As the AFCON final draws closer, there will be no doubt in many minds that the ascent of the Nigerian super eagles have been largely helped by the EPL nurtured talents of Victor Moses & Jon Obi Mikel. The two Chelsea Fc stars have relatively starred at the tournament and with the help of their team mates reached the summit of the competition with an opportunity to win the competition for only the 3rd time in the affluent history.
The question that comes to mind is an interesting 1, are their more Victor Moses and Mikels around the English game at the moment? While the unpatriotic names of Danny Shittu, Shola Ameobi and Gabriel Agbonlahor comes to mind, the question is aimed at a younger developmental level.
With the diversity of Britain today, the answer is an obvious one. Lets start with the club that Victor Moses and Mikel currently play for Chelsea. The numbers of the potential next super eagles at Chelsea is quite remarkable.
While the 1st player that comes to mind; Dominic Solanke has already player for England albeit at u16s level, He is half Nigerian from his paternal side as his surname suggests. With England starting to create more top quality youngsters through the system, it wont be a surprise for him to opt to play for the Nigerian Super Eagles if English call ups at men's level don't materialise.
Amongst the other potential super eagles currently developing at CFC is Chike Kandi a player who is just starting to come into form at u18s level. Kandi has already represented Wales at youth level but has apparently declared an interest in playing for Nigerian junior teams.
A young Chelsea player that many Nigerians might already be familiar with is Habib Makanjuola a ball juggling protege that has somehow bucked the trend of ball jugglers not equating to good players. He unlike the others mentioned so far has lived the most of his life in Nigeria before being scouted and acquired.
Other youth players CFC can add to the ranks include Ike Ugbo, Fikayo Tomori and Ola Aina who is currently with the England youth squad competing in the Algarve tournament.
Joshua Adebayo & Joseph Adebayo once of Chelsea who now play for Southampton & Stoke City respectively are also players that can be added to the ever growing list of potential super eagles of the future. A look around other English clubs show many more players starting with our neighbours Arsenal.
Its not surprising that with the similar geographical locations there is a similar roll call at Arsenal. Players like Chuks Aneke, Alex Iwobi and Chuba Akpom are reported to have Nigerian ancestry or parents and are eligible to represent the super eagles amongst many others.
At Tottenham the names of Emmanuel Sonupe & Daniel Akindaniyi suggests that they might fill the same bill.
Without looking further afield it is quite evident that there is a plethora of eaglets in the English game that may one day grow wings big enough to be called a super eagle.
Sunday 10 February 2013
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Digging for Gold 3
For the third part of the digging for gold articles, please follow @ChelCcfc and @Blue_TintedCFC on twitter
Saturday 19 March 2011
Home Grown Vs Home Raised - A Match made in Academy Heaven
As the season approaches it final months, it is quite easy to forget about the going ons at the Chelsea academy and concentrate on seeing if we can avoid ending a gloomy season empty handed. However with the continued progress of the current youth players in the FA Youth Cup, such amnesic moments would only be prevalent in the minds of fans that are either blissfully ignorant of the academy's exploits or those that simply don't care.
What most Chelsea fans won't have missed is the steady flow of news claiming we have signed another youngster from foreign shores. While the latest linked name Lucas Piazon might never be able to qualify as an homegrown player due to FIFA restrictions, many of the other acquisitions will quite easily be classified as Homegrown players. Under the Homegrown players rule, a player is classified as such if he has spent over 3 years in a English/Welsh FA registered club before his 21st birthday. While the purpose of the rule is worthy of a debate of its own, the idea in this article is to look at the trend and see how young foreign imports (i will call them Home raised players for the purpose of this article) have developed against Homegrown players (players acquired locally or nationally).
A quick look at the current academy graduates playing in the Premier League as established stars may shed some light on the situation. From memory names that comes to mind are;
John Terry
Robert Huth
Carlton Cole
Two of the above were acquired locally while 1 was recruited internationally. A good start for arguing the case that local Homegrown players might be more beneficial than internationally home raised players especially with the contribution of John Terry to our recent success in the Premier League. But its not that simple as anyone that has been captivated by Barcelona in recent years will know that the gem that is Messi was acquired from foreign shores into their academy. That fact in itself must be one of the incentives that has clubs scouting all over the world looking for their own gem.
Our aggressive search started in the Roman Abramovich era and our first look back is at the academy intake of the 2005 -2006 season. The list below as kindly provided by JUNI (www.twitter.com/chelseayouth) comprises of the player intakes that year.
Scott Sinclair
Ryan Bertrand
Ricardo Fernandes
Fabio Ferreira
Sam Hutchinson
Liam Bridcutt
Shaun Cummings
Jack Cork
Hamzi Ismail
Tomi Saarelma
Harry Worley
Of the 11 intakes that year, 8 were Homegrown while 3 were potentially home raised players. A quick look at the clubs the players are currently playing at shows that the homegrown players were the most successful from this bunch.
All the 3 players acquired from foreign shores from the intake seems to have faded into the football wilderness. That said they are still relatively young and can still go on to have decent careers.
They can however consider themselves lucky unlike 2 of the local lads from this bunch of intakes who seemingly have no future as professional footballers. Hamzi Ismail the versatile Somalian youth player that came up through the ranks seems to have disappeared while Sam Hutchison's injuries forced him into retirement just as the door of opportunity of joining the 1st team seemed to be opening for him.
Of the 6 remaining Homegrown players from this batch, 2 are still at the club with a very good chance of making the breakthrough to the 1st team if given the chance. Scott Sinclair might still make Chelsea regret the decision to let him move on after lighting up the Championship this year. The other 3 HG players have moved on and seemingly found their levels at lower divisions were they can play sizable parts in thier teams fortunes. All in all Homegrown players seemed to have been the more successful from this group. But how much of that is down to the low numbers of foreign recruits or is it all down to the quality of the local lads? A look at the consequetive yearly intakes might shed more light on things.
