Islam Feruz

[Tommy Nooka]

I think it's a bending the truth to say top European clubs do not bring through youth. Chelsea are probably the only team left in the Champions League without any of their own youth featuring regularly(33 year old John Terry aside).

At Bayern you have Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Muller and Lahm all first team regulars, at Real you've got Casillas, Varane, Carvajal, Jese and Morata and at Atletico you have Gabi, Koke and Mario Suarez.

[thisGRAEME]

It's not about the youth system, it's about giving young players a chance. Which Mourinho completely refuses to do, even the ones he himself has purchased from other youth systems. Like Craig said, unless your Messi, Chelsea is one of the worst clubs to be at for a young player in terms of first team opportunity.

So what, is he meant to just stick players who clearly aren't good enough into his Chelsea team? Johnson and Diarra got a rake of game time, and guys like Robben, Mikel, Kalou, Cech and Essien were in their early 20s, no? Do they not count as young players playing under Mourinho? All of them of a suitable standard, none of them through Chelsea's youth, but claiming that he doesn't play young players just isn't true?

I think it's a bending the truth to say top European clubs do not bring through youth. Chelsea are probably the only team left in the Champions League without any of their own youth featuring regularly(33 year old John Terry aside). At Bayern you have Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Muller and Lahm all first team regulars, at Real you've got Casillas, Varane, Carvajal, Jese and Morata and at Atletico you have Gabi, Koke and Mario Suarez.

Fair. I was thinking mainly of English clubs, tbh (Do Gabi and Suarez count? They sold them then bought them back!). Stand corrected.

[craigkillie]

Pretty sure he didn't have anything like 100 mill to chuck at Porto, but still raked in the uefa and European cups.

At inter, his squad was primarily 30+ iirc, but he brought in as much as he spent, cash-wise (sold ibrahimovic for 40 mill PLUS Eto'o - that was a very tidy piece of business).

We're talking about his management style at Chelsea here, not at other clubs. He did bring through young talent at Porto and to a lesser extent Inter for that reason.

[J_Stewart]

So what, is he meant to just stick players who clearly aren't good enough into his Chelsea team? Johnson and Diarra got a rake of game time, and guys like Robben, Mikel, Kalou, Cech and Essien were in their early 20s, no? Do they not count as young players playing under Mourinho? All of them of a suitable standard, none of them through Chelsea's youth, but claiming that he doesn't play young players just isn't true?

Nobody is saying that Mourinho doesn't play young players. He does. It's that he doesn't develop youth players. He shows absolutely no interest in it. Those players you listed (Essien, et al) were developed at other clubs, they were given games at other clubs and then Chelsea bought them for fortunes when they were ready made players.

However, the players listed from that Chelsea youth team that "weren't good enough", were obviously in that Chelsea youth set-up because they had talent, they wouldn't have gotten there otherwise, but when a promising 17/18/19 year old is stuck playing in the reserves they're going to stagnate and aren't going to improve. They're then forced to leave at 21 or 22, to go to a Championship or lower level Premier League club to find first team football having not developed in the slightest in arguably the most important stage of a professional footballers career. The chances of them making it to a top club again are very, very slim. Mourinho doesn't given youth players a chance, which is why he's spent an absolute fortune during his time as a manager. Excellent short-term, cheque book manager, but not someone I'd be particularly confident in giving Feruz a chance.

[RobbieD]

I call 'doing it right' bringing in the best players available to him, as opposed to some fluffer idea of 'bringing through the youth'. It's almost as if he's done some great moral wrong by not starting shite like Scott Sinclair ahead of players who would actually help him win trophies.

The same logic applies pretty much everywhere regardless of resources. Had Partick Thistle followed the vain 'look at us we're packing our team full of bog standard teenagers' approach of losers like Falkirk or Hamilton, as opposed to picking up superior talent from elsewhere, we'd be absolutely nowhere near the top flight.

Okay so by your own admission, Arsene Wenger must have done a good job for years since he brought in the best players available to Arsenal with their budget. Mourinho has blown cash on anyone who he can get his hands on. Kezman? Shevchenko? Boulahrouz? Sidwell? Wright-Phillips? Jarosik? Diarra? Del Horno? All massive flops. There's about £60 million down the swanny right there. But hey, he's "doing it right" isn't he?

