2014-15 EPL, Matchday 11

[Bojan KantKick]

Hindsight is 20/20. Sturridge was nowhere near what he is now when he played for Chelsea.

Funny what happens when you persist with talented raw footballers isn't it. Gareth Bale is another example.

 

[Magma]

except sturridge was lazy, entitled and arrogant. wanted 100k a week at the age of 18 from all reports after our takeover. that's just rubbish. many english players have fallen under this banner at a young age too. they start getting paid a fair bit of money and think they've made it.

and boateng wanted to leave after just 1 season. from memory he also had a fight with someone at the training ground. plus he had injuries and bayern were interested. not much you can do sometimes.

 

[Greendogg5]

yes and no

for us, we had to spend the money to be competitive. that's just how it is in the premier league. you can get away with it in spain and germany, but after a couple of seasons, the big teams will come, just like we've seen with dortmund, and to a lesser extent atletico. now that we have the base to at least be competitive in the premier league, i will expect us to try and implement more youngsters in the coming years. well i hope to at least. i can't see us spending 100+ mil or whatever it was on new youth facilities and then not use them.

And it would be great to see new talent blooded and it could lead to a revival of the England NT

 

[Bojan KantKick]

except sturridge was lazy, entitled and arrogant. wanted 100k a week at the age of 18 from all reports after our takeover. that's just rubbish. many english players have fallen under this banner at a young age too. they start getting paid a fair bit of money and think they've made it.

and boateng wanted to leave after just 1 season. from memory he also had a fight with someone at the training ground. plus he had injuries and bayern were interested. not much you can do sometimes.

His fight was with Balo tho haha. United had the same $$$ issue with Pogba. Still hurts

 

[biggiemediums]

McEachran will never play for Chelsea. Not good enough. Piazon may struggle to break into the 11 as it is currently but who knows in future.

Baker is the one. He, Bamford, Solanke, Brown, Boga are the shining stars of the Chelsea youth system currently.

Plus Ake.

^Bang on the money with that. There are a few gems in that lot. Baker is an unbelievable talent. Potential future captain.

 

[ADL9798]

Been pretty happy with the balance Liverpool have had with their academy over the last few years. There's a defined pathway in place and the outstanding talents at U18 & U21 level will always be given opportunities at first team level which I think is important in a) luring some of the best young talent in England & Europe like we have been able to recently and b) bridging that gap between 'success' at youth level and making the step up to senior level. Southampton & Arsenal are particularly good at this too and have been for a long time.

If players take those opportunities then they will be given every chance to establish themselves with the first team as we've seen with Flanagan & Sterling in recent times, and will likely continue to see with the likes of Rossiter, Brannagan, Wilson, Chirivella, Dunn, Kent & Ojo in the next 1-2 years. If they're not quite good enough then those first team opportunities can be useful in setting them up for loans or permanent moves to other decent clubs like we've seen with Suso, Joao Teixeira, Wisdom, Kelly, Ibe etc.

It's been good to see us follow Chelsea's lead in this department in recent years, we're markedly better at using the loan system and picking the right clubs who play the right type of football for these players than we were a few years ago. The lack of 'B-teams' in English football means that this is a very important stage of the development process. That consistent exposure to senior football in the 17-20 age bracket is one of the biggest advantages the Spanish & German youth systems have over their English counterparts, they can expose these players to a professional standard of football while retaining them within the club and ensuring they continue to develop their tactical understanding of the game in an elite coaching environment - they're not off at some League One club picking up s**t habits that will stifle their chances of playing at the elite level.

 

[chef]

Have they played? United and Southampton haven't been afraid to put kids in and it's paid. Winning the youth comps clearly doesn't translate to success going forward.

Ake and Christensen have.

We have had a revamp of our set up over the last 3 seasons and some will start to come through, but in saying that it seems that its also set up as a football factory with making revenue (apparently made us a £9.1m profit last financial year) a priority as well. It's a smart set up.

 

[chef]

Should have played Mceachran ages ago. Was the best of his age group. Piazon was one of the best globally in his age group. If this group coming through fails, then its the clubs fault.

McEachran is simply just not good enough, if he was he'd be in our squad and playing.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Ake and Christensen have.