The next group of intakes consisted of the players below.
Michael Woods
Tom Taiwo
Nana Ofori
Miroslav Stoch
Lee Sawyer
Sergio Tejera
Ben Sahar
Rhys Taylor
That year's intake was at a 5:3 ratio of Homegrown players to international recruits.
In terms of success, the stand out is Miroslav Stoch who is now a fully fledged Slovak international. The homegrown players from this bunch have not fared better than the international recruits as yet. Tom Taiwo, Nana Ofori and Lee Sawyer are now plying their trades at lower leagues in the english league. The other two in Michael Woods and Rhys Taylor are still at the club but their chances of breaking through are looking increasingly slim. The foreign lads from this bunch have arguably fared better but there is still time on all the mentioned players sides. All the 3 foreign players have mooved on and seemingly found places where they fit in. Stoch is a fully fledged 1st team player at Fenerbache, Ben Sahar has seemingly retraced his steps and found a steady footing on loan at Hapoel tel Aviv while Sergio Tejera is slowly climbing the progressive ladder at Mallorca after initially settling in their B team.
The 2006/2007 intake was low and more importantly there seemingly were too few academy graduates in that list. So it is not suprising that the next intake was larger with more academy graduates in the midst of mixed bunch.
Jacob Mellis
Daniel Philliskirk
Nikki Ahamed
Billy Joe King
Adam Phillip
Jack Saville
Jordan Tabor
Ben Gordon
Jordan Hibbert
Fabio Borini
Gael Kakuta
Niclas Heimann
Jan Sebek
The players above were academy intakes of the 2007/2008 season. Of that list of 13, 6were academy graduates having being with the club at younger age groups. 3 were homegrown players acquired from other english clubs while the other 4 were internationaly recruited. At this point, it is pivotal that any mention of success or the lack of it is mentioned and taken with a pinch of salt as the players from this group are still 19/20 years old. An age at which success or the lack of it cant be categorically judged. However a quick recap might help see where the players are at on their developmental and career ladder. Of the 6 academy graduates, only 1 remains at the club in Adam Phillip. Jack Saville is now on loan at Stockport via Southampton while the others have not fared any better they are either without any meaningful clubs or at the lower echolons of the lower leagues.
The 3 Homegrown players acquired from other english clubs are all still registered with the club but are all out on loan. Of the 4 foreign lads, 1 has left the club in Niclas Heimann. The other goalkeeper from that list Jan Sebek is on the fringes of the first team and might still have any opportunity to stake his claim. Gael Kakuta needs no re introduction and is very close to adding to the meaningful 1st team minutes he garnered this season. While Fabio Borini's impending departure from the club is not a fair reflection of the talent he has. The foreign recruits seem to have fared slightly better from this group especially in Fabio Borini and Gael Kakuta but the 3 homegrown lads are still in with a slight chance of becoming 1st team players in future years.
The next seasons intake saw
Frank Nouble
Tom Hayden
Jeffrey Bruma
Vicenzo Camilleri
Conor Clifford
Jacopo Sala
Kaby
Marko Mitrovic
Aldi Haxhia
Sam Walker
Of this intake of 10, 6 were acquired from foreign shores making it the intake with the highest ratio of foreign scholars. It will be unfair to judge the success or lack of it of the players above due to their ages. however its worth noting that of the 4 local players, 3 are no longer with the club with Nouble turning down the proffessional contract on offer to him and Hayden choosing to quit football to concentrate on full time education. Aldi Haxhia was released after not making the grade. Sam Walker the other local goalkeeper from this group was acquired from neighbours Millwall and is currently gaining valuable playing time at Barnet. Of the 6 foreign lads, Camilleri is the only one that is not with the club anymore. Jeffrey Bruma and Conor Clifford are out on loan while Jacopo Sala and Kaby are now reserve regulars. Mitrovic has just recovered from a long term injury. All seems to be progressing well with a chance of making the grade here if opportunities are given and taken.
The last 2 season's intakes will not be detailed in this article has it is too early in the players careers. But the 2009/2010 season saw a scholar intake of 12 with 10 being not only locally/nationally acquired player but all having graduated through the academy after spending time at younger age groups at the club. The only 2 foreign players that year were Lalkovic who had already being at the club for over 3 years by then and Prosenik.
The 2010/2011 intake was 8 with 2 foreign representations in Tomas Kalas and Amin Affane. Again the 6 local lads as with the 2009/2010 intake were academy graduates and had all being at the clubs at younger age groups. The two year contrasted the early intakes where some of the local/national lads where acquired from other english clubs.
This and many other trends can be intepretted from the yearly intakes but one thing remains a constant and that is the desire of the club to produce the best possible talents and in many peoples eyes, there is no wrong or right way of doing so as long as the results are there for all to see.
What most Chelsea fans won't have missed is the steady flow of news claiming we have signed another youngster from foreign shores. While the latest linked name Lucas Piazon might never be able to qualify as an homegrown player due to FIFA restrictions, many of the other acquisitions will quite easily be classified as Homegrown players. Under the Homegrown players rule, a player is classified as such if he has spent over 3 years in a English/Welsh FA registered club before his 21st birthday. While the purpose of the rule is worthy of a debate of its own, the idea in this article is to look at the trend and see how young foreign imports (i will call them Home raised players for the purpose of this article) have developed against Homegrown players (players acquired locally or nationally).
