Callum Hudson-Odoi

[rocket_scientist]

This kid deserves a thread of his own. I predict football fans will have a lot to say about him in the years ahead. Second time I've seen the 18 year old (on the telly) and he's the real deal. Phenomenal vision and a touch like God.

[rocket_scientist]

Hope he gets picked on Saturday, my first visit to Stamford Bridge. Was going to go to The New Den and wasn't put off by the scenes at the weekend including the slashed face we saw on Twitter (obviously organised casual type behaviour) but I was put off by the phone-in on talksport this afternoon!

[manc_don]

Looked like he had quite a performance the other day. Be interesting to see if he forces a move through to Bayern at some point.

[rocket_scientist]

One of the subjects on talksport just now is this kid. Simon Jordan just said that the culture in England has been not to throw kids at this age into the first team after spending so much time and energy developing them through the academies. Jim White has pointed out that 18 year old Jadon Sancho - another product of the youth academies in England - started for league leaders Borrusia Dortmund on Saturday and made two goals. A look at his record shows 12 starts and 6 goals this season in the Bundesliga.

 

It's no wonder Bayern Munchen are sniffing around Odoi. It's pathetic that great potential talents aren't getting a run because of cultural ignorance in the UK. These kids want to play and in these two, they're obviously good enough at 18. The Chelsea manager has just been quoted saying "he's only 18, he has to respect the Chelsea academy system" etc. Fuck that, if they're good enough they're old enough and you won't know how good he can be until you start him.

 

The cultural prejudice towards kids may even have extended to the players. I swear that Odoi wasn't getting the service his excellent runs into positions deserved (in the two games I watched him on TV) and some team-mates were almost ignoring his presence. Hope the kid gets his EPL starting debut on Saturday, plays a blinder and then reveals he's signed a pre-contract with Bayern.

 

 

[RicoS321]

One of the subjects on talksport just now is this kid. Simon Jordan just said that the culture in England has been not to throw kids at this age into the first team after spending so much time and energy developing them through the academies. Jim White has pointed out that 18 year old Jadon Sancho - another product of the youth academies in England - started for league leaders Borrusia Dortmund on Saturday and made two goals. A look at his record shows 12 starts and 6 goals this season in the Bundesliga.

 

It's no wonder Bayern Munchen are sniffing around Odoi. It's pathetic that great potential talents aren't getting a run because of cultural ignorance in the UK. These kids want to play and in these two, they're obviously good enough at 18. The Chelsea manager has just been quoted saying "he's only 18, he has to respect the Chelsea academy system" etc. Fuck that, if they're good enough they're old enough and you won't know how good he can be until you start him.

 

The cultural prejudice towards kids may even have extended to the players. I swear that Odoi wasn't getting the service his excellent runs into positions deserved (in the two games I watched him on TV) and some team-mates were almost ignoring his presence. Hope the kid gets his EPL starting debut on Saturday, plays a blinder and then reveals he's signed a pre-contract with Bayern.

 

Do you think it's just specific to fitba? I suspect that it's got a lot to do with maintaining happiness amongst squads as a whole. Like a "time-served" type approach outside of fitba. I see it in a lot of places I work, where a youngster will come in and be better than those above them. Their boss knows it and they know (or certainly believe) it, but they "respect the system" of promotion based on an age/experience/length of service type deal and try and manage is as best they can. Usually the young upstart just goes for a more senior position in another company where they're not held back and gets a good reference from their boss who is happy for them and happy to not have to deal with the issue. Other times, it plays out awkwardly and the immature (understandibly, not a criticism) youngster gets pissed off and plays up and it effects their confidence and performance.

 

It's a difficult one like. Experience is obviously very important, but is it as important as ability? I suppose by having a sort of "same rules for everyone/respect the system" approach it avoids the difficult questions for the manager. Probably a bit of a cop out like. Certainly something we see at AFC like, where I don't think we have the balance of experience over ability quite right when it comes to squad rotation (GMS getting 13 minutes, Wilson 6 and Ross only 3 at 4-1 up last night as an example).

[rocket_scientist]

It probably isn't specific to fitba but fortunately I've never worked in a time-served culture. Tell a lie, I certainly did work in such a shite environment, in Aberdeen 35 years ago when training as a solicitor. No wonder I didn't accept their two year post qualifying contract and got the fuck out. The first 24 months in Bon Accord Square amongst dinosaur thinkers was 2 years too long. The secretaries were lovely though.