Edited April 10, 2014 by RobbieD

[RandomGuy.]

Same old shite from one of the worst posters on the site. You make a complete arse of yourself consistently and fire out the classic "I'm clearly trolling everyone" line that nobody buys, ever. And once again nobody is buying it.

Good lord. Ive made the point a hundred times that I'm taking the piss quite a lot with what I say, its utterly bewildering some people still get worked up by whats a clearly half arsed attempt at a wind up

But hey, he's "doing it right" isn't he?

You decide who's "doing it right"..

[Honest_Man#1]

Good lord. Ive made the point a hundred times that I'm taking the piss quite a lot with what I say, its utterly bewildering some people still get worked up by whats a clearly half arsed attempt at a wind up

Yeah, you say that so that when you make a total arse of yourself like in here, you can play the good old "I wus takin tha piss m8 lolllz" card to try and save any of the very little credibility you have. Unfortunately for you, absolutely nobody is buying it.

[AMMjag]

Okay so by your own admission, Arsene Wenger must have done a good job for years since he brought in the best players available to Arsenal with their budget.

What? I don't believe you can have understood my post at all competently if you think that's my 'admission' tbh. I could of course reel off an extensive list of Arsenal duds, but let's just laugh at a near decade of zero success, shall we?

But hey, he's "doing it right" isn't he?

Well, yes, given he's quite easily one of the most successful and respected managers in the game.

But I suppose we can only wonder how many league titles and CL trophies he'd have won had he only 'given youth a chance'. It's quite cretinous that this is held up to both him, and more specifically Chelsea as a club, as a criticism.

[RandomGuy.]

Yeah, you say that so that when you make a total arse of yourself like in here, you can play the good old "I wus takin tha piss m8 lolllz" card to try and save any of the very little credibility you have. Unfortunately for you, absolutely nobody is buying it.

I've literally no idea why you're so angry, nor why you've decided I speak in "text language" at all, seeing as not once on here I've ever posted anythng near to what you just have. I quite simply couldn't care less whether people believe me or not, thats why I'm willing to make "joke" comments every so often. Its clearly very important to you that you "put me in my place" though, so good luck with that in the future, sadly here you're just coming across as incredibly strange

[Fotbawmad]

Good lord. Ive made the point a hundred times that I'm taking the piss quite a lot with what I say, its utterly bewildering some people still get worked up by whats a clearly half arsed attempt at a wind up

You decide who's "doing it right"..

These stats don't factor in players wages. So it's entirely deceptive.

[Honest_Man#1]

I've literally no idea why you're so angry, nor why you've decided I speak in "text language" at all, seeing as not once on here I've ever posted anythng near to what you just have. I quite simply couldn't care less whether people believe me or not, thats why I'm willing to make "joke" comments every so often. Its clearly very important to you that you "put me in my place" though, so good luck with that in the future, sadly here you're just coming across as incredibly strange

A terrible, terrible poster.

[Ross.]

Wee article on Chelseas youth set up, which mentioned Feruz:

At the Emirates on Thursday evening the highest-paid player in the history of the FA Youth Cup will play for Chelsea in the second leg of the semi-final against Arsenal.

Andreas Christensen, described as a ‘gazelle’ by pretty much anyone who has ever watched him play, turned 18 on April 10. He earns £20,000 a week and has not made a first team appearance.

Something, somewhere, is going wrong when youth team players are walking around with that kind of money.



Watch Christensen on ITV4 on Thursday, when Chelsea’s 2-1 lead from last week’s first leg at Stamford Bridge will be tested by Arsenal’s youngsters.

He is an exceptional young player, a maturing centre half with plenty of ability on the ball. No-one disputes his potential.

The former Denmark Under 17 star, who came off the bench for Chelsea’s Under 21 team in their 4-2 victory at Aston Villa on Monday evening, makes time for himself drives into midfield positions in the way classic, ball-playing centre halves can. At his level, he is streets ahead of his contemporaries.