A quick look at the current academy graduates playing in the Premier League as established stars may shed some light on the situation. From memory names that comes to mind are;
John Terry
Robert Huth
Carlton Cole
Two of the above were acquired locally while 1 was recruited internationally. A good start for arguing the case that local Homegrown players might be more beneficial than internationally home raised players especially with the contribution of John Terry to our recent success in the Premier League. But its not that simple as anyone that has been captivated by Barcelona in recent years will know that the gem that is Messi was acquired from foreign shores into their academy. That fact in itself must be one of the incentives that has clubs scouting all over the world looking for their own gem.
Our aggressive search started in the Roman Abramovich era and our first look back is at the academy intake of the 2005 -2006 season. The list below as kindly provided by JUNI (www.twitter.com/chelseayouth) comprises of the player intakes that year.
Scott Sinclair
Ryan Bertrand
Ricardo Fernandes
Fabio Ferreira
Sam Hutchinson
Liam Bridcutt
Shaun Cummings
Jack Cork
Hamzi Ismail
Tomi Saarelma
Harry Worley
Of the 11 intakes that year, 8 were Homegrown while 3 were potentially home raised players. A quick look at the clubs the players are currently playing at shows that the homegrown players were the most successful from this bunch.
All the 3 players acquired from foreign shores from the intake seems to have faded into the football wilderness. That said they are still relatively young and can still go on to have decent careers.
They can however consider themselves lucky unlike 2 of the local lads from this bunch of intakes who seemingly have no future as professional footballers. Hamzi Ismail the versatile Somalian youth player that came up through the ranks seems to have disappeared while Sam Hutchison's injuries forced him into retirement just as the door of opportunity of joining the 1st team seemed to be opening for him.
Of the 6 remaining Homegrown players from this batch, 2 are still at the club with a very good chance of making the breakthrough to the 1st team if given the chance. Scott Sinclair might still make Chelsea regret the decision to let him move on after lighting up the Championship this year. The other 3 HG players have moved on and seemingly found their levels at lower divisions were they can play sizable parts in thier teams fortunes. All in all Homegrown players seemed to have been the more successful from this group. But how much of that is down to the low numbers of foreign recruits or is it all down to the quality of the local lads? A look at the consequetive yearly intakes might shed more light on things.
The next group of intakes consisted of the players below.
Michael Woods
Tom Taiwo
Nana Ofori
Miroslav Stoch
Lee Sawyer
Sergio Tejera
Ben Sahar
Rhys Taylor
That year's intake was at a 5:3 ratio of Homegrown players to international recruits.
In terms of success, the stand out is Miroslav Stoch who is now a fully fledged Slovak international. The homegrown players from this bunch have not fared better than the international recruits as yet. Tom Taiwo, Nana Ofori and Lee Sawyer are now plying their trades at lower leagues in the english league. The other two in Michael Woods and Rhys Taylor are still at the club but their chances of breaking through are looking increasingly slim. The foreign lads from this bunch have arguably fared better but there is still time on all the mentioned players sides. All the 3 foreign players have mooved on and seemingly found places where they fit in. Stoch is a fully fledged 1st team player at Fenerbache, Ben Sahar has seemingly retraced his steps and found a steady footing on loan at Hapoel tel Aviv while Sergio Tejera is slowly climbing the progressive ladder at Mallorca after initially settling in their B team.
The 2006/2007 intake was low and more importantly there seemingly were too few academy graduates in that list. So it is not suprising that the next intake was larger with more academy graduates in the midst of mixed bunch.
Jacob Mellis
Daniel Philliskirk
Nikki Ahamed
Billy Joe King
Adam Phillip
Jack Saville
Jordan Tabor
Ben Gordon
Jordan Hibbert
Fabio Borini
Gael Kakuta
Niclas Heimann
Jan Sebek
The players above were academy intakes of the 2007/2008 season. Of that list of 13, 6were academy graduates having being with the club at younger age groups. 3 were homegrown players acquired from other english clubs while the other 4 were internationaly recruited. At this point, it is pivotal that any mention of success or the lack of it is mentioned and taken with a pinch of salt as the players from this group are still 19/20 years old. An age at which success or the lack of it cant be categorically judged. However a quick recap might help see where the players are at on their developmental and career ladder. Of the 6 academy graduates, only 1 remains at the club in Adam Phillip. Jack Saville is now on loan at Stockport via Southampton while the others have not fared any better they are either without any meaningful clubs or at the lower echolons of the lower leagues.
The 3 Homegrown players acquired from other english clubs are all still registered with the club but are all out on loan. Of the 4 foreign lads, 1 has left the club in Niclas Heimann. The other goalkeeper from that list Jan Sebek is on the fringes of the first team and might still have any opportunity to stake his claim. Gael Kakuta needs no re introduction and is very close to adding to the meaningful 1st team minutes he garnered this season. While Fabio Borini's impending departure from the club is not a fair reflection of the talent he has. The foreign recruits seem to have fared slightly better from this group especially in Fabio Borini and Gael Kakuta but the 3 homegrown lads are still in with a slight chance of becoming 1st team players in future years.
The next seasons intake saw
Frank Nouble
Tom Hayden
Jeffrey Bruma
Vicenzo Camilleri
Conor Clifford
Jacopo Sala
Kaby
Marko Mitrovic
Aldi Haxhia
Sam Walker
Of this intake of 10, 6 were acquired from foreign shores making it the intake with the highest ratio of foreign scholars. It will be unfair to judge the success or lack of it of the players above due to their ages. however its worth noting that of the 4 local players, 3 are no longer with the club with Nouble turning down the proffessional contract on offer to him and Hayden choosing to quit football to concentrate on full time education. Aldi Haxhia was released after not making the grade. Sam Walker the other local goalkeeper from this group was acquired from neighbours Millwall and is currently gaining valuable playing time at Barnet. Of the 6 foreign lads, Camilleri is the only one that is not with the club anymore. Jeffrey Bruma and Conor Clifford are out on loan while Jacopo Sala and Kaby are now reserve regulars. Mitrovic has just recovered from a long term injury. All seems to be progressing well with a chance of making the grade here if opportunities are given and taken.
