Last week Chelsea’s Chief Executive Peter Kenyon spoke of his frustration that the Chelsea Academy have failed to produce any players who were ready to make the step up into the first team. Kenyon revealed the club have pumped plenty of money into the system in a bid to follow Roman Abramovich’s order of producing home grown talent to supplement the big money signings.
You can read exactly what he said here.
Expensive foreign youngsters plus the addition of Frank Arnesen to watch over their development was seen as a huge step forward in achieving the aforementioned goal. Yet four years into Arnesen’s role, only defender Michael Mancienne has come close to breaking through, and he was already in the system before the former PSV mans arrival.
Kenyon’s comments are typical of Chelsea’s attitude. They believe that simply throwing mountains of their ample cash supply at the problem will solve it. What they should be doing, is looking to North London, and the example set by Arsène Wenger.
Only now are Arsenal starting to reap the rewards of their Academy, 10 years after Wenger first began to concentrate on the youth system. In 1999 Jack Wilshere, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Henri Lansbury were all on the verge of joining the Academy, becoming the first few to benefit from Wenger’s vision for youth development. Liam Brady, a man who knows all about the tradition and the expectations of Arsenal was brought in to oversee them. Now, 10 frustrating years later, the Gunners are finally seeing the reward for their hard work.
Everybody knows that it takes at least 10 years before you start to see benefits from a heavy investment in an Academy. Not Chelsea however, who seem to subscribe to the modern way that if something isn’t doing it’s job straight away, it’s a waste of money. And even when they do find those gems, such as Frank Nouble or Mancienne, instead of blooding them in the Carling Cup, they are either forced to play Reserve football, or are sent on pointless loan spells. England Under 21 International Jack Cork has been on loan 6 times and on each return, he is forced to play for the Reserves.
I’m all for Chelsea’s Academy, but they must learn that money can not always buy you success.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Great article and defintaley true. Good things come to those who wait and seeing the reserves in their last couple of fixtures has really shown the development of some of our players. Francis Coquelin and Fran Merida look 2 players of quality and seemed to run the show yesterfay.
Chelsea have no clue. If their geriartric team wins nothing this year, I wonder whether Abramovic would hand them another £400M to buy a new squad.
Dont worry your head too much about Chelsea we will get there ,we are on the right track and patience will see our labours bear fruit .
J, great blog as usual. Any news on the non eu player that we have to send to the union this season? Have we signed any non EU players this summer?
Good article, and if anyone doubts that the Arsenal way is the benchmark they only need to look at the top of the page!
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Good article J – Good to see u back
Will u be still doing reserve match report?
just think how good ben sahar would have been if he had been at arsenal
it’s kind of sad
What on earth does this have to do with you?
After all, those young ‘uns have won you heap loads recently.
Good article J. I think last night’s result definately showed how an academy team can mature into (possible) First Team players.
when are Chelea going to be self-sufficient again Peter?
Interesting choice of article for an Arsenal site, but never mind, it’s worth the debate. To get it out of the way, I am completely and unashamedly Chelsea, and as keen a follower of our youth teams as you are yours.
You talk of patience in the system, but are prepared to slate ours after just fours years despite admitting you’re only starting to see the fruits of your labour after ten years. Who’s to say that spending the money we have won’t have success in five years time? We’ve not just spent out on players and talent identification, but also on the facilities we use, which are only a year old.
Yes we spend money, but then so do you. We’ve got a similar number of foreign imports, with fees for such players likely being similar at the end of the day. For Kakuta, see Sunu. For Heimann, see McDermott. It goes on and on. As far as local talent goes, it can be generational to an extent, but you’re talking about patience and groups of players coming through together? We’ve got Mancienne, Hutchinson and Cork from the same youth class all England Under-20/21 internationals and we’re showing the patience with them to get them into the first team when they’re ready, not when other people say we should be playing them.
As far as the comment about Arsenal being the benchmark goes, youth success doesn’t equal success in production. Surely your previous youth cup successes will lead you to that conclusion? Look at those who ‘made it’ against those who didn’t.
