FA Youth Cup 2011/2012

List of the more prominent players that will feature:

Lucas Piazon - Most of you are probably aware of the young Brazilian by this point. We signed him away from Sao Paulo last spring to the dismay of his many other suitors, and since then he's moved to London and managed to complete his transfer ahead of schedule. Because of this, Piazon is expected to start the game tomorrow somewhere on the attacking line. We profiled Piazon last march, and since then we've all probably taken advantage of any chances we get to watch the exciting young Brazilian. While he's played mostly center forward or striker for the Brazilian national side, he's generally been deployed on either wing for the Chelsea reserves thus far. He's been awfully impressive, and in the last few reserve games he's easily been one of the best players on the pitch.

Jamal Blackman - Jamal is known by his teammates as "Big Black", and when you get a look at him it's pretty clear why. Blackman is huge, standing in at 6'6" with exceptional athleticism. He's the regular stater for the reserve side, but he's still eligible for the Youth Cup this season and expected to be called on. Blackman is highly thought of around England, as he's been a regular at every level of the national team growing up. It's hard to project keepers going forward, but there is very little not to like about Blackman.

Nathaniel Chalobah - Chalobah is probably the prize of the Chelsea academy at the moment. After appearing on the first team bench last season we took a closer look at the young prodigy in January. Since that profile, Chalobah has been asked to play regularly at both the center of the defense and in the holding midfield role, but he's also filled in at right back and in a more box to box role. Regardless of where he's played Chalobah has generally been one of the best players on the pitch. I'm not really sure where he'll play tomorrow, but I think in the long term he's probably best suited to the midfield.

Daniel Pappoe - Pappoe is generally Chalobah's partner in the defense at the reserve level, and we profiled him here last January as well. Danny is an absolute monster, he's one of the few players around that can make Romelu Lukaku seem like a normal sized human being. While he's still probably too raw to be a factor in Chelsea's plans, he's certainly impressed enough that he'll be in the discussion for a loan move next fall. He's been battling a minor injury lately, so we may not see him feature tomorrow. Assuming we advance, however, I'd expect Pappoe to be a major factor in the squad for this cup.

Todd Kane - Kane will likely be playing right back for the U18's in this cup run. Last season's leading scorer can play anywhere along the right side, and with his work ethic he's capable of being an Ashley Cole-like threat on both ends of the pitch. Two seasons ago I wasn't overly impressed with Kane, but he has developed nicely in the last year and a half and is probably starting to push for a loan to a lower level club next season. He's an interesting one to watch going forward, as we have little potential talent on the right flank that is anywhere close to ready.

Islam Feruz - Feruz was signed earlier this season from Celtic, and it's becoming pretty clear why they did not want to lose him. Since coming south from Scotland, Feruz has done nothing but continually put the ball in the back of the net. He's not a big guy at all, but Feruz is absolutely on a level above the rest of the U18's with his runs and finishing. He doesn't look out of place leading the line for the reserves at all if that tells you anything about the 16 year old's polish.

Alex Kiwomya - We took a closer look at Kiwomya here. Alex can play anywhere along the front line, but both the reserve and youth coaching staffs have been using him primarily as a substitute to date. With his unbelievable physical gifts he's been scoring at every level thus far, and he's certain to be a nightmare for teams to try to keep contained. At the moment I really think that Kiwomya might be the scariest U18 player in England.

Amin Affane - Affane typically plays in an advanced central midfield role, and he'd certainly fit the.playmaker role. Born in Sweden Affane was a pretty highly touted youngster when we added him to the academy. Technically Affane is very strong despite his lack of size. He's also got fairly good speed and balance. He's most noted for his quick and efficient passing and free kick ability, and he along with Piazon will be major keys to unlocking the strikers.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - Loftus-Cheek plays both an advanced midfield and wing role for the academy team. He's been in fine form this season and combined with Feruz and Kiwomya probably completes the scariest trio of youth at the academy level in England. Unlike the other two, Ruben was a far lower profile acquisition. He'll likely start today on the left wing, and he's certainly worth keeping an eye on as he's got a knack for getting into dangerous areas.

