It was a story of two generations in the Capital One Cup at New Meadow on Tuesday night—one of the old and new.
At one end of the pitch was 36-year-old Didier Drogba showing there is still plenty of life left in him yet with a third goal in as many matches, while at the other, youngsters Nathan Ake and Andreas Christensen were demonstrating the talents they have.
In fact, all three players were showing their manager Jose Mourinho they can be trusted in this Chelsea team regardless of their age.
Age is a considerable factor in football and for Drogba, Ake and Christensen, it's something that will be used to their detriment at various stages this term.
For Drogba, it'll be suggested he's too old to perform; for his more youthful teammates, it'll be that they're too young.
Any arguments of that nature were surely put to bed as Chelsea came away with a 2-1 victory against Shrewsbury Town.
Drogba played the captain's role and right behind him were Ake and Christensen, outdoing some of their more experienced teammates in the performance stakes.
The big question about Chelsea these days is whether a youth team that has won two of the last three FA Youth Cups is going to start promoting players into the first team.
For so long the club has flirted with that possibility, only now they have talent that really looks like delivering.
As well as Christensen and Ake starting against Shrewsbury, Izzy Brown and Lewis Baker were on the bench. With the game being a closely fought affair, neither got a chance to make a mark in the way their academy teammates did, however.
It's a shame, borderline disappointing. It shows the trust between manager and player isn't quite there yet.
To earn it, the likes of Baker need to be given their chance. They need to be tested under the scrutiny of TV cameras, in the face of physical opposition desperate to pull off an upset.
It was telling that, when Mourinho was forced into making tactical changes on account of Shrewsbury's equaliser, it was John Obi Mikel who was substituted for Nemanja Matic, leaving 19-year-old Ake to remain in central midfield.
Ake offers something different to Mikel, although when things get tense like they had at New Meadow, it's often experience a manager will turn to in order to get his team through.
In the 93rd minute, Eden Hazard was given a run out to help finish the game off—significantly not Baker or Brown.
Like the move to keep Ake on the pitch, that decision said a lot about Mourinho's thoughts on his two young substitutes.
After the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday, Bleacher Report asked Mourinho about Baker and whether or not he would feature against the Shrews.
The 19-year-old had been an unused substitute at Old Trafford and with the Capital One Cup clash coming just 48 hours later—and against League 2 opposition—it seemed ideal for the young Englishman to be given his chance.
"Yes," was his response to whether or not Baker would be involved. "I don't know [if he will start].
"He has a way to go [to prove himself] but he has the potential, which is why he is a Chelsea first-team player.
"We are sure that he will be a good player."
Now is the time for Mourinho to deliver on that faith he suggests he has in Baker, especially when the likes of Mohamed Salah are given chances but rarely do enough to seize them.
Salah's selection on Tuesday came with its merits as the Egyptian needs game time, yet equally does Baker.
We hear of his potential, we see his performances in the Chelsea under-21s, but as yet, his chances have not been forthcoming.
If it's not his ability, Mourinho must surely not trust him to perform in key moments. Why else would a talented player not be given his opportunity?
Ake has done his bit when called upon and Christensen—albeit playing by default due to Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta being suspended—has shown he is equally able.
The results are beginning to reflect the expectation of what this crop of academy graduates can bring to Chelsea. Mourinho needs to trust his other youngsters to do the same.
*All quotes taken firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Vote for Garry Hayes as the best established football writer in the 2014 Football Blogging Awards: http://bit.ly/VoteGDH
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1014c6f
via IFTTT October 29, 2014
0 comments:
Post a Comment