Your current youth crop are doing well, but the fruits are nowhere near borne yet. None of them are making a regular first team impact, and until such time they do, it’s premature to suggest a golden generation when they could just as easily be a Carlin Itonga as they could an Ashley Cole.
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Chelsea’s approach to team building brings its own problems. A rich owner wants instant success and fans want trophies every year. If you produce your own talent it takes longer and results do not come quickly. As arsenal do not have a rich benfactor,it shows that arsene’s way is the only way forward
RE:philiprolfe
– read what he said. He isn’t slating your youth system, he said he’s all for it. He’s slating your Chief Exec for attacking his own youth system and not having patience.
Is English really that difficult?
I can read, there’s no problem there. J is taking Kenyon’s comments and attitude and attributing them to Chelsea as a club.
“Kenyon’s comments are typical of Chelsea’s attitude. They believe that simply throwing mountains of their ample cash supply at the problem will solve it”
“Everybody knows that it takes at least 10 years before you start to see benefits from a heavy investment in an Academy. Not Chelsea however, who seem to subscribe to the modern way that if something isn’t doing it’s job straight away, it’s a waste of money”
To me, that’s attacking the club, and not Kenyon. If he meant Kenyon, why not refer to him throughout instead of the club?
Because maybe he assumes Chelsea’s Chief Executive might have something to do with speaking for the club? I’m just taking a guess.
like you said this is an arsenal website and we can slate other clubs how we see fit :)
why is it other supports are always coming on Arsenal blogs, do you not have your own, are they not as good as our one’s or is it your just sad and lonely and got nothing better to do with your lives, end of the day most people that dont support the Arsenal aint got anything nice or productive to say, why is it people dont like us and think we are not good enough so why is everyone so eager to make a comment about us. it all jealousy and envy if i’m wrong stop coming on our web sites.
I read a similar article a year ago after our kids beat Wigan 3-0 in CC. It has a quote from Wenger when he joined saying that it would take him 10 years to get some good homegrown talent through. Seems as though he was right.
Hahaha. As soon as i read the headline i just knew philiprolfe would be here.
I promise you, i aint here for any conflict or anything mate but why do you seem so interested in our youth and JS’s site? Are you one of those Chelsea fans that used to support Arsenal until Chelsea started winning things and Arsenal stopped winning things? How do you know about players like Carlin Itonga? I’m very very curious.
I loved the time you had a go at me about the 14 year old (i think he’s that age anyway) Chelsea player that played in the Victory Shield and then challenged me to come up with his name and said something along the lines of “Good luck Googling it”. You said that to me trying to vindicate Chelsea having a great youth system in the works (which i don’t doubt for one second, in fact, i know you guys have a whole array of talent there at Cobham, as it has been mentioned to me on a couple of occasions).
Frankly, i don’t give a flying fuck what ur lot have coming through (you see, i’m not as fussed about ur artificial club as you seem to be with ours) and know how the inept England Youth system works…..oh he plays for Chelsea, let’s call him up. Oh he plays for Man Utd, let’s call him up. They’re idiots to be honest with you. For ur info, i remember the lad coming on and the commentators mentioning his age, i just couldn’t give a fuck about what it actually was. I will when he appears in the Chelsea first team, just don’t hold ur breath on that one.
Like someone has already mentioned, as long as ur owner puts huge pressure on ur manager to win trophies you will rarely play youth products. Abramovich wants success and he wants it now!
We’re not perfect but like adrian has already stated, we don’t have a rich benefactor so do things the only way we can.
I’m here because it involves Chelsea, but I enjoy reading the site, as I do Jeorge Bird’s, United Youth, Spurs Odyssey, Man City Youth and Reserves, and other sites dealing with academy and reserve news. Helps me stay abreast of developments and stay informed for my own work at CFCnet. How do I know about Carling Itonga? Because I consider myself well informed, the same way I know of tens of players who’ve come and gone in other academies.
I totally agree with you on your point that as long as we chase the CL, we’ll not commit to using youngsters on a grander scale, but then I’ve never denied that. Whilst you don’t have a rich benefactor, you do have one of the largest financial turnovers in world football and have the money to spend if you choose to, but your manager is devoted to his own motives, whether that means you’ll be into a fifth year without a trophy in 2010 or not.