Lewis Baker - Baker plays in an advanced midfield role for the U18's. He's very good with the ball on either foot, and he's a steady reliable passer. He's also noted for covering a considerable amount of ground in the midfield during games, and his runs into the box often leave him in good position to be a scoring threat. Baker is having an excellent season thus far, so he's worth keeping an eye on.

Nathan Ake - The David Luiz lookalike was a bit controversial when we signed him, but it's easy to see why he was a target. Ake is strong for his age and very good on the ball. Like his hair-brother, Ake tends to take advantage when gaps develop and drive deep into the opposition's defense. He finds himself out of position defensively too often, but that's something that should come in time. He's still amongst the youngest players in the tournament.

This Cup is a good place to see at what stage the youngsters are at since the other competitions for the youths are pretty noncompetitive. This is probably why some of the talented Reserves guys are 'demoted' so that they can be assessed. It's also a good place to advertise Chelsea's improving academy. This time players like Piazon, Feruz, Chalobah and Luiz's younger brother AKA Ake will feature, so be sure to read to game-to-game analysis courtesy of the official site!

Hopefully we can take this years cup!

CHELSEA 2 DONCASTER ROVERS 1

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Chelsea (4-3-3): Jamal Blackman; Todd Kane, Nathaniel Chalobah (c), Nathan Ake, Adam Nditi; Lewis Baker, John Swift, Lucas Piazon; Alex Kiwomya (Archange Nkumu 64), Islam Feruz, Amin Affane (Ismail Seremba 89).
Unused subs: Michell Beeney, Alistair Gordon, Reece Mitchell.

Doncaster (4-3-3): Jonathan Maxted; Jordan Binns, Liam Wakefield, Brett Lucas (c), James Husband; Jacob McCormick (Joshua Meade 87), Harry Middleton, Eddie Wilding (Evan Finnegan 79); Patrick Mullen, Christopher Whincop (Alex Peterson 75), Jordan Ball.
Unused subs: Aaron Busby, Lewis Ferguson.

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Following the scoring pattern of the first team's win on Monday, the Under 18s recovered from an early shock to progress in the Youth Cup with goals scored by John Swift and Lucas Piazon.

In front of 482 spectators in their first game staged at Staines Town FC, the young Chelsea side conceded from a free-kick in the opening minutes. Doncaster had few chances after that but they knew how to defend although Swift put Chelsea on level terms inside the opening 10 minutes.

The winner had to wait until the closing stages, Piazon (pictured above) finding the net after advancing from midfield, but it was a win that was clearly deserved on balance of play.

Jamal Blackman had recovered from a back spasm that forced his late withdrawal from the weekend league game so took his place in goal. Nathaniel Chalobah was added to the defence and captained the side and schoolboy Alex Kiwomya came in to play wide on the right of the front three.

The young Blues went behind with less than two minutes played, a set-piece doing the damage. A free-kick was awarded on the Doncaster right which was fired in to the near post area where the visitors' centre-back Liam Wakefield got away from his marker and in front of Blackman to head in.

Doncaster had been faster out the blocks even before that goal but the Blues soon wrestled back control of the game.

John Swift, playing in the heart of the Chelsea midfield shot straight at the keeper who had a more difficult task from a diagonal effort from left-back Adam Nditi. The equalising goal came on seven minutes, centre-forward Islam Feruz having moved wide to attack and cross in low. The ball reached Swift who finished confidently from inside the area.

Back on level terms and the Blues kept the pressure on. Feruz showed good control to take a Swift pass and shoot, but the keeper saved.

Chelsea knew by now to take care when Doncaster had a set-piece and one corner ricocheted inside the six-yard box before it was cleared, but then Chelsea went close twice midway through the half. First Swift fired just over from distance when Nditi had beaten his man and centred, and then Piazon, running on to an Affane pass, shot wide from much closer in.