 

It's pathetic when people follow convention and never question cultures. True innovators create their own culture, another example of why there are so few who succeed and so many who are losers.

[rocket_scientist]

I'll give you an example. It's almost unbelievable that the "business" culture was this bad as recently as when Aberdeen were the best team in the country but it was;

 

I had a client who was selling his house. We had an inquiry and as I was passing reception, I heard our receptionist, a lovely old dear say "I'm sorry but viewing was between 2 and 3 pm today so you've just missed it". We hadn't had that much interest in it and I was desperately trying to get her attention because I would've borrowed a partner's car and showed the property any time the prospective buyer wanted to see it. I failed to interrupt her, unsurprisingly as she was not a multitasker so I asked if she got a note of the name and number of the inquirer. She hadn't.

 

Later that day I suggested to our senior partner that we could be more flexible in showing property and we should certainly be getting details of prospective buyers. He looked at me like I had come off the moon. One of the many reasons I jacked the legal profession and Aberdeen at that time is that I predicted that the Aberdeen property market would be taken over by Estate Agents like Glasgow had been, us solicitors only being left to pick up the less lucrative conceyancing work. Our "Solicitors & Estate Agents" on our letterheads was a misnomer. I got that prediction wrong in that the ASPC have kept a strong monopoly on the local market but from a tiny 2 partner firm in Bon Accord Crescent, Harvey Aberdein subsequently overtook them all to dominate the profits from NE property sales. It was there to be had because the prevailing culture was so shit - "we've always done it this way" being the line I remember most.

[RicoS321]

One of the worst parts about the recent oil industry downturn was the swathes of cuts to resource and resource pay. It's not that a "haircut" wasn't required, but it was that that was the solution. Operators making comments like "20% cut across the board". The executives on large pay (not necessarily and issue) held up as the strategic thinkers who, when pressed, could only come up with pay cuts or stopping projects. There was zero calls for innovation, zero attempts at business process improvements and automation - just pay cuts, sit tight, wait for the oil price to go back up, then start again. The industry is now beginning to put prices up again and re-employing those positions that went. The problem was that it was all entirely predictable (it's happened 3 times in my career). Instead of trying to work out the most efficient way to run yer business while times are good and you can probably invest a bit of time, operators (mainly, but I suspect a lot of service companies were the same) just employed more people to the do same inefficient shite. When the hard times hit, the unfortunate job-lottery occurs and folks are left high and dry with an unaffordable mortgage (partly their own faults in some cases, but a hard lesson to learn). At it's best, it's irresponsible. It usually stems from (department) management performance being a strange measure of: having more people = more important, having greater expenditure = more important. It's rare (never) I ever here a manager desiring to make their department the smallest it can be, which is surely the entire point of management in private industry. Instead of the gap between the Exec level and the worker getting smaller (in terms of layers, not renumeration), it just gets taller.

 

How does that relate to this loon? Fuck knows, I've forgotten the question.

[rocket_scientist]

How does that relate to this loon? Fuck knows, I've forgotten the question.

 

Thanks for sharing. It relates to Hudson-Odoi because we have proved, or at least put forward some arguments for a case we know to be true, without even initially starting with that objective - now that's organicism for you - that the cultural shite that goes on in football is not exclusive to football.

 

Unsurprisingly, as it is perpetuated by human beings. Most of whom are shite.

 

And in Aberdeen in particular, they are parochial in their shiteness.

 

We've decimated the oil industry and the legal profession already, and there will be others...

[rocket_scientist]

CHO not even on the bench tonight as Chelski get fucked at Bournemouth. Maybe he's offski already but if he's not and it was a football decision not to involve him, serves you fucking right. If he's not playing on Saturday, I'll be supporting Huddersfield. But concealing this of course, being in "The Shed". Hope there's not too many Union Jacks. They make me nauseous.

[rocket_scientist]

Interesting discussion about Chelsea by the Sky panel just now. Cascarino was interviewed too and he slated their lack of youth promotion.

[rocket_scientist]

The Chelsea fans booed the substitution last night. Hudson Odoi was left on the bench. Sarri's continuing failure to play this young talent will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Speaking of camels, I reported the ridiculous "uniform" of camel-coloured flatcaps being worn at Stamford Bridge during my recent visit there. They showed Southgate in the crowd last night, sporting the same headwear (but not in camel, more like dark grey). We've not seen him in one of those before. Following local fashion is not the mark of a leader.

