England

Chelsea Comment: Buy Jack Rodwell, But Learn From Everton's Methods

The Blues should take a leaf out of the Toffees book on how to integrate young players.

Nov 16, 2009 6:47:09 AM

Europa League: Jack Rodwell, Everton v SK Sigma (PA)

The international break is often a time when managers await nervously the return — injured or otherwise — of their key players, but it is also a time when the media, deprived of club matches to write about, focus extra column inches on the players clubs might be looking to sign in January.

This weekend has been no different. And although Carlo Ancelotti will doubtless be angered by the number of players who have returned from international duty carrying injuries they were previously free of, he might be amused by the number of names Chelsea have been linked with in the looming transfer window.

Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry all picked up knocks while away with their country, but on the flip side the club have been linked with moves for numerous young starlets, including Ipswich prodigy Connor Wickham and ‘the next Kaka’, Sao Paulo’s Lucas Piazon.

The most interesting name linked with the club, one that has been banded about for a while, is Jack Rodwell of Everton. The 18-year-old is rumored to be a £20 million target for Ancelotti, who will have to fight off the advances of Manchester United to get his man.

On paper, the interest makes perfect sense. Rodwell would make a solid long-term fit at the base of Ancelotti’s midfield diamond, a position that Michael Essien is currently excelling in.

Rodwell’s physical stature (he stands 6’2”), tackling ability and impressive range of passing would seem to have the potential to bridge the gap between Essien’s all-action interpretation of the position, and the more cultured Andrea Pirlo version that Ancelotti initially envisaged for the side.

What is more, Rodwell’s attributes would seem to give him the ability to play in Michael Ballack’s position on the left of the diamond, distributing the ball going forward and anchoring the side defensively.

With Ballack 33 years old and out of contract at the end of the season, his position is one for which a long-term successor needs to be found.

A move for Rodwell, then, would seem an eminently sensible one for the club. However, as the Blues hierarchy look to get a deal done with Everton, perhaps they should also take note of how David Moyes and his coaching team have nurtured Rodwell into a player coveted by the biggest clubs in the country.

After all, Chelsea’s youth team is still notable in its poor production of first-team players, despite being stocked with some of the world’s finest young prospects — often using means that are still to be confirmed as illegal.

Everton, on the other hand, identified Rodwell’s potential from scouting the local area, and after bringing him into the club set about seeing it realised.

Arrested development | Rodwell has not been rushed

They gradually increased his exposure to the first team, first seeing him train with the squad, before adding him to the substitutes' bench.

From that point, a few minutes here and there in league and cup games increased his confidence.

This slow process has been going on since 2007, when Rodwell made his debut in the UEFA Cup against AZ Alkmaar as a 16-year-old. His exposure to the starting XI has gradually increased from there.

And manager Moyes believes it has not yet finished, despite Rodwell and fellow youngster Dan Gosling starting every one of their club’s recent games.

The Scot still wishes he had the option to be more careful with their development.

“We are coming to West Ham and having to win with Jack Rodwell who is 18 and Dan Gosling who is 19,” said Moyes last week.

“But it’s not just one game, we’ve had to do that in three or four games. It’s a lot to ask of the young payers.

“Jack has played an awful lot of football and while Dan is no doubt delighted to be playing, there are right moments when you should be playing youngsters and maybe we are having to play them at the wrong moments.

“On the evidence today you’d have to say both are mature players, and that can make them better and stronger. Then you can look at them not as young players, but players.

“We don’t have enough in the team at the moment to help them as much as we should.”

No kidding | Ancelotti isn't one to blood youngsters

But Everton's approach certainly seems to be working better than the other Blues'. The majority of Chelsea’s youth team are older than Rodwell, with much-touted prospects like Jeffrey Bruma and Gael Kakuta only a few months younger.

Yet neither have done more than flirt with regular first-team opportunities.

Even the more established young members of the first-team squad, for example Daniel Sturridge, have found that patience is a must as their opportunities have been frustratingly limited.

Such has been the case with Chelsea for a while. Carlton Cole, once the Blues’ great homegrown hope, struggled to cement his place at Stamford Bridge as he struggled for consistent opportunities.

But his subsequent success at West Ham, which has seen him linked with a £20m move to Manchester United and gain regular England appearances, indicates both the value of regular first-team football to a player’s development, but also that Chelsea do have young players with the potential to achieve at the highest level.

Home from home | Cole has found success

Of course the demands on players at Chelsea are higher, with a required challenge on all fronts meaning that youngsters cannot be blooded at the risk of losing or drawing games.

As Rodwell’s case shows, the process of integrating a young player into the first team is a long one, and one that takes time to pay dividends.

At the very biggest clubs, however, the dividends must come straight away. Hence why the big clubs are only interested in Rodwell now it appears he might actually be the real deal.

Chelsea should certainly pursue the young midfielder — after all he would seem a perfect acquisition to a tactical system that is so far working very well for the club.

But perhaps they should also take note of the methods Everton employed to develop the England Under-21 international, and consider putting some of those into practice with their own underachieving youth system.

In the long run, perhaps it would be equally beneficial to anything Rodwell himself might achieve at the club.

Alex Dimond, Goal.com UK

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Chelsea Comment: Buy Jack Rodwell, But Learn From Everton's Methods

The Blues should take a leaf out of the Toffees book on how to integrate young players.

Nov 16, 2009 6:47:09 AM

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