well and remains calm and composed in possession. He also seems to have strong leadership qualities and has demonstrated a willingness to lead from the front. With all the above attributes the player has been observed to be quite similar to a certain John Terry.
Lucas Piazon
A versatile Brazilian midfielder, who can play as an attacking midfielder or in the hole behind the striker. He finished as the top scorer in the South American Under-15 Championships and also had a stellar Under-17 campaign. On 10 May 2012, in his very first season, Piazon was named Chelsea Young Player of the Year. He was part of the side that won the FA Youth Cup Final 24 hours earlier. He has been likened to Kaka by the Brazilian media mainly due to his Sao Paulo connection and the fact that he looks similar to the former Ballon d’Or winner. His style of play is focused on utilizing his electrifying pace and is pretty direct, making him a good fit for the Premier League.
Sam Hutchinson
In today’s money driven football world there are very few heart-warming stories; Sam Hutchinson’s story is one such rarity. Hutchinson joined Chelsea at the age of seven and in the bygone era of Jose Mourinho made his debut in May 2007 and became a regular face on the Chelsea bench, with four appearances for the Blues. But as fate would have it, at 21, with a place in the first team within touching distance, his career was over due to a sudden degenerative knee injury that forced him into retirement. Any other player would have been heart-broken, but Hutchinson under the care of Neil Bath decided to work in football and was offered a coaching role by the club. He continued his rehabilitation at Cobham while pursuing a university degree in psychology. So it came as a surprise to many when his name began to appear in the reserves team sheet, as time went by his playing time increased and he ended up being the captain of the reserves in due course of time. On 29 April 2012, he came off the bench to replace Bosingwa as a substitute during a 6–1 win against QPR, his first appearance in competitive football since before his retirement in 2010. Having seen his attitude through his comeback from retirement, there is no doubt among Chelsea fans that he will fulfill the promise he showed under Mourinho.
Islam Feruz
Born in the war ravaged country of Somalia, he and his family immigrated to Scotland and he was later picked up by Celtic’s youth system. After being threatened with deportation, he along with his family were given British passports mainly due to vigorous support by Celtic’s youth coach Tommy Burns. The player was then picked up by Chelsea’s youth academy and has since developed a good understanding with fellow academy player Lucas Piazon. After having been dubbed the “Scottish Wayne Rooney” due to his playing style, the fans and the coaching staff have high expectations from this very talented youngster.
Todd Kane
A player who has been with the club since the Under-8 level. He is blessed with bundles of energy and his enthusiastic approach to the game is infectious. This has made him a fan favourite. For a right-back, he has an uncanny ability to score goals and if he can balance his defensive duties with his quite obvious attacking skills, the club has a player who could make that full-back spot his for years to come.
With the new Financial Fair Play regulations looming large, it is not only important to have a good youth structure in place but also integrate the youth products into the first team. Chelsea’s model, despite being in the news for the wrong reasons and often criticized unfairly, is aiming to do just that.