On £1million a year you would think that it is only a matter of time before Christensen, one of the youth team's most important players who was signed from Danish club Brondby a couple of years back, is a first team star in waiting.

If only it was that straightforward.

He was an unused substitute in Rafa Benitez’s final game in charge against Everton last season, but the standards are high at Chelsea.




When they signed Christensen in 2011, they were feeling pretty pleased with themselves after fending off interest from European football’s leading clubs.

Manchester United and Manchester City hovered, but walked away when the money came rolling in from Chelsea. Barcelona went the same way when they were also outbid.

Ask around the game and everyone will tell you that Christensen is perhaps the biggest talent in European football for his age.

And yet, at the age of 18, there are still no guarantees.

Take a look at another Chelsea academy graduate, striker Islam Feruz. Three years ago Chelsea wanted him so badly they paid Celtic some heavy duty compensation to bring him south of the border.



Now 18, he is still at Chelsea, but word around the club is that he is unlikely to make it to the very highest level.


Not quite in the running: Christensen has been named in the first-team squad once


Patrick Bamford, scoring goals for fun at Derby (on £8,000 a week), is expected to travel with the first team when they play a series of friendlies in pre-season. He is one of 28 Chelsea players out on loan this year.

When top clubs - not just Chelsea, because there will be others who are just a culpable - are paying big sums of money to a youth team player it is time to re-assess.

There are people at Stamford Bridge who are not even sure that Christenen, who is already 6ft 1in, will make it as a first-team player.

The FA Youth Cup is often seen as a barometer by mainstream clubs in England and Chelsea have certainly established themselves as a powerful name in the competition.

When they won it in 2010, for the first time in 49 years, Chelsea were convinced that Jeffrey Bruma, Josh McEachran, Fabio Borini, Gael Kakuta and Patrick van Aanholt would soon be filling first team berths.

Bruma, originally signed from Feyenoord, is now back in Holland with PSV Eindhoven.

McEachran, who was loved by Carlo Ancelotti, is with Wigan on loan. Last August, he turned down a loan move to Malaga and nobody ever expects him to play for Chelsea again, even though he earns a staggering £38,000 a week.

Borini left for Roma in 2011 and is now back in England with Sunderland; Kakuta is on loan with Lazio; van Aanholt, the left back, is on loan with Vitesse Arnhem and it says everything about his first team chances that Chelsea are in the mix for Luke Shaw.

Nemanja Matic played against Aston Villa that night and has since returned to Chelsea after a loan spell with Vitesse and three years under contract with Benfica.

Of the 2012 team who beat Blackburn 4-1 in the final, none of them are ready for the first team just yet.


Nathaniel Chalobah, the Youth Cup final-winning captain, was on loan at Watford last season and was watched in the play-off final by Jose Mourinho. He is now on loan at Middlesbrough.

As things stand the five players who stand the best chance at Chelsea are Christensen, Bamford, Nathan Ake, plus midfielders Lewis Baker and John Swift. Next season they are likely to be sent out on loan.

John Terry, who continues to captain the club, signed a professional contract with Chelsea in 1998 and remains the last player to successfully come through the youth academy and establish himself as a first-team regular.

To get into the Chelsea team in Christensen’s preferred playing position, he must be better than Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic or David Luiz.

Even on £20,000 a week, it feels like a long way off.

[Gordopolis]

Wee article on Chelseas youth set up, which mentioned Feruz:

At the Emirates on Thursday evening the highest-paid player in the history of the FA Youth Cup will play for Chelsea in the second leg of the semi-final against Arsenal.

Andreas Christensen, described as a ‘gazelle’ by pretty much anyone who has ever watched him play, turned 18 on April 10. He earns £20,000 a week and has not made a first team appearance.

Something, somewhere, is going wrong when youth team players are walking around with that kind of money.

Watch Christensen on ITV4 on Thursday, when Chelsea’s 2-1 lead from last week’s first leg at Stamford Bridge will be tested by Arsenal’s youngsters.

He is an exceptional young player, a maturing centre half with plenty of ability on the ball. No-one disputes his potential.

The former Denmark Under 17 star, who came off the bench for Chelsea’s Under 21 team in their 4-2 victory at Aston Villa on Monday evening, makes time for himself drives into midfield positions in the way classic, ball-playing centre halves can. At his level, he is streets ahead of his contemporaries.