A quieter spell came to an end when Affane was found in plenty of space on the left and the Swede went for the shooting option, missing the far post by a whisker with Feruz sliding in and almost turning it on target.

Doncaster weren't afraid to use the long ball forward and mostly such attacks were dealt with comfortably, Dutch defender Nathan Ake the outstanding defender of the first half, but when one long punt did break the way of Doncaster forward Patrick Mullen, he cleared the Chelsea bar with as Blackman raced back to his line.

There had been a few hard challenges going in but Nditi was first to receive a yellow card for one shortly before half-time.

There was an early threat by Chelsea after the restart when Swift wormed his way along the by line and struck the keeper's legs, Kiwomya on the turn then knocking a difficult follow-up chance wide.

The best moments from Feruz continued to come when he pulled wide and found by an excellent Chalobah pass, the diminutive striker cut in and thundered a shot at Jonathan Maxted that the Doncaster keeper managed to keep out.

Ake tested the glass in one of the houses behind the goal with a volley but clear-cut chances were proving hard to come by in the second half. Baker had a shot saved by the post.

With 20 minutes left Chelsea had a strong penalty claim waved away. Feruz had used his good acceleration to reach the ball in the first place and then he tried to slip round the back of Brett Lucas but the Doncaster skipper appeared to push him down. No foul was given. Lucas himself went down with cramp. Was this the first sign that a side that had been chasing the game were tiring?

It took only another two minutes for Chelsea to go ahead. Piazon, playing as an attacking midfielder, had been quiet in the first half but as against Portsmouth at the weekend, the Brazilian came more into it after the interval and his was a graceful run forward past a man and shot from the edge of the area, although the ball was helped on its way in by a deflection off a defender. There were 72 minutes played.

Doncaster, now in need of a goal, had their best minutes of the half immediately after the Chelsea goal, and Blackman had to stand up and block an over-head kick from unmarked Jordan Ball.

Doncaster substitute Evan Finnegan clattered Affane to earn a booking. A card apiece in this game had been quite lenient by the ref.

Feruz heeled Baker's free-kick in but from an offside position before the Doncaster keeper kept the score at 2-1 with a diving stop. Todd Kane's shooting prowess is no secret and the right-back had drilled one hard towards the top corner. It was good save that kept it out.

There was one final moment of concern for Chelsea when a corner was tipped onto the top of his bar by Blackman, but the whistle blew soon after to send Adi Viveash's side into the fourth round.

Manager's Words:

'It was a very tough game and the third round is always tough, as you can see from some of the results already, including Liverpool going out,' said Viveash after the final whistle.

'I was really pleased with the boys' mentality, they fought and scrapped and stuck together and a little bit of magic from Piazon at the end has won a close game. All credit to Doncaster, they came with a plan to stop us playing and for most of the game it worked but we could have had more goals in the first half, their keeper made two outstanding saves.

'There were some very good performances. Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Ake were excellent. Todd Kane gives great desire and drive and Amin Affane played extremely well. Islam Feruz was the best player on the pitch with good movement and he was always a threat.

'Our midfield couldn't quite get going, Doncaster won that battle in the first half, but the work rate they put in meant they tired because of our use of the ball.

'It was a great little atmosphere, a good pitch and a good cup tie.'

piazon scored :dance:

I think in this game Piazon played much deeper then any other game for Chelsea.

Really impresed with Swift and Ake.

we got kicked out in the 1st round

RealGunner wrote:we got kicked out in the 1st round

Not to convinced about ourselves either. Just barely got passed Doncaster

Ganso wrote:piazon scored :dance:

Woah he speaks awesome English

Affane>Piazon

Hopefully Ruben plays in wednesday youth cup, and i think this will be the lineup:

Blackman
Kane Chalobah Ake Nditi
RLC
Baker Swift
Piazon Feruz Affane

lol i thought the game was wednesday, but it is January 21 .

lol the draw hasn't even been made yet

english_jewel wrote:lol the draw hasn't even been made yet

Actually we already have an opponent, we drew Norwich it was the same day as the CL draw.

