Source: FOOTYMAD
Youth boss praises his boys
Maybe they are ready for Carling Cup, he says Chelsea youth team boss Dermot Drummy knows he's on to a good thing at Stamford Bridge. His side won the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 1961 - the time of "Chopper" Harris, Bonetti and Venebles, he was naturally delighted with his team's performance. In front of almost 10,500 spectators at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won 2-1 (3-2) on aggregate. Having worked at Arsenal where he oversaw the development of many a fine talent Kieran Gibbs the latest addition - Drummy is fully aware that a couple of this season's FA Youth Cup winning squad has an excellent chance of making the step up to the big time. "Their next challenge is to step up a level," said Drummy following his charges 2-1 win over Aston Villa last night - a 3-2 win on aggregate. “They will need to go out on loan to Championship clubs." Drummy also intimated that Chelsea might follow Arsenal's development plan and thrust the youngsters into their Carling Cup squad. "Maybe we will see some of the players in the Carling Cup next season," added Drummy. "They are only 17 so maybe when they are 20 or 21 we will see their full potential. "Carlo [Ancelotti] is very complimentary about them." Drummy then explained what it's like being involved in a multimillion-pound operation like the Chelsea academy. "We tell the boys that there is a road between here - the academy and the first team and it's the hardest road they will ever cross." But he did have words of encouragement for the game's man of the match - Josh McEachran: "He will be in the reserves next season. But you have to be careful how he grows. He has vision, and massive talent - but time is important." I'm not sure how much time Roman Abramovich will wait to see the fruits of this investment in the first team. To be fair, Chelsea has a crop of players on the edge of the first team now and a whole team's worth of talent out on loan. Pick of the up and coming bunch who will feature next season must be Sam Hutchinson. Gael Kakuta is also close. Of the kids on display last night, Jeffery Bruma is a nail-on certainty. If you haven't seen him, just imagine John Terry and you will have him spot on. He has the same body shape, he runs with the ball like JT - it's quite uncanny. And the lad can play. Chelsea overcame a one-nil deficit through the powerful header of Kofi Poyser on 31 minutes before restoring the balance of the tie with a clever flick by Marko Mitrovic on 65 minutes. Then with the final looking like going into extra time, up popped skipper Conor Clifford to fire home a rasper from 20 yards. If Bruma can be likened to JT then McEachran is a double for Liam Brady while Conor Clifford can easily be compared to Paul Scholes. These three have a good chance to make it - there are others on the cusp and Danny Mills who is also a very promising centre-back. The investment looks promising at the moment - the proof is if Carlo Ancelotti is serious about promoting from within. We shall see.