You’re getting uppity for no real reason, I’m just interested in debate and as it’s a piece focusing on Chelsea I don’t see why it’s wrong of me to get involved.
Peter Kenyon is the figurehead for the club – what he says represents Chelsea. They are one.
No, they’re not, but you can believe that if it makes you feel better.
philiprolfe – Fair enough mate. I just knew you had something to do with their youth.
Can’t help laughing at the sheer arrogance of this article. For all the hype Arsenal’s youth setup gets, how many have genuinely come through and had an impact at first team level?….. It’s not an extensive list is it? Thus are Arsenal fans really in any position to be patronising other clubs and their fans with talk of how things should be done?
Peter Kenyon’s word is hardly gospel, as a Man United fan I’m more than aware of that. His ‘expertise’ lies very much in the commercial side of the game. If he has expressed frustration at a lack of productivity from a relatively embryonic youth system then that merely highlights his lack of nous when it comes to the footballing side of things. Assuming that he speaks for the coaches and footballing decision-makers at Chelsea is seriously misguided.
Another problem that Chelsea have pertains to the style with which their youth teams play. Is it Mourinho’s style? Or Scolari’s? Or is it now Ancelotti’s? At Utd and Arsenal the system of play is ingrained throughout the club, from top to bottom. The kids now know how they should play and the likes of Wilshire have played in the same system since they were 9 years old. Stepping up to the 1st team means a change in the quality of play and the quality of the opposition, but not a change in the system of play. By continually changing managers Chelsea have made it more and more unlikely that the youngsters within their system will have the technical skills to be able to step into the 1st team immediately with success. How much has the flip-flopping of managers and the subsequent flip-flopping of club philosophies contributed to the poor showing of the Chelsea Youth Teams last season,
Youth Team success does indeed take 10 years to build from scratch, no matter how much money is thrown at the problem. If the system lacks a coherent structure and philosophy that gestation period may be extended even further.
Nickogs20:
If you support Manchester United , why are you on an Arsenal site?
J is only reporting something, and sharing an Opinion,
We are not taking the mick’ at Chelsea, just giving some advice!
Our youth setup is just a bit better than other teams, we will have lots of our current youth players as first teamers in 5 years time, and a few will be in the first team next season,
All clubs have good youth players, but ours play and develop better as a team and individual,
In this day of instant everything this is what it all has come to. It takes time to develop talent. he is full of hot air. Yet he controls the purse strings go figure. A club is lukcy to produce three maybe four great players at best. Look at the minor league clubs in baseball. http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
TheCritic – “We are not taking the mick’ at Chelsea, just giving some advice!”
And as I said – with the greatest respect, what qualifies Arsenal fans to give Chelsea advice on how to run their academy(!). It would be fairly arrogant of even Barcelona fans to give advice to anyone on running an academy (after all, how much do any of us really know about what goes on behind closed doors with regards to running one?), let alone fans of Arsenal, who – despite the hype – have to yet to really deliver first-teamers from their academy.
“Our youth setup is just a bit better than other teams, we will have lots of our current youth players as first teamers in 5 years time, and a few will be in the first team next season,
All clubs have good youth players, but ours play and develop better as a team and individual,”
Like I said – arrogant, gloriously so :D Your academy is very good, no question. Better than other teams? Better than some other teams, sure, ‘better than other teams’ full stop is more than debatable though, as is ‘ours play and develop better as a team and individual’ too.
It’s all very well saying you’ll have lots of players coming through into the first-team next season and over the next five years, but I bet you’d have said the same thing five years ago – you just don’t know if that will be the case. Bar probably Wilshire, there are no certainties.
Funny thing that people supporting other clubs say things like “How many talents have really come through?”.
What you need to remember is that Arsenal squad is a very young one. Many of our regular players are 19-24 years old. We use players of this age in our first team sqaud while other top flight team sees these players off to the reserve league. Apparently since they’re not good enough. This while Arsenal have their best 16-20 in the reservs and 15-17 in their youth squad.