We have had a revamp of our set up over the last 3 seasons and some will start to come through, but in saying that it seems that its also set up as a football factory with making revenue (apparently made us a £9.1m profit last financial year) a priority as well. It's a smart set up.

Yep, it's a strategy that is employed by the top clubs these days. The youth system becomes a source of revenue. I guess the proof will be in the pudding and i wish all teams the best with their youth academies as it's good for English football and of course the national team. I don't necessarily agree with big clubs hoarding talent as it doesn't give them a lot of opportunities but as you say, it does generate good revenue for clubs.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

McEachran is simply just not good enough, if he was he'd be in our squad and playing.

That's a shame as he has fantastic ability. Some players don't come on though. Will chelsea sell?

 

[chef]

That's a shame as he has fantastic ability. Some players don't come on though. Will chelsea sell?

Cant see there being great demand considering he struggled at Championship level and isn't setting the world on fire at Vitesse.

Some kids just don't come on.

 

[Magma]

another overhyped english kid who wasn't anywhere near as good as the newspapers said he was.

onto the next one. it's up to the kids to take their chances and prove that they deserve to be there, not be gifted a spot based on their nationality.

 

[SM]

Hindsight is 20/20. Sturridge was nowhere near what he is now when he played for Chelsea.

Because you played him on the wing when he clearly excelled as an out and out striker.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Because you played him on the wing when he clearly excelled as an out and out striker.

so much this

 

[chef]

Because you played him on the wing when he clearly excelled as an out and out striker.

He was played up top too(not just out on a wing), but wasn't affective as a stand alone striker for us in the 4231 that we played(Liverpools system last season was perfect for a player like Studge). Plus the fact he was continuely getting injured.

But its all history and we have a better striker who is better suited to us now so im not fussed.

 

[Loonerty]

When he played striker as us as well he wasn't good.

He was selfish and wasn't getting the output to show for it.

 

[Magma]

Because you played him on the wing when he clearly excelled as an out and out striker.

excelling in a half season for bolton and excelling anywhere else are two very different things.

 

[Cooldude]

Yet again it's Torres basically being guaranteed starts that's the problem for all the other strikers in Chelsea at the time, you know no matter how s**t Torres was, he was starting loads because he cost 50 million

 

[ADL9798]

But its all history and we have a better striker who is better suited to us now so im not fussed.

Debatable!

 

[glenferry23]

Debatable!

How?

 

[chef]

Debatable!

The 'better striker' could be debatable(but I dont think it is, Diego did lead the line for a team that won its league and made a CL final scoring 37 goals in the meantime), but not the 'better suited to Chelsea' bit IMO.

 

[chef]

Yet again it's Torres basically being guaranteed starts that's the problem for all the other strikers in Chelsea at the time, you know no matter how s**t Torres was, he was starting loads because he cost 50 million

Yet it was Drogba who was taking that 1 striker spot and he lead us to a CL cup and a FA cup, by the time he left Sturridge had already decide he wanted out(wouldn't extend his contract) and he wasn't played because of it. In that season Torres did lead our line to a Europa win.

 

[Cooldude]

Yet it was Drogba who was taking that 1 striker spot and he lead us to a CL cup and a FA cup, by the time he left Sturridge had already decide he wanted out(wouldn't extend his contract) and he wasn't played because of it. In that season Torres did lead our line to a Europa win.

Torres played in 32 league games that season for 6 goals, how can someone who managed that few goals also managed to get 32 league games if not for favoritism?

Drogba was very good in some cup games, but he was already established as a chelsea legend with nothing to prove. Different to the other chelsea strikers. At the end of the day the point still stands, Torres was starting loads regardless of his performance

 

[Jatz]

Debatable!

Costa is a better striker than Sturridge.

 

[chef]

Torres played in 32 league games that season for 6 goals, how can someone who managed that few goals also managed to get 32 league games if not for favoritism?

Drogba was very good in some cup games, but he was already established as a chelsea legend with nothing to prove. Different to the other chelsea strikers. At the end of the day the point still stands, Torres was starting loads regardless of his performance

There's no doubt that Torres was given every chance to prove his worth, but in saying that Sturridge didnt really do anything in the opportunities that he got to steal the spot off him.

He wasn't suited to the style that we play, he's a much better player in a system like you guys played last season.