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/TheAcademyNews/0,,10268~2549577,00.html

Anyway i really like the squad above, i think they all have the talent to play for Chelsea one day. Don't think they will all make it, but the potential is there.

Chalobah, Piazon and Kane are the most ready should get the chance sometime this season.

Hmm looks like I missed the draw

The details of the FA Youth Cup fourth round tie away to Norwich City have been announced.

The game will take place on Wednesday 11 January at Carrow Road. It will have a 7pm kick-off.

All tickets are priced at £2 and can be purchased on the night at the turnstiles.

The match will be live on Chelsea TV which is available on Sky Digital channel 421 and online.

Chelsea's Under 18s reached this stage by beating Doncaster Rovers in the third round (as seen in the video above).

£2 thats Yid*ish

RuthlesGangstaDef:villin wrote:£2 thats Yid*ish

I know, they should just make it free :lol!:

NORWICH CITY 0 CHELSEA 0 (2-4 ON PENS)

Chelsea (4-3-3): Jamal Blackman; Todd Kane, Daniel Pappoe (Archange Nkumu 28), Nathan Ake, Adam Nditi; John Swift, Nathaniel Chalobah (c), Lewis Baker; Amin Affane (Alex Kiwomya 60), Islam Feruz (Alistair Gordon 106), Lucas Piazon.
Unused subs: Mitchell Beeney, Anjur Osmanovic.

Norwich City (4-3-3): Remi Matthews; Cameron Norman, Harry Barker, Taylor McKenzie ©, Harry Toffolo; Michael Clunan, Cameron McGeehan, Dean Florence (Jason Dobbs 102); Jacob Murphy (Joshua Murphy 71), Jamar Loza, Reece Hall-Johnson.
Unused subs: Theo Jones, Conor Cable, Joshua Murphy, Kyle McFadden

Adi Viveash's side secured their place in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup, beating Norwich in a tense penalty shootout after the game at Carrow Road had ended 0-0.

120 minutes of football had failed to separate the sides, and Blues keeper Jamal Blackman was the hero on the night, saving from Joshua Murphy who took the second kick of the shootout which the Blues went on to win 4-2. Norwich had put the first against the bar.



There was only one change from the Blues team which beat Doncaster in the third round, with Daniel Pappoe coming into the centre of defence, allowing captain Nathaniel Chalobah to move into midfield alongside John Swift and Lewis Baker. Alex Kiwomya had to be content with a place on the bench.

It was a cagey opening few minutes with neither side wanting to make any early mistakes, though Nathan Ake had to be alert to clear a Harry Toffolo cross from the left in the first real attack of the match.

The hosts almost took the lead in the ninth minute when Cameron McGeehan rose highest to meet a Michael Clunan free kick at the far post, but the midfielder, under pressure from Todd Kane, could only manage to direct his header wide.

Jamar Loza was then brought down on the edge of the box by Ake to present Norwich with a free kick in a dangerous position, but Toffolo curled his effort harmlessly over the bar.

Ake was the architect of our first sight on goal in the 21st minute, skilfully bursting through from the back to play a delightful through ball to Lucas Piazon, who fired straight at Remi Matthews as the goalkeeper advanced off his line.

The home side had the best chance of the game minutes later when Reece Hall-Johnson whipped a cross across the face of the goal following a marauding run down the right; Pappoe did well to intercept but in doing so rolled the ball into the path of the onrushing Jamar Loza, whose effort from only yards out was brilliantly saved by Blackman.

In making the tackle, Pappoe suffered an injury to his knee and Adi Viveash was forced into the first substitution of the match, replacing him with Archange Nkumu. Pappoe was in some distress and left the field on a stretcher. Having suffered a string on injuries and only just back from one to the knee in October, it was a sad sight.

A neat interchange between Swift and Lewis Baker almost played in Feruz, but Norwich managed to clear, while a minute later Baker evaded his man but could only fire his shot wide as he looked to bend it in the far corner.

