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

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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.

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

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

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.

Jeremie Boga in action

While working on the digging for gold article, i stumbled across this video of Jeremie Boga in action in an under 12 school competition.

DIGGING FOR GOLD

When Jose Mourinho described John Obi Mikel as Raw Gold, i didn't quite understand the need for Raw. I mean being label as Gold was surely a big enough superlative for a young player but i believe Jose saw a player that he could mould into one of the best regardless of his position.

What Jose also touched on back then was the lacklustre level of our Academy. It was obvious from then on that we needed to stockpile our academy with some more raw gold if our ambitious target of producing our own young players was to be attained.

However, if you wanted Gold you can't just get your pick axe out in the middle of Fulham Broadway. Or could you? So how is our search going? are there any hot spots? and how are our team of gold diggers (i mean scouts) doing.

Lets start with where Mikel initially came from Africa. it would have been worth a pop to go straight back but the sensitive issues of modern day slavery can rear its head if very young African players are being bought by big clubs. Secondly the current transfer rule prohibits the movement of young African players under the age of 18 and if that is not enough, getting a work permit is now a difficult task. Our attempts at getting around work permits failed with the likes of Emmanuel Sarki and Jefffrey Ntuka. So its not surprising that we have not recently recruited any youngsters directly from Africa despite our academy having quite a significant African influence. But if rumours are to be believed, Betrand Traore might be an exemption. The named Betrand is still only (officially anyway) 15 and was the youngest player to ever appear at the u17 world cup at the age of 14.

Its only natural that we will look closer to home initially and a litter of scouts across Europe means we get linked with every talented youth player going.

Lets start at the home country of our former Head of Youth Development, Holland. A potential gold coast with the likes of Gullit & Robben and many more world class players coming from there. Despite the opportunity to continously recruit players from there, the club has been largely selective. Jeffrey Bruma & Patrick Van Aanholt where names quickly recruited from Holland and while nobody has superlatively labeled them as Gold, their potential to be world class is apparent for all to see. They both are now largely regarded as squad members in the first team. Our last foray back to Holland however was not so successful according to reports. There was no surprises when we were rumoured to have gone back to Bruma's initial club Feyenord to try to acquire another youngsters in 16 year old Kyle Ebecilio. Reports that we signed him were premature and he duly joined our footballing neighbours in North London.

Despite no official confirmation, it seems our most active scout/advisor in that area is Piet de Vissier, a man rumoured to be very close to Roman Abramovich. Someone who does have official identification in the scouting ranks from the Netherlands is Hans Gillhaus, now in charge of our international scouting network.

Wandering eyes up north takes us up to Scandinavia and despite our initial failings in the acquisition of players like Morten Neilsen, we have not been totally discouraged. Marko Mitrovic and most recently Amin Affane are the latest imports from Scandinavia and while its still early days in their Chelsea career, Marko has shown enough promise to be consider one of the top strikers in Chelsea's junior ranks.

Morten Nielsen's father Benny was probably our most documented scout in Sweden but little has been heard of him since the younger Nielsen's departure.

While our scouser counterparts up north have gone a bit crazy with the recruitment of European youngsters, we have been a bit more selective. Little is known of our active scouting representation in newly emerging football nations like Serbia and Slovakia but whatever eyes we have on the ground there seem pretty good. The acquisition and subsequent sale of Miroslav Stoch was generally a good reference and Milan Lalkovic (at 17) is now almost a reserve regular. With the Czech Republic only minutes away, the initial monitoring of players like Jan Sebek and the newly acquired Tomas Kalas can be assumed to be down to the same scouting clique.

Serbia has yielded Slobodan Rajkovic and Nemanja Matic both currently gaining valuable experience on loan at Vitesse while Austria has given us Phillip Prosenik who despite an injury ravaged first season has made a prolific start in his second season with us.

A country where our scouting representation has never being short of attention is France with Guy Hillion being the most mentioned and quotable. "If I sign a player in the season, it will not be very good but a phenomena. " were his words when he confirmed that he is now scouting for us.

While it is too early to describe Gael Kakuta as a phenomena, it is obvious that he is gem. Guy Hillion initiated the move of Kakuta to us as confirmed by the player himself.

Hillion has tried to be true to his words and the other young French players that have made the move to us all seem to have the special talent label on them. Jeremie Boga was a name that resurfaced during the Gael Kakuta transfer debacle and when he was initially signed in 2008, the now overplayed labelling of young players 'the new ....' reared its head. The new Zinedine Zidane some reports quoted. The Zidane comparison might have been derived from quotes attributed to Hillion who described him as a perfect Number 10. Still early days for Jeremie to feature in any meaningful age groups, but he has already made his mark at his current level wining the most valuable player award at the Audax tournament in his age group. Another French youngster currently in our academy is Yann Gueho. personally i know little of Gueho, but the quotes below from his former coach at Cretiel points to the possibility of him being another gem.

When asked the question - Which player impressed you the most since you started the club? His answer reference Yann Gueho - Yann GUEHO "El phenomeno" an unpredictable player on all fronts. A character as strong as his talent as a player. With it, you're in the show, a treat, it will seem to you a little paradoxical, but trade with him was a real privilege, simply because it is an extraordinary character.

Italy has always being good to us with our hall of fame having a picture of one or two Italian. Despite the faded early promise of Dalla Bona, we now have Jacopo Sala and Fabio Borini on the fringes of breaking through. Vicenzo Camilleri was another Italian teenager but an inability to settle here meant the union was short lived.

Settling is a major issue in youth football as our Portugese recruit Kaby will testify, a difficult first year has now given way to progress but our first foray into that Portugal was not as reconcilable. Fabio Feriera & Ricardo Fernandes never lived up to their initial promise. However our newer youth recruits from Portugal have been slightly different, Kaby and our latest Portuguese import Boumesca are African born. With Kaby's adopted father our most active scout in the region, and both Kaby and Boumesca being born in the same country as the scout. Two and Two can be put together.

What is largely unmissable in our academy though is a substantial African influence despite our inactivity in that region. Nothing more than a case of geographical location and immigration. Players like Daniel Pappoe, Aziz Deen Conteh, Nathaniel Chalobah and Bobby Devyne were all born in Africa. All now settled in the United Kingdom and within FA regulated travelling distance from the club, their monitoring and scouting can be largely credited to the local scouting network. Not only has the local scouting network helped in the acquisition of these players, their work getting in other players from around the local and national area is largely apparent with good national representations at different age groups.

Josh McEachran might be another piece of raw gold if his first 3 appearances for the first team are something to go by and if he does go on to be a star player in the future, then our local scouts can give themselves a good pat on the back.

Have we found more gold? Well only time will tell!!!