On £1million a year you would think that it is only a matter of time before Christensen, one of the youth team's most important players who was signed from Danish club Brondby a couple of years back, is a first team star in waiting.

If only it was that straightforward.

He was an unused substitute in Rafa Benitez’s final game in charge against Everton last season, but the standards are high at Chelsea.

When they signed Christensen in 2011, they were feeling pretty pleased with themselves after fending off interest from European football’s leading clubs.

Manchester United and Manchester City hovered, but walked away when the money came rolling in from Chelsea. Barcelona went the same way when they were also outbid.

Ask around the game and everyone will tell you that Christensen is perhaps the biggest talent in European football for his age.

And yet, at the age of 18, there are still no guarantees.

Take a look at another Chelsea academy graduate, striker Islam Feruz. Three years ago Chelsea wanted him so badly they paid Celtic some heavy duty compensation to bring him south of the border.

Now 18, he is still at Chelsea, but word around the club is that he is unlikely to make it to the very highest level.

Not quite in the running: Christensen has been named in the first-team squad once

Patrick Bamford, scoring goals for fun at Derby (on £8,000 a week), is expected to travel with the first team when they play a series of friendlies in pre-season. He is one of 28 Chelsea players out on loan this year.

When top clubs - not just Chelsea, because there will be others who are just a culpable - are paying big sums of money to a youth team player it is time to re-assess.

There are people at Stamford Bridge who are not even sure that Christenen, who is already 6ft 1in, will make it as a first-team player.

The FA Youth Cup is often seen as a barometer by mainstream clubs in England and Chelsea have certainly established themselves as a powerful name in the competition.

When they won it in 2010, for the first time in 49 years, Chelsea were convinced that Jeffrey Bruma, Josh McEachran, Fabio Borini, Gael Kakuta and Patrick van Aanholt would soon be filling first team berths.

Bruma, originally signed from Feyenoord, is now back in Holland with PSV Eindhoven.

McEachran, who was loved by Carlo Ancelotti, is with Wigan on loan. Last August, he turned down a loan move to Malaga and nobody ever expects him to play for Chelsea again, even though he earns a staggering £38,000 a week.

Borini left for Roma in 2011 and is now back in England with Sunderland; Kakuta is on loan with Lazio; van Aanholt, the left back, is on loan with Vitesse Arnhem and it says everything about his first team chances that Chelsea are in the mix for Luke Shaw.

Nemanja Matic played against Aston Villa that night and has since returned to Chelsea after a loan spell with Vitesse and three years under contract with Benfica.

Of the 2012 team who beat Blackburn 4-1 in the final, none of them are ready for the first team just yet.

Nathaniel Chalobah, the Youth Cup final-winning captain, was on loan at Watford last season and was watched in the play-off final by Jose Mourinho. He is now on loan at Middlesbrough.

As things stand the five players who stand the best chance at Chelsea are Christensen, Bamford, Nathan Ake, plus midfielders Lewis Baker and John Swift. Next season they are likely to be sent out on loan.

John Terry, who continues to captain the club, signed a professional contract with Chelsea in 1998 and remains the last player to successfully come through the youth academy and establish himself as a first-team regular.

To get into the Chelsea team in Christensen’s preferred playing position, he must be better than Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic or David Luiz.

Even on £20,000 a week, it feels like a long way off.

Thanks for the article - not surprising really. So why don't they give the guy a chance to develop elsewhere? A loan would suit all parties best would it not?

[Dunning1874]

Josh McEachran is on £38,000 a week?! Fucking hell.

[RandomGuy.]

[cowboy]

I watched the game and thought the standard of fitba was pretty honking. a lot of the teenage spl players would have strolled through that game

[sergie's no1 fan]

Feruz played for the under 21's the other day. I don't know what age group that was tonight.

The standard looked pretty rank.

[RobbieD]

He doesn't play u18s anymore.

[ICTChris]

I wish my name was Ruben Loftus Cheek.

[st jjp]

I love how happy some people are on this thread about writing off 18 year old kids FFS