Kim – “This while Arsenal have their best 16-20 in the reservs and 15-17 in their youth squad.”
You seem to think this is something specific to Arsenal? Maybe open your eyes and have a look at the way other clubs do things, you might realise Arsenal haven’t got quite the revolutionary setup you seem to think they have.
why are these fan’s of other teams still on here, listen you can read but if you aint got nothing nice or productive F-OFF. if Arsenal fans on a Arsenal site wants to say we have the best youth system in the world, they can, it a Arsenal blog, if your not a Arsenal fan and disagree F-OFF. its a Arsenal site
Does anyone know what actually happened to Carlin Itonga? According to Wikipedia he hasn’t played since leaving Fisher Athletic in 2003, anyone know what he’s been up to since then?
nickogs20 – As a Man Utd fan, you can’t really call any other team’s fans ‘arrogant’ as ur club’s fans are very well known throughout the British Isles for having the most arrogant fans mate.
Also, you state:
‘For all the hype Arsenal’s youth setup gets, how many have genuinely come through and had an impact at first team level?….. It’s not an extensive list is it? Thus are Arsenal fans really in any position to be patronising other clubs and their fans with talk of how things should be done?’
This just shows how inept you are at comprehending shit matey. As with the whole point of this article, and something which Pete Conway’s comment at 12.41pm touched on, THIS SHIT TAKES TIME!!
AW said it would about 10 years ago when he embarked on this vision/mission, and that we would start seeing the benefits of it around about this time – which we are. So don’t go talking that rubbish about we haven’t really produced that many over the years. It’s from now on that counts, and you WILL see the fruits of Arsenal’s labours.
The dream is to have something like what Barca have right now, what with half the team coming through the ranks and being raised the way, while implementing a style of play, the coaching staff want.
You are, however, right about ur reply to Kim as many teams play youngsters in those age groups but i can assure you we have got a revolutionary set-up in the sense that we play a more continental brand of football throughout our youth sides rather than the typical English ‘kick and run’ many academies still choose to adopt. Capello has even mentioned something of this sort while encouraging other teams to try and copy our blueprint.
“As a Man Utd fan, you can’t really call any other team’s fans ‘arrogant’ as ur club’s fans are very well known throughout the British Isles for having the most arrogant fans mate.”
Top generalisation mate.
“This just shows how inept you are at comprehending shit matey. As with the whole point of this article, and something which Pete Conway’s comment at 12.41pm touched on, THIS SHIT TAKES TIME!!”
Yes, hence my point that giving Chelsea advice when their academy is still embryonic is arrogant and misguided. By all means slate Kenyon for his lack of understanding (something I would wholeheartedly endorse), but the article clearly strays from that.
As for the rest of your reply, it’s the usual deluded nonsense that sadly I’ve come to expect from most Arsenal fans these days, people who stick their fingers in their ears and say ‘lalalalala’ when anyone dares to point out they’re not as special or unique as they like to think. You’re giving advice to Chelsea on how to run an academy because you ASSUME yours is going to produce results over the next few years. That would be like someone intending to study law at university giving a solicitor advice because they assume they’re going to become a brilliant legal mind over the next few years. Your academy may well suddenly start to churn out stellar young talent like Barca’s does. Just as much chance that it won’t.
Try watching some other academy sides, there are plenty (including United’s) who play excellent football. I suppose it’s inevitable that when so much fuss is made about Arsenal’s first team playing AMAZING football (as if everyone else plays hoofball), the same will happen about the youth team.
nickogs20:
Everyone in our academy has the potential to become a first team starter.
GO AWAY TO A MANU BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!
well said
TheCritic – thank you for proving my point in the most exceptional manner :D
Will do as you say and leave you to delude yourself. I look forward to seeing an entirely homegrown Arsenal team in five years time, sure it will be GREAT.
I’m actually a manU suppporter, but first and foremost an england supporter, and that’s why I’m a big fan of the Arsenal Academy, the only one in England who really goes in the right direction. Even if I’m still supporting ManU, the two academies can’t even be compared.. (I don’t even talk about Chelsea..useless) .All the arsenal youth teams are playing the same way, on the ground, trying to keep the ball, Gibbs and Wilshere are just the top of the iceberg, many more will follow, and I’m thrilled about it. I really think that any of the arsenal youth team would trash the england youth teams any day.
