Callum Hudson-Odoi

[Forest Red]

Things might finally be turning round for Callum - 2 goals in the last two games and started to look quick and confident going forward. Strangely the Billing red card studs down the Achilles might have made him realise he isn’t going to break whenever he gets tackled.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Things might finally be turning round for Callum - 2 goals in the last two games and started to look quick and confident going forward. Strangely the Billing red card studs down the Achilles might have made him realise he isn’t going to break whenever he gets tackled.

I truly hope he he gets his self belief back. He has all the natural tools to be a top player again

 

[WeePat]

I’m rooting for CHO to prosper so much.

 

[Forest Red]

I truly hope he he gets his self belief back. He has all the natural tools to be a top player again

It is about him over coming his fear of getting injured again. We’ve seen glimpses of proper top level football but also plenty of occasions where he’s backed out rather than risk a tackle.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

It is about him over coming his fear of getting injured again. We’ve seen glimpses of proper top level football but also plenty of occasions where he’s backed out rather than risk a tackle.

Its what hindered loftus-cheek for a while after finally over coming injury woe. It doesn't help he has that lingering insecurity from his Chelsea days that his place is not safe if he makes errors.

 

[Forest Red]

Its what hindered loftus-cheek for a while after finally over coming injury woe. It doesn't help he has that lingering insecurity from his Chelsea days that his place is not safe if he makes errors.

CHO’s move has definitely helped him in that he’s pretty much guaranteed to start when fit plus both Coops and Nuno kept picking him even when he wasn’t contributing too much.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

CHO’s move has definitely helped him in that he’s pretty much guaranteed to start when fit plus both Coops and Nuno kept picking him even when he wasn’t contributing too much.

True. I'm quietly optimistic by the start of next season he will rediscover his self belief. For talent wise there is a serious player in him.

 

[Forest Red]

3 goals in 3 games - could have been MOM - He looked like he enjoyed today

 

[Maluco]

This was a great pickup from Forest. Chelsea will always have their bargains because they don’t value what they have. This was once a player that Bayern wanted for £50 million and they kept him, only to waste him and strip his confidence away (although injuries played their part too)

If Forest can bring him up to speed and get his confidence back up, they have a real player on their hands here.

Elanga, Hudson-Odoi and Awoniyi are exciting to watch. Dominguez, Gibbs-White and Danilo is a really nice creative midfield and Murillo looks like a potential star at the back.

Forest have been going some great, under the radar transfer work, after having been maligned for their approach on promotion.

They are 3-4 players away from a great team now and this guy can be a key player in that.

 

[matherto]

Is he getting a consistent run?

As @Maluco says above they've got a fair few exciting/creative talents. Somehow built quite a nice young squad it seems given the sheer volume of player turnover and changing the manager.

 

[Forest Red]

Is he getting a consistent run?

As @Maluco says above they've got a fair few exciting/creative talents. Somehow built quite a nice young squad it seems given the sheer volume of player turnover and changing the manager.

If he’s fit - he plays - the first choice front 4 are
Elanga - MGW - CHO
Awoniyi

Both Coops and now Nuno have persisted with him even when he was struggling for form.

 

[WeePat]

This was a great pickup from Forest. Chelsea will always have their bargains because they don’t value what they have. This was once a player that Bayern wanted for £50 million and they kept him, only to waste him and strip his confidence away (although injuries played their part too)

He was a regular part of the squad rotation from age 18 and up. He played 24, 33, 37 and 28 games in each of the 4 seasons prior to going to Leverkusen on loan. There’s a chance he could have been a starter, infact a lot of those games were starts but the one big injury and the subsequent more smaller injuries completely derailed his time at Chelsea. The idea that Chelsea did not value him is just something you’ve plucked out of thin air. Chelsea worked hard with him to help him rehabilitate and get him back to his best. Even now, as happy as I am for him, he looks well below what I know he’s capable of and what he’s shown us before his injury.

 

[Forest Red]

He was a regular part of the squad rotation from age 18 and up. He played 24, 33, 37 and 28 games in each of the 4 seasons prior to going to Leverkusen on loan. There’s a chance he could have been a starter, infact a lot of those games were starts but the one big injury and the subsequent more smaller injuries completely derailed his time at Chelsea. The idea that Chelsea did not value him is just something you’ve plucked out of thin air. Chelsea worked hard with him to help him rehabilitate and get him back to his best. Even now, as happy as I am for him, he looks well below what I know he’s capable of and what he’s shown us before his injury.

The last three games his performance has improved massively. He started going past players instead of looking for the easy sideways pass and getting stuck into tackles. With him I think it’s a mental issue that he can only solve by playing every week and not breaking - from that point of view his move to us was good for him. 3 goals in three games has certainly put a smile on his face. If there’s more to come then fantastic. One things for sure we bloody love him up here!

 

[Maluco]

He was a regular part of the squad rotation from age 18 and up. He played 24, 33, 37 and 28 games in each of the 4 seasons prior to going to Leverkusen on loan. There’s a chance he could have been a starter, infact a lot of those games were starts but the one big injury and the subsequent more smaller injuries completely derailed his time at Chelsea. The idea that Chelsea did not value him is just something you’ve plucked out of thin air. Chelsea worked hard with him to help him rehabilitate and get him back to his best. Even now, as happy as I am for him, he looks well below what I know he’s capable of and what he’s shown us before his injury.

