Why Our Young Squad Needs Patience (& How We've Been Here Before)

Chelsea did a youth-centric rebuild decades ago...and it worked

So here we are again. Another big defeat, another inquest into all that’s wrong at Chelsea Football Club.

I’ve written plenty of articles exploring the structure of the club on the football side, and have made clear more than once, we need a world class, elite sporting director/director of football to lead the mens side of the club with authority, and setting standards, making us respected. This view has not changed. The structure needs an overhaul as a matter of priority - long before the managerial position.

One thing which frustrates me a lot is people writing off most of the squad already as not talented, mid-table players who will get no better than they are now.

To me, this is utter nonsense. And to show why, lets’ go back to 2001/2002 season.

In summer 2001, there was a big rebuild under way at Chelsea under then manager Claudio Ranieri. Experienced players, legends, top players who had won things at Chelsea, like Frank Lebeouf, Gustavo Poyet, Dennis Wise, all moved on. Tore Andre Flo had already moved on a few months before. Gianluca Vialli had retired two years before and left as manager only 9 months earlier. Lots of legends were gone. Only Gianfranco Zola, Graeme Le Saux, Albert Ferrer and new captain Marcel Desailly remained of that era.

In summer 2001 our squad was made up of a lot of young talent. First up, 22 year old Frank Lampard signed for £11m from West Ham and 21 year old defender William Gallas signed from Marseille for £6.2m. We also had 21 year old John Terry in the squad, coming through from the academy, as well 24 year old right back Mario Melchiot, 23 year old left back Celestine Babayaro, 24 year old winger Jesper Gronkjaer and 22 year old striker Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Also in the squad were 22 year old midfielder Jody Morris, 17 year old centre back Robert Huth, 20 year old midfielder Sam Dalla Bonna, and 17 year old striker Carlton Cole all from the academy (pre-Cobham).

11 members of the first team squad were aged between 21-24. The average age of that squad was 25.01 - but its important to remember the squad included 36 year old Gianfranco Zola, 35 year old Ed De Goey and 5 other players over 30. In the January window 2001, and summer window 2001 combined, Chelsea spent £42m. The previous summer Chelsea had spent another £25m on 3 players. Overall, 9 players for £67m, probably around £350m in today’s fees, on players, approximately £38.88m per player.

Right now, we have 13 players in our squad aged between 21-24, and a further 7 players aged under 21. The average age of the current squad is 24 years and 352 days. Near enough the exact same average as the 2001-2002 squad. Like that squad, we currently have older players who balance this out, for example, Thiago Silva aged 39, Marcus Betenelli aged 31 and Raheem Sterling aged 29.

Discounting players on loan, this squad has had around £750-800m spent on it in the last 12 months, on 18 players currently in the squad, at surprisingly low average cost of £44.44m per player, only £6m more per player to what was spent in the three windows between Summer 2000 to the end of Summer 2001.

So what happened after this big spend?

Well, after 13 PL games that year, on 29th November 2001, Chelsea were in 8th in the PL on 20 points. Frank Lampard hadn’t scored in the Premier League and only had two assists despite his near record fee, and William Gallas was still finding his feet. John Terry was playing but still wasn’t as consistent as he became. Our main striker, Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink, was on a long run without scoring, so goals were an issue.

With 13 PL games played this season (2023/2024), Chelsea were in 10th on 16 points. Again, not much different from that 2001/2002 team in terms of points.

After 22 PL games in 2001/2002 Chelsea had made it to 34 points. Only 3 more points than Chelsea have this season after 22 PL games. However, that season, it was enough to put them in 6th place. Chelsea this season are only 4 points off the top 6 currently after the same number of games.

Back in 2001/2002, Chelsea ultimately improved over the season and ended up finishing 6th in the PL, with 64 points, and reached the FA Cup final where they lost to double winners Arsenal. Interestingly, taking into account our current PL win% and points per game, Chelsea this season are on course for 58-62 points, which could see us finish 6th or 7th.

One final point. In 2001/2002 Chelsea had surprisingly few injuries, as opposed to this season when we’ve had 36 absences due to injuries already. Chelsea have had a minimum of 6 players out of a match-day squad every week - often key players too.

If that Chelsea team had not had Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink for example, the chances are they’d have finished 8th or 9th, not 6th. Having an proven goalscorer makes a big difference.

So what does this mean?

The core of that 2001/2002 squad went on the finish 4th the next PL season, 2002/2003 (without one single permanent signing), then after Roman Abramovich’s investment, to go on to finish 2nd and ultimately to win a host of titles under Jose Mourinho and others.

But it took them 2-3 years to get to that point where they were developed and experienced enough as individuals and a team, to be able to compete at the highest level. It took them 2 seasons to get into the top 4.

The point of this, is judging by twitter of our fans have already given up on our young talent, writing them off completely as poor players only 6 months into their Chelsea career, aged somewhere under 23. These people are arguing we’ve wasted £1 billion on a pile of rubbish and we need to start over.

With respect, that perspective is flawed, inaccurate and foolish.

If the club had taken this approach with Frank Lampard, it would have been disastrous. Remember back in 2001, pretty much no one had any idea of the player Frank Lampard would ultimately become. He was seen as a solid international squad player, with potential to play for a top 6 or maybe a top 4 side. No more than that. Lampard got 7 goals in 53 games in all comps 2001/2002, which Enzo Fernandez should match or exceed this season in less games, and was solid more than spectacular, though he improved over the season. Nobody said at the end of the season he’d become our club record goalscorer or finish 2nd in the Ballon D’Or.

Our current squad is lacking in some areas. We clearly need more depth at left back, a creative goalscoring wide attacker, and above all, an elite proven goalscorer up top. It also lacks captains, and good experience to compliment the host of young talent. Hopefully, this is all addressed in the summer.

This squad is young, and this is their first season together. Some are adapting to the Premier League, or early in their Premier League career. They’re still developing as players, and there’s definitely been some improvement in some players. They’re going to be inconsistent, losing 4-1 one week and winning 6-1 the next, its the nature of a young squad. As we’ve seen, Chelsea have been here before with a big rebuild with youth, and in their first season the results and patterns were very similar to this one. Indeed in 2001/2022 Chelsea won 3-0 at Old Trafford, before losing their very next home game to relegation threatened Charlton. Inconsistent.

Young talent needs patience and support from fans. They will have good days and bad days, but with the right talent and a good attitude, they will learn from it all, and improve as time goes on. As the improvement comes, so the consistency comes and the whole team improves.

Mauricio Pochettino has a proven track record developing and improving young players, and despite everything, some still report he is very popular with this squad, many of whom see him as a father figure. However, whether he gets the chance to develop this team is in doubt now. But someone will have to do it.

Whoever is in charge of this squad, one thing they can’t rush is player development. That takes time, and we all need patience, regardless of the money spent.

The Score