The last 2 season's intakes will not be detailed in this article has it is too early in the players careers. But the 2009/2010 season saw a scholar intake of 12 with 10 being not only locally/nationally acquired player but all having graduated through the academy after spending time at younger age groups at the club. The only 2 foreign players that year were Lalkovic who had already being at the club for over 3 years by then and Prosenik.
The 2010/2011 intake was 8 with 2 foreign representations in Tomas Kalas and Amin Affane. Again the 6 local lads as with the 2009/2010 intake were academy graduates and had all being at the clubs at younger age groups. The two year contrasted the early intakes where some of the local/national lads where acquired from other english clubs.
This and many other trends can be intepretted from the yearly intakes but one thing remains a constant and that is the desire of the club to produce the best possible talents and in many peoples eyes, there is no wrong or right way of doing so as long as the results are there for all to see.
Thursday 27 January 2011
Lalkovic's Slovakia - more youth talents to offer?
A couple of weeks ago, i was in a small town in Slovakia called Trnava. On my way back to the airport, i couldn't help but notice a small stadium that looked disused yet filled with character. I later found out that the stadium in question is the Štadión Antona Malatinského, the home stadium of the local team FC Trnava.
That brief encounter wasnt however significant even in the immediate aftermath of a young blue slovak's match winning goal in the FA Youth Cup a week or so later. However reflections after the game got me thinking that Slovakia has done well so far in producing a decent amount of young talented footballers in recent years.
That brief encounter wasnt however significant even in the immediate aftermath of a young blue slovak's match winning goal in the FA Youth Cup a week or so later. However reflections after the game got me thinking that Slovakia has done well so far in producing a decent amount of young talented footballers in recent years.
Even though the likes of Marek Hamsik, Martin Srktel and Juraj Kucka are no longer describable as fledglings, a younger batch exists in the likes of Vladimir Weiss, former blue Miroslav Stoch and Jakub Sylvestr.
Milan Lalkovic belongs to an even younger batch and we look at a few of them below.
Tomáš Mikinič (d.o.b - 22 November 1992)
Milan Lalkovic belongs to an even younger batch and we look at a few of them below.
Tomáš Mikinič (d.o.b - 22 November 1992)
It is only right that i start with Tomas who plays at the aforementioned stadium for FC Spartak Trnava. A talented midfielder who can also play on the wings. At the 18, he is the youngest squad member in the FC Spartak Trnava team and he has appeared 6 times for the 1st team. He wears the NUMBER 10 shirt at his club, an accolade in itself for someone so young and he is a part of the Slovakia U19 squad. His only goal to date was in an U19 match against Malta.Michal Škvarka (born 19 August 1992)
An attacking midfielder that plays for MSK Zilina who were in our champions league group. He made his debut for the club while he was only 16 and was a regular u17 international for Slovakia. He has now made 7 appearances for his club and is also under 19 captain for Slovakia.Michal Vilkovsky - (born 13 August 1993)
Michal is a forward that currently plays for FK Senica after moving from MFK Ruzomberok. He was highlighted as a talented youngster after scoring freely for Ruzombeberok's youth team. 18 goals out of 25 games to be precise got the attention of FK Senica. Michal's part of the u19 team and has scored a goal in the latest European championship qualifiers.
Jakub Vojtus - (born 22 October 1993)
Jakub is a striker currently on the books of F.C Internazionale in the serie A after they signed him up as a 16 year old from MSK Zilina. Chelsea were also interested in Jakub who is regarded as one of the best players in his age group. He is now on a six months loan to Chievo who he as already debuted for.
Miloslav Breda - (born - 19/01/1994)
Breda is a highly rated 16 year old goalkeeper that currently plays for MFK Michalovce. He is attracting the interest of overseas club and is also the no 1 goalkeeper for the Slovakia under 17 national team.
Friday 31 December 2010
FA Youth Cup 2010 winners!!! As good as youth can get? (A case for the current crop)
Firstly i will like to wish all the readers a happy New year!
2010 has been a great year for the Chelsea youth academy and a quick look back will easily remind most followers of the achievements of the expiring year. The apex of course being the winning of the FA Youth Cup in front of the Stamford bridge faithful on a glorious night in May.
Watching the highlights again tonight courtesy of a @chelseayouth twit, some questions pop into my mind.
When will we win the cup again?
Will we ever have such a balanced and talented youth squad again?
A closer look at the team sheet for the final shows that 8 of the 16 man team list for the game are eligible for the cup this year and if history repeating itself is also something to go by, the omen suggests that the cup will be coming back to the bridge. Prior to last years triumph, the cup was won in 1960 and successfully defended in 1961. The notion of history playing a part will be largely based on imagination unrestricted by reality. The reality is that the fixture already points at two difficult games in the early stages of the competition.
A factor that does have bearing on things is the quality of the 8 players left from that match day squad and how they fit in with the rest of the under 18 squad. Notable amongst the 8 is of course Josh McEachran but one will suspect that his inclusion in the cup squad is not guaranteed due to his regular involvement with an unready depleted first team. A look at the other seven players eligible from the previous match day squad is not disappointing. Billy Clifford was an integral part of the cup winning squad, Ben Sampayo now captain of the under 18s was only kept out of the squad by the aforementioned Clifford and able to join them are the experienced Rohan Ince, George Saville, Anton Rodgers, Aziz Deen Conteh and Milan Lalkovic.