Arsene is gonna save England.
I live in France (french mother english father), and if we’re famous for homegrown talents, the arsenal academy is probably better that any french academy right now. Wenger tried to create a mix between the french and the spanish academies, with more money than most (scouts, coaches, infrastructures), and we’ll see the fruits very soon, it’s not a coincidence that Gibbs and Wilshere just got in the first team ( Both continental in the way they play)
We have the best youth academy in the country at the moment thats not debateable.
i find this debate pointless as youth players are very hard to judge until they come thru!! its not fair to say chelseas isnt working and ours is better because we started our policy of buying/poaching foreign teens and breeding them to our style of football before chelsea..its fair to say chelsea r copying us tho but why shud we criticise-its a compliment to us!! every club wants the best players no matter if they,re young/old/foreign/english and every club has different means to get them…as it stands we have a greater pool of talent to pick from our academy but it doesnt nessacarily mean we will have the most in our 1st team-for example it will be very differcult 4 arsenal to produce a john terry because he was a special talent-thats where the players themselves will have to step up-its not all about the clubs particular developement!if we r all claiming to have the best academy we shud really turn our attentions to the past examples as we cannot judge the future so take a bow west ham-cole,lampard,ferdinand,carrick era and man utd-beckham,butt,scholes,nevilles,giggs era the rest we can argue in 5 yrs time
people also forget we didnt teach r 1st team youngsters from early teens..players like bendntner,denilson,song,clichy ect were all brought at 16,17,18 and the jury is still out on some of them we must not over exaggerate on how good r youth system is..they play great football but theres more to football then that..u need mental strengh n physical strengh aswell as talent to cope with being a modern pro
The current youth at United and Liverpool have a better chance of making it than those at Arsenal, I would think. When those teams get bankrupt there will be plenty of playing time for Martin and co. in League 1.
Sharpovic – Ur Man Utd fan? Well i’m shocked! Still, ur an honest bloke (and i’m not just saying it cos you only have good things to say about Arsenal’s academy) and are very clued up when it comes to the game as i came to notice quite a while ago. :)
The fact of the matter is that many of the leading academies up and down this country are producing very good players all the time and the best thing about it is that they are focusing more on the technical side of the game. This is something AW has been credited with. I’m sure you’ve all heard/read before how he has revolutionalised how the game is played in this country. Now, i don’t know if that is true but i believe there is some truth to it.
nickogs20 – No team is ENTIRELY homegrown and i can’t guarantee we will have more homegrown talents than Man Utd or any other top club in this country playing regularly in our first team in 5 years time but i know for a fact that our future is potentially very, very bright.
AW has set up a system where if/when Fabregas leaves the club, it won’t be all doom and gloom as much of the media will like to have you believe because someone else will always be there to step in, who has already been at the club for a while whereas ur lot can go out and splash £18m on Valencia to replace Ronaldo, we will have to find our replacement from within as we simply can’t afford to make those big money signings, that much is obvious.
I know what state Man Utd’s academy is in (my dad is a big Utd fan and has MUTV) and there is a lot of talent there but nowhere near as much as what we have at the moment. Ur lot are based more on individual talent and don’t play as much as a team unit as Arsenal’s youth do and there’s only a handful in ur current u18’s that will get rated at Arsenal. That’s just the way it is IMO.
That’s not me sticking my fingers in my ears and shouting ‘lalalala’, that’s me displaying my opinion. I really don’t think Arsenal fans are deluded, as you put it. In fact, i believe we’re the most realistic fans around (from what i’ve seen) along with some Spurs fans.
a-dog – I agree. Well said.