The Blues were almost in front shortly after, with Baker again at the heart of it, this time releasing Kane who did well to round the keeper, only to lose the ball under pressure from two Norwich defenders.

A delightful ball in from the left by Nditi was almost met by Feruz, but the delivery had just a little too much pace on it and rolled away.

Schoolboy striker Feruz had the first sight of goal in the second half, using his pace to latch on to a hopeful clearance by Ake, but as he pulled the trigger with his left foot, Norwich captain Taylor McKenzie did well to block.



We began the second spell on the front foot with both Swift and Baker looking the most likely to unlock the door.

It was Norwich, however, who almost broke the deadlock, when Jacob Murphy reacted quickest in the penalty area to fire goalwards, but Ake was on hand to force the ball behind for a corner.

With the Blues lacking a cutting edge, Viveash replaced Amin Affane on the right with Kiwomya in an attempt to freshen things up, and Swift almost opened the scoring in the 64th minute with a rasping effort that was well saved.

Baker was then shown a yellow card for a late tackle on Hall-Johnson as the midfielder's frustration began to grow.

Piazon was soon brought down right on the edge of the Norwich box by McKenzie, with the Chelsea supporters inside Carrow Road appealing for a penalty. Baker took the resulting kick but his effort cannoned off the wall.

Baker did well to get on the end of an Nditi cross in the 78th minute, but with too much height on the delivery he failed to connect with any conviction and his effort rolled wide.

With five minutes remaining, Kiwomya did well to cut inside Toffolo out wide on the right, the winger failed to look up though, and his cross rolled aimlessly behind for a goal kick.

Ake almost threw the game away for us with less than two minutes to play, carelessly losing possession inside our half, but as Loza looked as though he was about to win the game for Norwich, Nkumu made a timely intervention to keep the scores level and send the game into extra time.

There were appeals for handball when Piazon attempted to put Feruz through in the 96th minute, but the referee waved them away to the relief of the home supporters inside the stadium.

Clear-cut opportunities were proving hard to come by as both times tired; Piazon released Kiwomya whose cross was easily cleared, while Ricky Martin's side went close when the substitute Murphy's header had to be expertly tipped over by Blackman.

Blackman was called upon in the opening minute of the second period of extra time once again, saving well from Murphy's powerful angled drive.

Blues boss Viveash then made his final substitution of the evening, replacing Feruz with Alistair Gordon.

Kiwomya had a perfect opportunity to play in Kane who had made a bursting run from deep, but the forward put too much weight on the pass, giving the right-back far too much to do. Baker then hit one from distance but it sailed over the bar.

Murphy was becoming a real danger for the home side, and he again went close after a lovely piece of play, but his effort lacked the power to trouble a keeper of Blackman's quality, ensuring the game would be decided by a penalty shootout.

Cameron McGheean was first up for Norwich, but the midfielder saw his strike crash against the bar. Chalobah took the Blues' first kick and scored easily.



Murphy stepped up next for the Canaries, but Blackman saved brilliantly down to his left, putting us in the driving seat. Piazon calmly made it 2-0 to the Blues.

Clunan pulled Norwich back into it next, driving into the top corner, before Kiwomya made it 3-1. Loza ensured it would be a tense finish, calmly slotting home to make it 3-2, but fittingly it was Baker who sealed the win for Chelsea with an expertly taken kick, making it 4-2 in the shootout.

Chelsea will now play West Ham United in the fifth round at home; the game will be played at Staines Town FC, date yet to be confirmed.

Next game: West Ham at home

I watched Extra time we good, Piazon especially

BTW if you type "FA Youth Cup 2011/2012" into Google this page is listed in the first page!

That explains the countless views

West Ham tie just a week away!

Games Off!!!!

BABY BLUES BEAT WEST HAM ON PENALTIES

Heard Feruz and Piazon, in particular, were fantastic along with Kane and Swift

Quarter finals here we come to Nottingham Forest away!! Nice to get them after we snatch their best young player! Ha!

Read more here: http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2612526,00.html