A strong looking team begins to take shape and the fact that Daniel Mills Pappoe who was injured and missed the final last year is available for selection further reinforces that. European u17 winner Nathaniel Chalobah is also available as is the progressing Jamal Blackman and in form Todd Kane.
While this team looks potential good on paper, the balance is not quite the same as the squad last year and the most apparent area short of options is the striker's. With Prosenik injured, Lalkovic and Bobby Devyne are possible options but both have played most of their youth games on the wings as the flanking wingers of a 3 man attack and they don't possess the physical attributes that Marko Mitrovic put to such good use in the competition last year.
What the current squad lack in balance might however be made up for in versatility. While its not uncommon in youth football for players to be tried in a variety of positions, many of the players from the squad can play a variety of positions very well. Todd Kane is good at right back while also proving to be just as good if not better as a centre midfielder. Billy Clifford can play both positions as well but his energy and pace up and down the right flank in last year's competition was a joy to watch. Nathaniel Chalobah is a youth international centre back but he is equally adept at anchoring the midfield. Aziz deen Conteh is a quality left back in his age group but he was excellent when called upon to play as a centre back in the competition last year, his ability to attack also means he can play as a winger if needs be. Lalkovic's goal scoring ratio when he has played as a striker is not too bad and he seems to have the ability to get goals when he plays as a striker.
The decisions of who plays and where will be down to Dermot Drummy and might ultimately determine how far the team get. What is clear from a look at the squad on paper is that it will not be a case of a historical fluke should the boys retain the cup this year.
Stay tuned for the next installment; A case for the under 16s
Please follow @ www.twitter.com/chelccfc
For more Chelsea youth and academy news also follow www.twitter.com/chelseayouth
2010 has been a great year for the Chelsea youth academy and a quick look back will easily remind most followers of the achievements of the expiring year. The apex of course being the winning of the FA Youth Cup in front of the Stamford bridge faithful on a glorious night in May.
Watching the highlights again tonight courtesy of a @chelseayouth twit, some questions pop into my mind.
When will we win the cup again?
Will we ever have such a balanced and talented youth squad again?
A closer look at the team sheet for the final shows that 8 of the 16 man team list for the game are eligible for the cup this year and if history repeating itself is also something to go by, the omen suggests that the cup will be coming back to the bridge. Prior to last years triumph, the cup was won in 1960 and successfully defended in 1961. The notion of history playing a part will be largely based on imagination unrestricted by reality. The reality is that the fixture already points at two difficult games in the early stages of the competition.
A factor that does have bearing on things is the quality of the 8 players left from that match day squad and how they fit in with the rest of the under 18 squad. Notable amongst the 8 is of course Josh McEachran but one will suspect that his inclusion in the cup squad is not guaranteed due to his regular involvement with an unready depleted first team. A look at the other seven players eligible from the previous match day squad is not disappointing. Billy Clifford was an integral part of the cup winning squad, Ben Sampayo now captain of the under 18s was only kept out of the squad by the aforementioned Clifford and able to join them are the experienced Rohan Ince, George Saville, Anton Rodgers, Aziz Deen Conteh and Milan Lalkovic.
A strong looking team begins to take shape and the fact that Daniel Mills Pappoe who was injured and missed the final last year is available for selection further reinforces that. European u17 winner Nathaniel Chalobah is also available as is the progressing Jamal Blackman and in form Todd Kane.
While this team looks potential good on paper, the balance is not quite the same as the squad last year and the most apparent area short of options is the striker's. With Prosenik injured, Lalkovic and Bobby Devyne are possible options but both have played most of their youth games on the wings as the flanking wingers of a 3 man attack and they don't possess the physical attributes that Marko Mitrovic put to such good use in the competition last year.
What the current squad lack in balance might however be made up for in versatility. While its not uncommon in youth football for players to be tried in a variety of positions, many of the players from the squad can play a variety of positions very well. Todd Kane is good at right back while also proving to be just as good if not better as a centre midfielder. Billy Clifford can play both positions as well but his energy and pace up and down the right flank in last year's competition was a joy to watch. Nathaniel Chalobah is a youth international centre back but he is equally adept at anchoring the midfield. Aziz deen Conteh is a quality left back in his age group but he was excellent when called upon to play as a centre back in the competition last year, his ability to attack also means he can play as a winger if needs be. Lalkovic's goal scoring ratio when he has played as a striker is not too bad and he seems to have the ability to get goals when he plays as a striker.
The decisions of who plays and where will be down to Dermot Drummy and might ultimately determine how far the team get. What is clear from a look at the squad on paper is that it will not be a case of a historical fluke should the boys retain the cup this year.
Stay tuned for the next installment; A case for the under 16s
Please follow @ www.twitter.com/chelccfc
For more Chelsea youth and academy news also follow www.twitter.com/chelseayouth
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Bottlenecking and Leapfrogging
Bottlenecking! is that even a real word? not as far as the dictionary is concerned. However, the word firstly spotted in the Cfcnet forum simply refers to the situation where the youth production line might encounter a clogging up of players trying to get through to the first team.
Knowing that there is a potential for this, is it then possible for the academy management to try to avoid this scenario or better yet create it? That is the million dollar question which might not get a direct answer from Frank Arsenen or Neil Bath.
It will be naive to assume that any club will turn their noses up at the possibility of having quality young players lining up to get through to the first team. However a look at our current academy players especially at under 18s level seems to interestingly reflect that might be the case.