Capello’s quotes on arsenal academy – http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1077272.html#capello+injuries+concern
nickogs20’s blog – http://manunitedyouth.wordpress.com/
philiprolfe’s blog – http://www.cfcnet.co.uk/category/the-club/youth-and-reserve-team/
Spurs academy blog – http://www.spursodyssey.com/0910/youthfix.html
Man Citeh’s academy blog – http://mcfcreserves-academy.blogspot.com/
yeah I knew this was going to be a shock! sorry about that. I’ve always liked Arsenal though. I’m a huge fan of Wenger, and the way MU has been playing the last 2 or 3 years, I actually don’t enjoy watching them play that much. And I’ve been so depressed with the english national team that my main interest right now is to look for new talents, so watching arsenal’s U18 and reserve is a real thrill. I went to London last year to watch the fa youth cup 1/4 final at white hart lane, and I go on youngguns and arsenalyouth everyday before any other football site, it really is a drug I have to admit. I rate the majority of the young gunners (I even like Randall…).
About Manutd’s academy, I’m excited about Ravel Morrisson. Great prospect.
Chelseas best young football player is Josh McEachran but he is only 16 and is not ready for first team football just yet.
sharpovic – You sound like an Arsenal fan that’s in denial. :)
Truth be told, two seasons ago, when Ronaldo hit 42 goals (or something like that) Man Utd played some fantastic football at times.
Kentpaul – Are you a Chelsea fan? I like McEachran, great talent but i wouldn’t say he’s the best young football player there.
I reckon Gokhan Tore and Gael Kakuta are both immense talents but are still very raw and need to be ‘guided’ somewhat. As is the case with Ravel Morrison.
That’s basically what i mean, ‘individualism’ (sounds like a Wengerism, doesn’t it?) is highly relied upon at other clubs and they focus less on team play from what i’ve seen. (Please note, that’s what i’ve seen in matches and am not sure this is entirely accurate).
@ philiprolfe, yes your academy should be judged after 10 years from Roman injection of funds however there are some fundanmental things wrong with your academy. Looking at some not Arnesen signing for you, observation of your U16s players and the statement of your new reserves boss: “In the Academies, technical work goes on where you are trying to get hold of athletic boys as early as possible to develop skills, and those habits are formed as early as eight or nine.”
All academies need to recruit young talents with showing technique, vision & intelligence not focusing athletes as Chelsea are doing. In an ideal world, 80% of U9s players should be talents showing 3 criteria above with other 20% being athletes who then receive high quality coaching.
As for academy from 1st team view, if Chelsea continue to buy expensive players and dont find the opportunity to give kids at least 1st team games in the CC then if a exceptional talent does come thru the system, such players might leave citing lack of opportunities thus 1st team long-term must in some way sychronize with youth development.
nickgos20: “You’re giving advice to Chelsea on how to run an academy because you ASSUME yours is going to produce results over the next few years. That would be like someone intending to study law at university giving a solicitor advice because they assume they’re going to become a brilliant legal mind over the next few years.”
Erm, no…this makes no sense. By us telling giving Chelsea Advice it would be like a final year law student giving a final year high school student advice on going to law school…Chelsea are newer to the modern academy thing, Arsenal (according to the people who developed it) are at the point of seeing the rewards of their labour (or studying)…
What you said would be like us giving Barca advice, who lets face it, have the largest amount of home grown players winning titles.
Starting at the back, Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Bojan…6 of them just won the CL…
I’m not pretending our academy is flawless or up there with the best right now, but we’re not exactly focusing on pure athletes the entire way through the team. We’ve got some lads who are very accomplished footballers, especially in the latest crop of Under-18s.
Name-dropping doesn’t help unless you’re clued up, but for anyone who is, McEachran, Ashton, Lalkovic and Rodgers are technically very impressive, and we’ve only got two real athletes needing long-term technical development. It’s a very highly rated group, and above them we’ve admittedly sought technical prowess from abroad to compensate for below-par British ability, but then at least it’s being proactive about it. Kakuta, Sala, Tore, Bruma – they’re all better than the British lads with the ball, and they’re all Arnesen signings. He merely IDs the talent, he doesn’t coach them, he can’t be held responsible for them not being in the first team yet (which is tantamount to expecting Sunu and Ozyakup in your first team now to be fair).
