Michael Mancienne comes full circle as Chelsea welcome Nottingham Forest
Chelsea could see the return of their former development prodigy Michael Mancienne when Nottingham Forest visit Stamford Bridge in the English Football League Cup.
Whilst Chelsea’s academy system does not produce players for their own starting XI, it is a structure that does produce footballers. Michael Mancienne left Chelsea in 2011 as he searched for first team football, landing at Hamburg for three years before joining Forest in 2014.
Mancienne set a trend that others have subsequently followed. With over 100 appearances for Nottingham Forest, the defensive utility man has made it. He is a footballer.
As for the League Cup game itself, Chelsea have had few chances to face Forest in recent years. Following the slow demise of a club that ruled Europe not so long ago, Forest dropped out of the Premier League in 1999 and have not returned since. The team currently play in the Championship. A difference of just three goals kept them in the league last season as they teetered on brink of another relegation.
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They are a long way from the heights achieved under their most-famed management team of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. They won the 1978/79 and 1979/80 European Cup, in today’s terms, the Champions League. The only other British team to achieve that feat is Liverpool FC. During those final three seasons of the seventies, Clough and Taylor’s side dominated English football. Sadly for the Forest fans, it is something that has never been repeated.
The last time Chelsea played Forest was just over ten years ago in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The game at Stamford Bridge, was over by half-time. An eclectic mix of scorers secured the 3-0 victory. Andriy Shevchenko opened the scoring early in the game, and midway through the first half Didier Drogba doubled the lead. The scoring was sewn up by specialist bus-parker Mikel John Obi, grabbing one of the six Chelsea goals that peppered his ten year career with the Blues.
Prior to that, the teams met in the FA Cup, with goals from Frank Leboeuf and Dennis Wise securing that victory. The last Premier League double-header was in Forest’s last season, dining at the top table. Chelsea were victorious in both meetings winning 2-1 at home and 3-1 in the away fixture.
Forest have found themselves in the third round courtesy of a 3-2 win at Newcastle United, that needed extra-time to find a winner. Forest lost their weekend game 2-1 in a home fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Chelsea come into the game off the back of a 0-0 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, that sees David Luiz suspended. For Antonio Conte, it ticks one game off the Brazilian’s three match suspension, in a game that he probably would not have featured in anyway.
Both managers are likely to shuffle and rotate the starting XI’s, as is the want of most teams in the EFL cup. Conte has already indicated Eden Hazard will make his first start of the current campaign, and some of the development squad will certainly see game time.
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Should Michael Mancienne step onto the Stamford Bridge turf tonight, he will have the opportunity to double his playing time there. As a Blue, he amassed 91 minutes game time at home during his Chelsea career, something that the support in the stadium will surely want to acknowledge.