This conclusion might admittedly be far-fetched and opinionated but results and individual player performances at U 18s level this year has been generally disappointing. Most eagle eyed observers would have noticed that our transfer activities in the youth sector this season has been minimal. Amin Affane and Mesca seemed to be the only new players that linked up with the under 18s this year.
However on reflection, it would be unfair to totally write off the efforts of the club. A lack of a physical target man upfront since the injury to Phillip Prosenik has left the team shy of goals. Another interesting factor is that the club can name the team below for any under 18 league fixture should they wish to.
Players left over from that golden group who have not progressed early to reserve level like Todd Kane, Archange Nkumu, Reece Loudon and George Saville are now regulars at under 18s level and still have time on their hands to make an impact but the jury is still out on whether they have what it takes to get past reserve level. They however have done better than some of the other players from the same age group that didnt survive the cull. Players like George Bowerman, Greg Butler, Alex Lozowski, Unpha Koroma, Sadik Kamara, Harry Isham and Adam Gemill were all part of the same group at a point in time over the years. Most if not all have now moved on from the club and are scattered over the country at different levels.
Knowing that there is a potential for this, is it then possible for the academy management to try to avoid this scenario or better yet create it? That is the million dollar question which might not get a direct answer from Frank Arsenen or Neil Bath.
It will be naive to assume that any club will turn their noses up at the possibility of having quality young players lining up to get through to the first team. However a look at our current academy players especially at under 18s level seems to interestingly reflect that might be the case.
This conclusion might admittedly be far-fetched and opinionated but results and individual player performances at U 18s level this year has been generally disappointing. Most eagle eyed observers would have noticed that our transfer activities in the youth sector this season has been minimal. Amin Affane and Mesca seemed to be the only new players that linked up with the under 18s this year.
However on reflection, it would be unfair to totally write off the efforts of the club. A lack of a physical target man upfront since the injury to Phillip Prosenik has left the team shy of goals. Another interesting factor is that the club can name the team below for any under 18 league fixture should they wish to.
The players named above are all still under 18 years old apart from Ben Sampayo who turned 18 last month and they are all still eligible for under 18s league games. However most of the players above are more likely to be playing reserve level football this season due to either their talent level or the fact that they have become veterans at under 18 level.
Instead of the team above, the regular lineup for recent under 18s games seems to be a combination of players left over from the 92-93 born age group and some younger schoolboys. The 92/93 age group have always been viewed by the club as one of the most talented groups to have come through in recent years and that view can easily be backed up with the fact that 6 players from that group have already moved on to the reserve squad while the group has also produced a first teamer in Josh McEachran.
Players left over from that golden group who have not progressed early to reserve level like Todd Kane, Archange Nkumu, Reece Loudon and George Saville are now regulars at under 18s level and still have time on their hands to make an impact but the jury is still out on whether they have what it takes to get past reserve level. They however have done better than some of the other players from the same age group that didnt survive the cull. Players like George Bowerman, Greg Butler, Alex Lozowski, Unpha Koroma, Sadik Kamara, Harry Isham and Adam Gemill were all part of the same group at a point in time over the years. Most if not all have now moved on from the club and are scattered over the country at different levels.
Knowing that the rapid progression of some of the 92/93 players has left a weakened under 18s squad did not prompt the club into replenishing the squad with fresh buys. The reason for this is difficult to pin point but one theory is that the club might be cost cutting in the continuing effort to break even or with a view that the policy of trying to get the best talents from abroad is not yielding sufficient dividends. The suggestions that we were actively trying to acquire the likes of Bruma (mesca's brother) and Kyle Ebiecilo over the summer suggests that the problem might not be financial but that we are being more shrewd with the way we spend our money.
A far more posibble theory is the clubs belief and confidence in what we already have at our disposal. As already highlighted the 92/93 were always a highly rated bunch and that belief is already being backed up by the progress and potential of some of the players from that age group. Also while it is easy to argue that recent results suggest a very weak under 18s squad, a closer look an individual position might soften that arguement. Sampayo for example is the regular RB at under 18s level, Billy Clifford is ahead of him and the fact that Todd Kane is another accomplished Rb at that level leaves 3 possible candidate for that position on any under 18 match day. Reece Loudon has Aziz Deen Conteh ahead of him at Lb while Nkumu still has the likes of Ince and Pappoe in his way. A possible perspective could be that getting in extra players in the positions mentioned above will simply lead to the clogging up of players or that it might demoralise the players in the name of healthy competition.
A look at the striker's and goalkeeper's positions does not spring up an embarrassment of riches however and the club has had to call up players from the under 16s age group for those positions amongst others.
While the unprecedented high number of under 16 players that have already played under 18s football this season backs up the earlier argument of a weak under 18s squad, it can't be dismissed that the club might rate the current under 16s squad as highly as the 92/93 group and might even believe that any shortcomings of the 92/93 age group could be bridged by them. The current under 16s squad have already achieved one thing over the 92/93 squad by winning the milk cup earlier this year and with 5 call ups for the England u16s already their talent is already recognised beyond Cobham.
The progress of Chalobah is testimony that the club will be happy to see any younger player with enough ability leapfrog their older counterparts. And on that note, the under 16s will be aware of the younger age groups below them especially another highly rated group in the under 13s. The under 13s have steam rolled other teams this year with great aplomb having already won 3 international youth tournament (Bierbeek, Willem II and Kusadasi) before the start of the season. The team boast and undefeated record this season and currently consist of highly rated youngsters like Ruben Sammut, Jeremie Boga, Isaac Christie Davies, Jake Clarke-Salter, Kyle Scott, Domino Solanke and Nais Mfuta.
It will be interesting to see where they are in 3 years time as the team picture of the 92/93 year in an international tournament back in 2007 might give us an idea if the current trend continues.
