Having concluded his transfer business, Barrett Rouen (in his capacity as fictitious Chelsea Technical Director) returns to London to address the youth.
Six days into the job
Now that the squad has been assembled in London and at least enjoyed a few kickabouts together before their trip to Asia it’s important that we start the less glamorous but more important parts of work. I’ll spend the day visiting with each youth player we have in our club, assessing them and trying to show them that the club has changed.
For too long Chelsea have done a fantastic job in alienating it’s own youth. What makes this particularly dangerous is that Chelsea have also trained some of the most wonderful talent in the country.
I already fear the day a 23-25-year-old Dominic Solanke is playing at the Bridge in the colors of Liverpool with the added bite of his anger towards us. Scouts all agreed he was the next Zlatan, and yet for some reason Chelsea’s previous regime felt it best to alienate him.
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There is not one major European power that is lacking more than two homegrown players in their squad. You need them, if not for their ability as players, but for their ability to translate the clubs ideals into the rest of the squad. They also provide a special connection with that oft-forgotten but all important part of any football club, the supporters.
Real Madrid have Dani Carvajal, Marco Asensio and Alvaro Morata. Bayern Munich have Thomas Muller. Juventus have Claudio Marchisio and so on and so forth. These players don’t need to be starters every single day but they do need to be active members of the squad.
Chelsea have frustrated their own players to the point that they want to leave. It’s the reason why the club’s recent history is tainted with really high high’s and really low low’s like winning the league and then dropping out of Europe.
Chelsea assemble highly talented groups of professionals who view Chelsea as a five-year contracted job and not a life-long commitment. Homegrown players bridge those gaps between different teams. They are the backbone of long-term sustained excellence.
For too long those players have been alienated. My goal is that at least two youth players play become 30-game players within two years. For all the money we have spent we need players who echo the sentiments of the club for years.
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I’m earmarking Jake Clarke-Salter to begin starting within two seasons. He’ll succeed whoever is playing on the left-hand side of the defensive three. He’s left footed, tall and reads the game perfectly. Then Lewis Baker should be rampaging about in midfield sooner rather than later. They’re perfect for Conte’s system and coached by him they will reach new heights that no-one expected.