Not to get into mud-slinging but Arsenal aren’t exactly strangers to taking advantage of a player’s athletic ability and developing the technical side of it. I mean you’ve got Boateng, Aneke and Afobe through the core of your current team and I think most people would accept that they are athletes first and footballers second, and are able to get away with more at Under-18 level than others might. It’s not wrong to do, but it’s also a bit blinkered to believe Arsenal are virtuous and have a team consisting soley of small technicians when they’re every bit as balanced as most other teams are.
The Carling Cup comments by Wilkins this week are promising, but the proof will be in the pudding. Nobody will be more pleased to see it than me, so fingers crossed.
aneke is technically very gifted..
@ philiprolfe, i cannot accept your list of players has been technically impressive especially when those academy products are compared to products of Barca, Roma, Valencia, Boca Juniors, River Plate, PSV, Feyenoord & Ajax. Just in case you dont know, technique [not technical skill] is ability to manipulate the ball in tight spaces when pressured by opposition or man-marked.
Boateng for a CB very good on the ball and has often played in midfield, Afobe has very good link-up play via dribbling & one-touch play so he aint a pace merchant, and Aneke has one the best final ball in his age group which depicts having good vision so please stop calling them athletes 1st.
TJ DA GOON
I am an Arsenal fan but i also watch alot of England youth games because i like to see what sought of talent we have coming through the ranks that might be good enough for the England national team in a few years time. As for some of Chelseas young players they always go on about Gael Kaktuka but to me he is all tricks and no brain, Michael Woods and Jacob Mellis have gone backwards since they have joined them, but the only kid who really stands out for me in regards to skill and football intellgence is the one i mentioned in a previous post.
There’s no need to be so facetious here, I’m aware of what impressive technical talent is, and I’m confident that those particular names match up well. Just because they might be poorer in comparison to the very best (up for debate) doesn’t mean that they aren’t technically proficient. And with all due respect, I’m confident that I’ve seen more, and I’m also confident in the comments I’ve heard (first hand in some cases) from knowledgable people in youth football.
Regards Boateng, Afobe etc, I’ve never denied that they have technical ability, but it’s an undeniable fact that their physical dominance accelerates their progress, allows them to look dominant and potentially mask deficiencies. If you want a Chelsea example, look at Frank Nouble, just gone to West Ham. Pure athlete with developing technical ability, and he’s got to their first team squad before he’s technically ready.
Aneke might have a great final ball, but in my watching of him his first touch has appeared shaky and inconsistent. He can get around that by using his size as leverage and working physically to recover the ball. It’s something I’ve seen at Chelsea in Rohan Ince and Danny Mills, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of having in your club, nor is it wrong to find criticisms in their games, which seems to be frowned upon by some posters here.
Kentpaul, I think that’s a bit harsh on Kakuta and Mellis. Kakuta’s decision making does need to be improved, but he’s not just tricks, he has one of the best end products at the club, statistically and to the eye. Mellis has pressed on from Under-8 football to one of Southampton’s best players so far (and I quote their manager on that), but Woods hasn’t done himself justice, that’s fair.
Thankyou Sharpovic for making a good point,
Im not dissing Manchester United, my Dad and brother are both manu supporters, im just telling nickogs20, that if hes gong to comment on an ARSENAL blob, than be posotive about arsenal and the article, and not diss it.
Blog, soz, my brain all fuzzy,
I meant instead of blob i meant blog, my brain is abit weird, today i have had exams and sprinting,
Why should he be positive about it just because it is an Arsenal blog? That would not be any sort of a debate which for me would defeat the point of the comments function entirely.
I wrote as Kritikos, its a bet, dont ask.
Frimpong, Wilshere, Lansbury, EmmanuelThomas, Randall, Merida Perez, Denilson, Ramsey, all capable of filling in Fabbys boots, actually the list gos on much longer than that.
Philprolfe
I think that the main problem with Michael Woods is that the Chelsea youth coaching staff have turned him from a Steven Gerrard style attacking midfielder which he was when he was at Leeds United, and turnd him into a holding midfielder and now that they have done that he only looks like half the football player he used to be IMO.
Taiwo has done even worse than Woods, and let’s not even mention Gordon. :(
FC
Gordon who is Gordon.