I actually have a soft spot for Chelsea and loved Mourinho’s team, but they just don’t value their own youth products.

He was in and out of the team constantly and, as we have seen with the likes of Gallagher, you will still be offered out and could be sold at any time, no matter how often you get minutes on the pitch or off the bench.

There are numerous examples now of players that were on the verge of the squad/team and having a real role at the club they grew up at, only to be unceremoniously ditched and replaced with a player of similar quality.

Chelsea would have so much character in their squad if they had retained even half of those players, but they just don’t value them, and don’t nurture them or give them that security and platform to succeed at their own club.

Gallagher will be the next in the summer to follow the long line out the door. CHO starting to look like a real player again with a bit of faith and persistence isn’t a coincidence.

 

[WeePat]

I actually have a soft spot for Chelsea and loved Mourinho’s team, but they just don’t value their own youth products.

He was in and out of the team constantly and, as we have seen with the likes of Gallagher, you will still be offered out and could be sold at any time, no matter how often you get minutes on the pitch or off the bench.

There are numerous examples now of players that were on the verge of the squad/team and having a real role at the club they grew up at, only to be unceremoniously ditched and replaced with a player of similar quality.

Chelsea would have so much character in their squad if they had retained even half of those players, but they just don’t value them, and don’t nurture them or give them that security and platform to succeed at their own club.

Gallagher will be the next in the summer to follow the long line out the door. CHO starting to look like a real player again with a bit of faith and persistence isn’t a coincidence.

You have to take it on a case by case basis though. You can't just have a blanket statement. Chelsea have more academy players in starting elevens than almost every single team in the league the last 5 years. If we had kept every player you criticise the club for selling (and there's context around each one that you should really mention otherwise it comes across as just inventing narratives out of thin air) we'd have a starting 11 of just Cobham players.

In this specific instance, I would say you are just flat out wrong. Chelsea did everything they could to rehabilitate CHO and when he was available for selection, he was always an important part of the rotation. Being in and out of the starting line up does not automatically mean a player is undervalued. If they didn't value him, they would have sold him the second Bayern put that crazy offer on the table. They believed they had something special in him, but the whole thing was unfortunately derailed by a horrible injury.

I feel like instead of coming with the same old attacks on Chelsea's youth integration, it would be nice if you looked at the context of each instance you're discussing and baked that into your overall theory. CHO's situation, for example, is very different from Lewis Hall and Tammy. Loftus-Cheek is very different from Tomori. Mount is very different from Maatsen.

 

[WeePat]

The last three games his performance has improved massively. He started going past players instead of looking for the easy sideways pass and getting stuck into tackles. With him I think it’s a mental issue that he can only solve by playing every week and not breaking - from that point of view his move to us was good for him. 3 goals in three games has certainly put a smile on his face. If there’s more to come then fantastic. One things for sure we bloody love him up here!

Good to hear. I'm glad he's found a home again. Watching him though, even in this good run of form, he's still far, far away from the level he was showing as a teenager and that saddens me a little. But he's still only 23 and he has time on his side to get close to the potential I've always known he's had.

Perhaps this discussion should be moved to the Forest thread though. We're keeping an old transfer thread alive for no reason.

 

[Maluco]

You have to take it on a case by case basis though. You can't just have a blanket statement. Chelsea have more academy players in starting elevens than almost every single team in the league the last 5 years. If we had kept every player you criticise the club for selling (and there's context around each one that you should really mention otherwise it comes across as just inventing narratives out of thin air) we'd have a starting 11 of just Cobham players.

In this specific instance, I would say you are just flat out wrong. Chelsea did everything they could to rehabilitate CHO and when he was available for selection, he was always an important part of the rotation. Being in and out of the starting line up does not automatically mean a player is undervalued. If they didn't value him, they would have sold him the second Bayern put that crazy offer on the table. They believed they had something special in him, but the whole thing was unfortunately derailed by a horrible injury.

I feel like instead of coming with the same old attacks on Chelsea's youth integration, it would be nice if you looked at the context of each instance you're discussing and baked that into your overall theory. CHO's situation, for example, is very different from Lewis Hall and Tammy. Loftus-Cheek is very different from Tomori. Mount is very different from Maatsen.

I take your point that circumstances and individual cases matter, but the whole picture is a poor one. I am sure, as a Chelsea fan, you are lamenting the way it’s been done over the last few years.

There could have been a youthful core of graduates that would have been the envy of every side in Europe. Instead, you have spent a billion on a team of individuals that will finish lower than the kids under a poor manager in Lampard.

Character and identity are important in football and I think Chelsea have gotten it all wrong in the last 4-5 years.

If a number of those stated names had felt valued and invested in, they wouldn’t have left the club they grew up at.

 

[Forest Red]

Good to hear. I'm glad he's found a home again. Watching him though, even in this good run of form, he's still far, far away from the level he was showing as a teenager and that saddens me a little. But he's still only 23 and he has time on his side to get close to the potential I've always known he's had.

Perhaps this discussion should be moved to the Forest thread though. We're keeping an old transfer thread alive for no reason.

I thought he deserved a new thread as apart from the transfer thread his old threads were some time ago.