1. Harry Isham
2. James Ashton
1. Harry Isham
2. James Ashton
3. Ben Sampayo
4. Danny Mills
5. George Saville
6. Rohan Ince
7. Billy Clifford
8. Archangel Nkumu
9. Billy Knott
10. Joshua McEachran
11. Reece Loudon
12. Alex Lozowski
14. Callum Wright
15. Todd Kane
16. Daniel Coveley
17. Adam Gemili
4. Danny Mills
5. George Saville
6. Rohan Ince
7. Billy Clifford
8. Archangel Nkumu
9. Billy Knott
10. Joshua McEachran
11. Reece Loudon
12. Alex Lozowski
14. Callum Wright
15. Todd Kane
16. Daniel Coveley
17. Adam Gemili
Tuesday 12 October 2010
Digging For Gold - part 2
In the first part of the Digging for Gold article we looked at our scouting network activities abroad. The part looks more at the local network and activities.
Sometimes what you are looking for is right under your nose and with this in mind, it would have been criminal for Chelsea as a club not to look around the immediate local and national areas for the type of talent that will continue to take an upward curve like gold prices in terms of potential and ability.
Despite the misfortune of the National Team at the last world cup, it's a strongly arguable case that England is amongst the biggest footballing nations in the world whilst not being the only nation to be under achieving in international competitions. It is only a matter of time before football comes home and Chelsea can be best pleased with their individual efforts.
In recent years the number of the club's youth internationals have increased steadily with Chelsea reportedly having the highest number of representations from u21 down to the younger age groups. While Sturridge's inclusion can be easily discounted due to the age he joined the club at, the inclusion of Mancienne and Jark Cork easily negates any negative argument that Chelsea are not playing a vital role in returning England to its rightful place on top of World Football.
At under 16 level, the highly rated John Swift, Jordan Houghton and Pacey striker Reece Mitchell are the clubs representatives. Nathaniel Chalobah represents at u17 with over a score of caps while still eligible to player for the under 16's. With the England under 18s team back in action in November,it would be interesting to see if Chalobah or any other Chelsea players are called up. Josh McEachran and Aziz Deen Conteh have replaced Jacob Mellis is the under 19 squad.
While Chelsea's ultimate ambition will not be to win England the world cup, emulating the famed academy of Barcelona in producing world class players capable of winning tournaments for club and country will be high on the agenda.
Despite Lionel Messi being the most famed latest super talent to come out of the Nou Camp in recent years, many clubs will look on with envy at the quality of players Barcelona has produced without having to continually raid South America for more youngsters like Messi.
Puyol, Xavi, Busquets and Fabregas are all products of the Barcelona academy that were born and raised in Cataluna, the region of Spain which Barcelona is the capital of.
Considering that London's population as recorded in 2007 is similar to Catuluna's as recorded in 2010, it goes without saying that there is a distinct possibility of replicating the success that Barcelona has had over here. It can even be argued that Chelsea have a better pot to pick from given the diversity of the Population in London.
Our Local scouts will have their work cut out now though as it was reported a while back that the club no longer recruit young players through generated interests from player agents and parents. The club has decided to change tack to making the initial contact with players they have been impressed with. Despite open trials day yielding decent academy prospects like Adam Phillip and Bobby Devyne, the club has decided to do away wit it instead opting for C.Vs to be sent in after which the club can decide to scout the players.
It is sometimes difficult for an academy to claim they produced a player if he is joining them at an age over 16/17. But its undoubted that while Chelsea tend to scout players around that age into the academy teams, they also have a focus on bringing in younger players between the ages of 8 - 15. When these younger players are acquired, its normally a hush affair with the publicising of the signings of Jeremie Boga and Micheal Gyasi exceptions triggered by the selling clubs. While Lewis Baker joining us as a 9 year old in 2005 was well publicised, there is no doubt that he is now a Chelsea academy product. Gyasi and Baker joined Chelsea from clubs in the professional league,however the sources of our other local youth recruits have varied.
Jonathan Muleba like many of the players in the younger age group seemed to have joined the club after starring for their local clubs, schools and districts in junior football competitions. Muleba was signed after a trial despite also having trialled for Arsenal. Adam Nditi joined after a 12 week trial having impressed in an under 13 league with his local team Down Grange. Ambrose Gnahore signed on after also representing his school in the Bromley & District Cup and neighbouring winger Fankaty Dabo from Thornton Heath has also signed up to the academy. Reece Mitchell featured for Brent's school boys via Copland Community College and Jonas Kebonga of the same school is scheduled to join the club next year.
The local scouting network are not ignoring grassroots level and there seems to be substantial evidence that Chelsea recruit youngsters from smaller local youth teams. Ben Killip (u14) was signed from Spartans Youth Fc who also had Daryl Sanders and Jack and Harry Taylor training with our academy teams in 2008. Highly rated young Asian goalkeeper Nikhil Rawal joined our academy while also featuring for his local youth team Hsm Youth FC and trialling for Arsenal back in 2005.
While many of the mentioned players above hail from in and around the London area, the academy have taken full advantage of their catchment area in terms of the travelling time that an academy player is afforded. Josh McEachran was scouted playing in the Oxford Mail Boys league for Garden City Fc. Isaac Christie Smith who represented Brighton Boys under 11s in the national school finals while attending Balfour Junior school in Brighton is now part of the successful Chelsea under 13s team. Both players seemed to have been scouted at locations that are just about inside the travelling time distance from the club under Premier League rules.
