PL2 City v Chelsea - 11th August - ko 1905

Was a home game but regardless of the results (those don't matter in youth football imo it's all about developing and playing well) City played absolutely shocking football and were so lethargic just like the EDS were last season it's a terrible place to develop under Davies.
Is the title Elite Development Squad something of a misnomer nowadays?

It could be argued that in the current structure of the CFG the elite graduates from the U-18s won't actually spend much time being coached in the EDS, they'll either be loaned out fairly quickly to NAC, Girona etc or exceptionally they'll be fast-tracked to train with the first team as per Foden and Diaz. Those remaining at the EDS will mainly be 2nd year scholars or first pro-contract players, the majority of whom will either be loaned or sold to lower division teams or released when their contracts expire. On that basis we would surely now want our best youth coaches to be in place at the levels up to and including U-18, not at the EDS.
 
On that basis we would surely now want our best youth coaches to be in place at the levels up to and including U-18, not at the EDS.

Wtf?

Why wouldn't you want the best coaches at EDS there isn't a single player who went from the U18s on loan they all went to the EDS.

Foden and Muric are the only ones who went from U18 to first and they'll play games in the EDS this season aswell.
 
Wtf?

Why wouldn't you want the best coaches at EDS there isn't a single player who went from the U18s on loan they all went to the EDS.

Foden and Muric are the only ones who went from U18 to first and they'll play games in the EDS this season aswell.
Well it seems to me that since we enlisted these satellite teams such as NAC and Girona the EDS has been somewhat sidelined in terms of its development role with the best of the U-18 graduates.
 
Well it seems to me that since we enlisted these satellite teams such as NAC and Girona the EDS has been somewhat sidelined in terms of its development role with the best of the U-18 graduates.

How is that? All players that went to NAC or Girona came from the EDS to make room in the EDS for the U18s.
 
How is that? All players that went to NAC or Girona came from the EDS to make room in the EDS for the U18s.
You clearly disagree, that's fair enough. It's just my impression that the amount of actual elite development done at EDS level has declined over the past 2-3 years.
 
Hello All, Chelsea fan.

The academy system breaks down at this level. In theory, these sides are the modern equivalent of reserve teams, but in truth they are the reserve reserves at best. At all the leading clubs, the better players of development age are syphoned off into the loan system while the odd gems, like Diaz and Foden, move to the fringes of the first team. The result is that these games are often of lower quality, and therefore of lower value to the players involved, than they might be.

None of us here sit in on recruitment planning meetings at Chelsea's academy, so none of us can know what the MO is. The idea that Chelsea prioritise size over technical ability is popular in these forums but, personally, I don't think it is so. Most of the lads in Chelsea's development sides joined the club aged 8 or younger. Hard to sift for size at that age.

Clubs cast their nets wide and hoover up as many young players of potential as they can. If it were the case that Chelsea select the big lads to progress through the levels, then there would be a number of technically capable, but small, kids being picked up by other clubs after being rejected by Chelsea. I'm not aware of any such player, never mind the whole host of them there would have to be if that was indeed Chelsea's method. There are many attributes which allow footballers to make a contribution at professional level, but suitable technical ability is by far the most reliable of these. Everybody knows this, including Chelsea's academy staff.

I believe that, just like City or any other club, Chelsea retain the best players they can as lads move through the age groups. Just because a player is big (and I don't buy the notion that our young players are all huge, while yours are all tiny) does not mean that he is not also talented. Chelsea's latest FA Youth Cup winners don't include talents at the level of Foden or Diaz, but how many academies in Europe do? Across the whole eleven however, I thought we had the edge on ability. I suppose it is possible that I am seeing things through royal blue tinted glasses but it must be equally likely that a City fan dons light blue shades when assessing City/Chelsea development games.

As for the age of last night's line ups, Chelsea started with two sixteen year olds, four 17 year olds, and the rest were all teenagers too. This was a younger side than would normally be the case but, although there are sometimes exceptions, Premier League 2 football features very young sides right around the clubs.



Chelsea's youth teams are very talented. Very well trained, as good as anybody (including at City) it's no coincidence they fill up most of England's youth teams. And like City, Chelsea play younger teams than most. It's all good. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just wrong,and I apologise if I made it seem like Chelsea's size is the only thing going for them.

It's just Chelsea players are also big. You might not believe it but they are. And it does make a difference at youth level.
 
I agree with you. For me, going on loan on graduating from U18 level is the footballing equivalent of going off to university like so many other 18 year olds around the world do at that stage of their development.
 
How is that? All players that went to NAC or Girona came from the EDS to make room in the EDS for the U18s.
As you point out players went out to make room for U18 players. I havent seen the game or the teams, but I waould hazard a guess the Chelsea team as usual were older and bigger than ours. Happy to be corrected if this wasnt the case.
 

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.