Chelsea and the Carling Cup Conundrum

FresnoBob · 25th September 2008, 20:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raven_Blade

Nope. Ive said many times that every trophy should be viewed as important. How many teams get a chance of silverware every season? Very few. So its good to take them all seriously and treat each competition with respect.

Is the significance of the League Cup that it is a piece of silverware, or that it is a ticket for some team to play in Europe the next season? If the former, it's still only the fourth competition and teams with the ability to do well in one of the three more important competitions might need to concentrate on those efforts.
If it's about getting to Europe, the competition is basically irrelevant to Man United, Chelsea, or Arsenal, except as a source of revenue and a chance to empty the bench. More to the point, a club that can't beat the United scrubs, Arsenal's kindergartners, or Chelsea's second wave of internationals probably shouldn't be competing in Europe anyway.

Xander45 · 26th September 2008, 09:19

Quote:

England and Chelsea captain John Terry believes the Carling Cup provides a great platform for youngsters to gain vital first-team experience.

Although some are critical of England's second cup competition, with teams opting to give fringe and youth players a chance, Terry is taking a positive view on their approach.

The England skipper thinks that, following this week's round of Carling Cup matches, the future of English football is bright due to the success of teams like Arsenal

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger often utilises the cup to give his budding youngsters the chance to take centre stage, meaning the likes of Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Gavin Hoyte and Mark Randall were all thrust into the limelight.

Bright future
"I think it's great for English football. We're seeing first of all Arsene Wenger having the confidence in putting his young players out," he told Sky Sports News.

"Our reserves went to Arsenal with a lot of English players a couple weeks of ago and beat them 2-1 or 2-0 I think. Then that side goes out and beats Sheffield United 6-0.

"So we've got a lot of good youngsters at our place as well and I'm sure other teams have. It's just that Mr Wenger has really got the confidence to put them out. It's a great advert for English football."

Impact in training
Many of the big four often splash the cash on big-name foreign imports to strengthen their squads, but Terry loves nothing more than to see an English-born youngster impress in training and then given their chance in the Carling Cup.

"I love it when the young English guys come over and train and really make an impact in training," he continued. "Youngsters who don't stay in their shell and take the game upon themselves, we all like to see it.

"If the talent's out there managers will have the confidence to put them in their squads and give them their chance. The Carling Cup is a great chance for teams and young players to do that."

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...196558,00.html

Right now this is annoying, he says it's great to see the youngsters playing in the cup. Yet i think only two non first teamers even got the slightest taste of a run out the other day!

a_devil_inside · 26th September 2008, 13:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xander45

Right now this is annoying, he says it's great to see the youngsters playing in the cup. Yet i think only two non first teamers even got the slightest taste of a run out the other day!

here's the Chelsea youngsters they played

Sinclair and Di Santo came on for last 10/15 minutes or so

Cling Bak · 26th September 2008, 14:01

If Chelsea want trophies (and they clearly do), why not go for this one just like the others? What you need to also remember is, they were playing away from home against another Premier League side. I know Portsmouth are lacking confidence and not the same as last season right now, but they're still a decent side. Picking a strong team shows they wanted to make sure they win. I doubt even the most ardent Chelsea fan would've predicted 0-6, therefore it's seemed like they've almost played too safe with that line-up.

26th September 2008, 14:01	#44 (permalink)
Cling Bak Reserve Team Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,456	If Chelsea want trophies (and they clearly do), why not go for this one just like the others? What you need to also remember is, they were playing away from home against another Premier League side. I know Portsmouth are lacking confidence and not the same as last season right now, but they're still a decent side. Picking a strong team shows they wanted to make sure they win. I doubt even the most ardent Chelsea fan would've predicted 0-6, therefore it's seemed like they've almost played too safe with that line-up.