Ask the audience: Chelsea’s age policy is ignorant
Chelsea’s long-standing age policy for players over 30 is ignorant, that theory is being proven by two star forwards during this period.
Chelsea has won seven of its last nine matches since the restart. The Blues are in scintillating form, earning wins over Leicester City, Manchester City and Manchester United in that time. The lack of stability at the back has gained a lot of attention, but the sensational play of Chelsea’s forwards cannot go unnoticed either.
Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud and Willian have all been excellent. Without each one, the Blues would surely be down and out of the top four race by now. But what do two of these players have in common? Both Giroud and Willian face uncertain futures at Chelsea due to their age. Despite proving time and time again they can still perform under the bright lights of the Premier League, Chelsea’s archaic policy of players aged 30+ provides a hazy future for each player. It’s time to do away with this ignorant unwritten rule.
The silly regulation has seen countless players walk out of the doors at Cobham with plenty left in the tank. Mistakes like that can be costly in football and over the last few seasons, Chelsea has let players like Cesc Fabregas and Branislav Ivanovic depart the club due to their age. Both have come back to bite the Blues, as the team missed what each brought to their respective positions in the near future following their sales.
With such a young squad, the presence of veterans in the team allows for the youth to have mentors. Further, players who know what it means to play for the Blues and in big matches set a positive example around the locker room. Regardless of age, if a player is still producing, his place in the squad should be considered, not set in stone by the board—Giroud and Willian being the perfect examples.
Willian may not put up the stunning numbers someone like Timo Werner or Hakim Ziyech can, but nobody on the team works harder off the ball. The Brazilian is enjoying his finest season with the club, dialing it back about five years. Willian knows what it means to play for Chelsea and he is a fine ambassador of the club. The same can be said for Giroud. His style of play isn’t sexy, but it’s effective. Giroud has shown over the restart he can still produce at a high level, scoring goals with the best of them. Unfortunately, the only numbers that matter to the Chelsea hierarchy are those next to their names.
The stigma around older players has to change; and it can with the veteran duo. As an overall philosophy, Chelsea is of the right mindset with its over-30 rule. However, going forward, it should be a suggestion as opposed to a policy. Chelsea is an elite European club—not an MLS team—but having players like Willian and Giroud around benefits the rest of the squad.
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In the end, the decision on who to sign, dish out, keep around, loan, etc. should come down to two men and two men only: Manager Frank Lampard and Technical Director Petr Cech. Ironically enough, both played for the Blues years into their own careers. Chelsea is on the verge of creating something special, an outdated policy should play no part in ruining that.