If reports are to be believed, players are not only recruited from the lower echelons of youth football as in the case of Ruben Sammut (u13s) who was reportedly signed by the club after spending 2 years at Arsenal's academy. His capture was not the first time we signed an academy prospect from a neighbouring London club though. Before Raheem Sterling's name became the one on every one's lips at QPR, Oliver Sprague was an academy player at QPR that was highly rated before we signed him as an 11 year old. We also acquired Billy Knott in a part exchange deal from West Ham. One thing they both have in common though is that they are no longer with the club and their status in youth football seem to have diminished slightly. And it is on that sombre note that it is worth remembering that none of the players named above are guaranteed to make it through to the first team.
Sometimes what you are looking for is right under your nose and with this in mind, it would have been criminal for Chelsea as a club not to look around the immediate local and national areas for the type of talent that will continue to take an upward curve like gold prices in terms of potential and ability.
Despite the misfortune of the National Team at the last world cup, it's a strongly arguable case that England is amongst the biggest footballing nations in the world whilst not being the only nation to be under achieving in international competitions. It is only a matter of time before football comes home and Chelsea can be best pleased with their individual efforts.
In recent years the number of the club's youth internationals have increased steadily with Chelsea reportedly having the highest number of representations from u21 down to the younger age groups. While Sturridge's inclusion can be easily discounted due to the age he joined the club at, the inclusion of Mancienne and Jark Cork easily negates any negative argument that Chelsea are not playing a vital role in returning England to its rightful place on top of World Football.
At under 16 level, the highly rated John Swift, Jordan Houghton and Pacey striker Reece Mitchell are the clubs representatives. Nathaniel Chalobah represents at u17 with over a score of caps while still eligible to player for the under 16's. With the England under 18s team back in action in November,it would be interesting to see if Chalobah or any other Chelsea players are called up. Josh McEachran and Aziz Deen Conteh have replaced Jacob Mellis is the under 19 squad.
While Chelsea's ultimate ambition will not be to win England the world cup, emulating the famed academy of Barcelona in producing world class players capable of winning tournaments for club and country will be high on the agenda.
Despite Lionel Messi being the most famed latest super talent to come out of the Nou Camp in recent years, many clubs will look on with envy at the quality of players Barcelona has produced without having to continually raid South America for more youngsters like Messi.
Puyol, Xavi, Busquets and Fabregas are all products of the Barcelona academy that were born and raised in Cataluna, the region of Spain which Barcelona is the capital of.
Considering that London's population as recorded in 2007 is similar to Catuluna's as recorded in 2010, it goes without saying that there is a distinct possibility of replicating the success that Barcelona has had over here. It can even be argued that Chelsea have a better pot to pick from given the diversity of the Population in London.
Our Local scouts will have their work cut out now though as it was reported a while back that the club no longer recruit young players through generated interests from player agents and parents. The club has decided to change tack to making the initial contact with players they have been impressed with. Despite open trials day yielding decent academy prospects like Adam Phillip and Bobby Devyne, the club has decided to do away wit it instead opting for C.Vs to be sent in after which the club can decide to scout the players.
It is sometimes difficult for an academy to claim they produced a player if he is joining them at an age over 16/17. But its undoubted that while Chelsea tend to scout players around that age into the academy teams, they also have a focus on bringing in younger players between the ages of 8 - 15. When these younger players are acquired, its normally a hush affair with the publicising of the signings of Jeremie Boga and Micheal Gyasi exceptions triggered by the selling clubs. While Lewis Baker joining us as a 9 year old in 2005 was well publicised, there is no doubt that he is now a Chelsea academy product. Gyasi and Baker joined Chelsea from clubs in the professional league,however the sources of our other local youth recruits have varied.
Jonathan Muleba like many of the players in the younger age group seemed to have joined the club after starring for their local clubs, schools and districts in junior football competitions. Muleba was signed after a trial despite also having trialled for Arsenal. Adam Nditi joined after a 12 week trial having impressed in an under 13 league with his local team Down Grange. Ambrose Gnahore signed on after also representing his school in the Bromley & District Cup and neighbouring winger Fankaty Dabo from Thornton Heath has also signed up to the academy. Reece Mitchell featured for Brent's school boys via Copland Community College and Jonas Kebonga of the same school is scheduled to join the club next year.
The local scouting network are not ignoring grassroots level and there seems to be substantial evidence that Chelsea recruit youngsters from smaller local youth teams. Ben Killip (u14) was signed from Spartans Youth Fc who also had Daryl Sanders and Jack and Harry Taylor training with our academy teams in 2008. Highly rated young Asian goalkeeper Nikhil Rawal joined our academy while also featuring for his local youth team Hsm Youth FC and trialling for Arsenal back in 2005.
While many of the mentioned players above hail from in and around the London area, the academy have taken full advantage of their catchment area in terms of the travelling time that an academy player is afforded. Josh McEachran was scouted playing in the Oxford Mail Boys league for Garden City Fc. Isaac Christie Smith who represented Brighton Boys under 11s in the national school finals while attending Balfour Junior school in Brighton is now part of the successful Chelsea under 13s team. Both players seemed to have been scouted at locations that are just about inside the travelling time distance from the club under Premier League rules.
If reports are to be believed, players are not only recruited from the lower echelons of youth football as in the case of Ruben Sammut (u13s) who was reportedly signed by the club after spending 2 years at Arsenal's academy. His capture was not the first time we signed an academy prospect from a neighbouring London club though. Before Raheem Sterling's name became the one on every one's lips at QPR, Oliver Sprague was an academy player at QPR that was highly rated before we signed him as an 11 year old. We also acquired Billy Knott in a part exchange deal from West Ham. One thing they both have in common though is that they are no longer with the club and their status in youth football seem to have diminished slightly. And it is on that sombre note that it is worth remembering that none of the players named above are guaranteed to make it through to the first team.
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