Chelsea invites top U.S. youth players to train

This is a Chelsea branding move, as part of its sponsorship of the Disney tournament, as opposed to being a serious effort at talent shopping. They weren't asking about EU passports.

 

Chelsea always get involved in these gimmicks. They appear on a reality TV show where the winner gets taken on as an apprentice.

 

This is probably because they're the "new money" of the European soccer upper class. By not having won the CL yet, they haven't gained entry into the G14. They were a pretty small club 15 or 20 years ago compared to the other big three of Liverpool, Arsenal and Man U, and they need to do more unconventional things to gain fans and stay at the top bracket. Especially when, as will happen some day, they have to behave like a normal club and spend only what they earn.

That said, fun little tour for the kids. It's good that our best can get a peek at how things work "over there." It wasn't so long ago in the grand scheme of things that even our top players at that age group still regarded traveling outside the state as a big deal.

 

There were a lot of clubs bigger than them 15-20 years ago but they have passed them with ease. Back then anyone could win the league in a given year and it wasn't strange to see Manchester United or Arsenal finish mid table. Today it's all about the money and Chelsea have it so they are one of the biggest clubs. They would really have to screw up(way more than they have this year) or have Abramovich leave to fall out of the "big four."

 

The chelsea u-16's actually lost in the finals to CASL Elites I think in this tournament. 2-1.

 

the kid that won the first one was pretty good. Because someone wins American Idol doesn't mean they can't sing.

Although the first winner was released in 2007 and remains unsigned now, curious to note that he's considering a US university scholarship as a back-up to not having a pro-contract. Not sure where that ranks our development path!!

Link to Sam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Hurrell

http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/boards/read/s379.htm?722,7931895

 

Front page of the Raleigh News and Observer.

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/854719.html

I found that, um, interesting.

The whole article is kind of interesting, partly for the info about the event, and partly as an insight into how a mainstream writer describes our little corner of the universe.

 

OK, mystery solved.

Nothing against our American kids, but if Chelsea can't assemble a vocational squad and beat a bunch of boys who have 45 hours+ of schoolwork per week and maybe 2-3 soccer practices, then Chelsea is in a world of trouble.

But now I understand.

By the way, this officially makes North Carolinians better people than Barcelonans, not that there was ever much doubt. Way back when my son's 8/9 year old team got hammered by an Espanyol U10 squad, but did the Barcelonians point out the age difference? Did they merely ignore what was after all a U10 match? No. Instead, a big article in one of the Barca newspapers gloating about how the Spanish taught the naive Americans how real soccer is played.

How have you guys done in Euros and World Cups since then, fellas? Yeah, that's what I thought.

 

That's just the concern. Easy come, easy go.

If Abramovich died, had his wealth seized, or lost interest in soccer tomorrow, Chelsea loses most of what they've gained. That's what they're trying to insure against.

 

i hate stillitano, and i hate chelsea. they're perfect for one another.

 

Its just a scheme to make more money and grow chelsea in america. Nothing will come of it for the kids selected. It will be something cool to tell their friends about but thats pretty much it.

 

Also for the college resume, and maybe for developing a profile so as to get invited to adidas elite summer camp.

 

The G14 has nothing to do with being big as such - it was (it has now been disbanded) a private group set up to lobby UEFA on rules and regulations so that the lions share of TV money etc would go to them.

G14 membership was by invitation only (think of it like a masons club) and clubs such as Arsenal, Man Utd, Real Madrid, Barcelona didn´t want Chelsea also benefitting as they were seen as a threat.

Despite being a smaller club 20 years ago thats not so true in terms of attendance over the last 100 years - Chelsea have the 5th highest average atendance in the all-time list of the English league.

Money and success is nothing new in English football history; Arsenal were promoted from the second to the first down to dubious dealings by Sir Henry Norris who shortly before had saved them from liquidation (they has not earned the right to be promoted). Their most successful period was in the 30´s when Chapman made under the table payments to get the best players in. Manchester United have been saved from liquidation twice in their history (the origonal Manchester Club - City - used to call them rags!). More recently, they floated the club and made it a PLC to raise money for new players. Liverpool were a second division side in the 60´s under Shankly until one of the richest families in Britain, the Moores family, put their chief accountant on the board to sign the cheques for new players - despite being the chairman of their big rivals Everton! Moores also brought 25% of Liverpool! Only then did they have success.

Of course, English football is now big money and success guarantees survival so superiority of the established succesful clubs is jealously guarded - Chelsea have become a pain in the arse to these clubs whilst hypocritically forgetting how they managed to get to the top of the pile in the first place!

 

Chelsea weren't invited because it (was) for the historic biggest clubs in Europe. I don't think it has any thing to do with rivalries because Inter and Juve hate it other, including the owners but both of them were in it; its not like it was some sort of carebear love club.

Chelsea aren't a "historically big club", they're a "big club for part of the 2000s"... inducing a team who have won less league titles than Everton, Sunderland, Newcastle, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa.. without including those would be foolish.

To give you an idea of the historics, Chelsea have won the same amount of league titles and are historically only on the level of, Wolves, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers. Since it already looks like Chelsea's five minutes are up (looking at the current league table), it was probably a wise choice not to include them.

 

I'm sure most of today's Chelsea supporters can't tell you anything about the club before 2003 so to them you're speaking greek.

 

some folks call it new money

 

Myself being one.