>> …and Aneke has one the best final ball in his age group which depicts having good vision so please stop calling them athletes 1st.
I don’t think calling them an athlete first is an insult; but I don’t think you can deny their physical presence is of a massive benefit to their game in the youth ranks.
Looking at a non-UK club for a moment (as mentioning UK sides seem to be a guarantee of starting a war of words) there is no doubt Barça have a great youth policy; There is no doubt players such as Etock and Ella (and if you want to go even younger then Ebwelle and Enguene) have tremendous technical ability. But one also can’t deny their overwhelming physical presence (for their age) is also of a huge benfit.
But so what? If they have the ‘gift’ of physical presence and they can use that to their advantage all the best to them.
> Kentpau
Ben Gordon, another Ex-Leeds youth player Chelsea have currently.
I think you will actually find Afobe is one of the most naturally gifted players in the academy…Wenger spoke about 2 14-15 year olds last year who needed no technical improvement and it is believed those two players are Zak Ansah and Benik Afobe…He trained and did well with the brazilian national team guys, the boy must have some serious skill ;D
Ben Gordon i no who you mean now, he is a left back isn’t he?.
@ Kentpaul, yes he is a LB, Leeds got him and Delph from Bradford City FC
http://www.chelseafc.com/page/AcademyProfiles/0,,10268~908962,00.html
Chelsea just fucked up those three Leeds players’ development, didn’t they? Still, it aint too late for them.
Frimpong, Wilshere, Lansbury, EmmanuelThomas, Randall, Merida Perez, Denilson, Ramsey, all capable of filling in Fabbys boots, actually the list gos on much longer than that.
TheCritic said this on September 2, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Don’t forget Ozzy. He reminds me of Fab a lot. He has that magic about him. More of a passer like Cesc whereas Jacky boy is more of a dribbler.
Aneke, Barazite, ect
Chelsea has indeed screwed up the careers of Woods, Taiwo, Gordon and Mellis. All of these players could have been much better players than they currently are. Notice how none of them are in the England youth teams anymore? I’m sure when the Leeds lads look back and see how well Delph has improved since staying at Leeds, they may now feel they made the wrong decision going to Chelsea, big time.
Oh woops I included Mellis in there when talking about the Leeds lads. Well, I guess he can look at how well Naughton and Kyle Walker have done staying with Sheffield United.
Looks like Chelsea are gonna have to rely much more on their academy in the next year and a half as their not allowed to make any signings until January 2011.
Although from an Arsenal perspective it may be funny watching are London rivals being hit with the ban, it does make me think that Platini and his clan certainly seem to enjoy making examples of english clubs what with the recent eduardo incident as well.
Looks like Chelsea are gonna have to rely much more on their academy in the next year and a half as their not allowed to make any signings until January 2011.
Although from an Arsenal perspective it may be funny watching are London rivals being hit with the ban, it does make me think that Platini and his clan certainly seem to enjoy making examples of english clubs what with the recent eduardo incident as well.
Nick Love said this on September 3, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I just came on here say that and to find out what the Chelsea fans on here think about it.
It takes time to develop home grown talent. Anyone with half a brain knows that. Chelsea manangement is shooting themselves in the foot. It is crazy but true. About the ban on Chelsea Right on!. http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
Interesing stat on AW´s first team: 25 outfield players in the squad, 18 of those were at the club of an age of 21 or under, and 14 of those 18 joined the club at 18 or under. So players like Bendtner, Traore, Merida, Cesc, Clichy and Djourou have come through the upper end of the system (15-17) while Gibbs and Wilshere were born and bred in it, so to speak. Either way the Wenger way is instilled early, and his system bares 1st team players on a budget. Last years crop is the best youth team I have seen at Arsenal in my time, much better than the Pennant, Sidwell, Harper, Volz, Cole generation… There will be more breaking through no doubt, Coquelin could well be the next!
bobbygee shutup mate
Pretty cool post. I just came by your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your posts.
Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon!
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coquelin will be amazing n afobe has got defoe potential definitely..them 2 for me have a really good chance of 1st team