Abramovich orders AVB to play Chelsea's kids
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has ordered manager Andre Villas-Boas to field his youngsters in the Carling Cup.
Villas-Boas revealed the new philosophy is seen by the Blues' Russian chief as a way of developing their best young players.
It means the likes of Josh McEachran, Romelo Lukaku, Ryan Bertrand and Oriol Romeu will play against neighbours Fulham on Wednesday night, instead of established first teamers.
Abramovich’s new attitude towards the competition perhaps gives Villas-Boas hope that the club's trigger-happy owner is ready to be more patient and build a lasting legacy.
“It’s a club philosophy. A decision the owner wants, to promote talent," said the Portuguese. "But there is a responsibility to try and win trophy as well. I think there is prestige in the competition.
“Arsenal have been doing it for years. We can discuss if it has been useful or not for the talent. But I think it has been, they [Arsenal] reached the final last year and a couple of semis. Important to get feeling of competition for them.
“The Carling Cup is an opportunity for us to put our best young talents across and give them experience for us. It’s not a completely new approach as we did it last year.
“We want them to have these opportunities. It’s a good challenge, as Fulham are a Premier League team, and it gives us an idea of where we stand.”
Chelsea won the Carling Cup twice under Jose Mourinho and the Special One put a great deal of importance on it, as it represented his first ever trophy at Stamford Bridge.
And it is clear Villas-Boas is happy to buy into the new attitude to the competitiion, especially after trying to sign young players to lower the age of the squad.
McEachran is a shining example of young talent breaking through at Chelsea, while Belgian forward Lukaku is from the other end of the scale, having been signed for £16m this summer.
Fielding youngsters in the Carling Cup has had limited success for Arsenal but, last season, Arsene Wenger used more experienced line-ups as they got to the final, where a shock loss to Birmingham delivered a devastating blow for the rest of the campaign.
Villas-Boas, unlike Wenger, certainly won’t survive six years without a trophy and to gain success he may have to be ruthless with some of his old guard.
Frank Lampard, now 33, was substituted at half time against Manchester United on Sunday and is the player feeling most heat in that regard at the moment, but Villas-Boas has given the England midfielder a vote of confidence.
“He is a fantastic player, he will be a key player for the rest of the season," he said. "I think he can adapt his game, see that different kind of versatility in other players, but it’s not an age or slowing problem.
“Frank has played 90 minutes in all games before with maximum intensity with extremely good physical stats as always in career.”
Chelsea: Turnbull; Ferreira, Chalobah, Luiz, Bertrand; Romeu, McEachran; Malouda, Kalou; Drogba, Lukaku.
Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Chelsea-owner-Roman-Abramovich-has-ordered-Andre-Villas-Boas-to-pick-kids-in-the-Carling-Cup-article801914.html#ixzz1YZqMQdhJ
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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has ordered manager Andre Villas-Boas to field his youngsters in the Carling Cup.
Villas-Boas revealed the new philosophy is seen by the Blues' Russian chief as a way of developing their best young players.
It means the likes of Josh McEachran, Romelo Lukaku, Ryan Bertrand and Oriol Romeu will play against neighbours Fulham on Wednesday night, instead of established first teamers.
Abramovich’s new attitude towards the competition perhaps gives Villas-Boas hope that the club's trigger-happy owner is ready to be more patient and build a lasting legacy.
“It’s a club philosophy. A decision the owner wants, to promote talent," said the Portuguese. "But there is a responsibility to try and win trophy as well. I think there is prestige in the competition.
“Arsenal have been doing it for years. We can discuss if it has been useful or not for the talent. But I think it has been, they [Arsenal] reached the final last year and a couple of semis. Important to get feeling of competition for them.
“The Carling Cup is an opportunity for us to put our best young talents across and give them experience for us. It’s not a completely new approach as we did it last year.
“We want them to have these opportunities. It’s a good challenge, as Fulham are a Premier League team, and it gives us an idea of where we stand.”
Chelsea won the Carling Cup twice under Jose Mourinho and the Special One put a great deal of importance on it, as it represented his first ever trophy at Stamford Bridge.
And it is clear Villas-Boas is happy to buy into the new attitude to the competitiion, especially after trying to sign young players to lower the age of the squad.
McEachran is a shining example of young talent breaking through at Chelsea, while Belgian forward Lukaku is from the other end of the scale, having been signed for £16m this summer.
Fielding youngsters in the Carling Cup has had limited success for Arsenal but, last season, Arsene Wenger used more experienced line-ups as they got to the final, where a shock loss to Birmingham delivered a devastating blow for the rest of the campaign.
Villas-Boas, unlike Wenger, certainly won’t survive six years without a trophy and to gain success he may have to be ruthless with some of his old guard.
Frank Lampard, now 33, was substituted at half time against Manchester United on Sunday and is the player feeling most heat in that regard at the moment, but Villas-Boas has given the England midfielder a vote of confidence.
“He is a fantastic player, he will be a key player for the rest of the season," he said. "I think he can adapt his game, see that different kind of versatility in other players, but it’s not an age or slowing problem.
“Frank has played 90 minutes in all games before with maximum intensity with extremely good physical stats as always in career.”
Chelsea: Turnbull; Ferreira, Chalobah, Luiz, Bertrand; Romeu, McEachran; Malouda, Kalou; Drogba, Lukaku.
Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Chelsea-owner-Roman-Abramovich-has-ordered-Andre-Villas-Boas-to-pick-kids-in-the-Carling-Cup-article801914.html#ixzz1YZqMQdhJ
Sign up for MirrorFootball's Morning Spy newsletter Register here
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