[Jute]

Chelsea were awful last night. Never troubled Manchester United at all. Would think Sarri’s coat is now on a very shakey peg.

[Jute]

Hudson Odoi starts for Chelsea tonight.

[rocket_scientist]

Hudson Odoi starts for Chelsea tonight.

 

And scores the 3rd.

 

18 year old Ampadu came on as a sub at 2-0. Sarri maybe does listen!

[manc_don]

Any of you guys seen the indian chelsea fan who's been going spare on youtube? Was lambasting Sarri for not playing Odoi. Do worry for his blood pressure mind.

[rocket_scientist]

CHO came on for the last 10 minutes and scored the 3rd last night. This kid has still not started an EPL game.

 

He came on for Willian who's free kick for the 2nd was superb. For me, I would have to have Willian on the pitch when CHO makes his EPL debut. There's a chemistry and understanding there. Hope they both fuck off to another club together in the summer. Norwich should buy them. Or Feyenoord.

 

Edit: just seen Willian's interview where he said that CHO can be one of the best players in the world. Sarri in his interview said that his development is at a very "dangerous" stage, citing that it won't be until he's 22 or 23 before we see the best of him. The Chelsea manager is a dickhead. Like the Chelsea owner, a different type of dickhead.

 

[rocket_scientist]

I don't get this. Sarri starts CHO tonight, he's just scored the 5th, has had a hand in some of the others and is produing his usual excellence by all accounts.

 

The manager either sees the special talents that this footballer has or he doesn't. Maybe he's thinking he's some sort of master tactician, maybe he's thinking he's a squad-rotator or maybe he thinks the Europa League isn't worth bothering about?

 

Whatever the reason he's never started Hudson-Odoi in the EPL, I reckon you should always go out to win every game and that to do that, you need to put your best team out there. Ok, the odd resting of some players in cup games here and there (if they're not man enough or hungry enough to want to play all the time) but picking CHO to start in the cups and never in the league is posting mixed messages, and the Chelsea fans don't like it. But they can fuck off with their camel-coloured flat caps. I hope Hudson-Odoi fucks off out of Chelsea at his first opportunity and Willian goes with him. They are a delightful double act who could make magic together and both have been mismanaged at Chelski. Jorginho's not working and Sarri's stubbornness has cost them.

[rocket_scientist]

Poetry. Judicial.

 

He starts the game with Willian, Giroud and CHO on the bench.

 

Jorginho and Higuain start.

 

2-0 defeat immediately after a 5-0 win away.

 

Personnel selection isn't a difficult nor a black art.

 

When your soul is as black as Sarri's, even the simplest things become invisible.

[Jute]

Called up for England squad despite not starting a league game for Chelsea.

[Tyrant]

Called up for England squad despite not starting a league game for Chelsea.

 

In Southgate's defence England are pretty shite.

[rocket_scientist]

In Southgate's defence England are pretty shite.

 

They're really not. I only watched the first half tonight but they were in total control.

 

18 year old Jadon Sancho was tremendous and from the report, Hudson Odoi was excellent when he came on and made the fifth.

 

Southgate invested in 2 x 18 year olds. Very few managers have the vision to do this.

[minijc]

They're really not. I only watched the first half tonight but they were in total control.

 

18 year old Jadon Sancho was tremendous and from the report, Hudson Odoi was excellent when he came on and made the fifth.

 

Southgate invested in 2 x 18 year olds. Very few managers have the vision to do this.

Hudson-Odoi reminds me of a young C.Ronaldo, you can tell when he gets the ball that he wants to go at the defender and it's exciting to watch a player do that, he's not afraid to get a shot off either which was why England got their 5th goal.  As for England they are spoilt for attacking options right now even with some key players missing, a slight change in approach as well to help get guys like Sterling and Sancho involved more, Kane helps that massively with his ability to drop deep and play the ball.

[rocket_scientist]

For me the most refreshing thing about him is his ability to see the simplest option before most of us have even thought about it. For all his exciting ability to run at and past people with his supreme speed, his vision to make a simple quick pass is as good as I've ever seen. He may become more selfish as his reputation grows but I hope not. He's very special.

[rocket_scientist]

Well well, on his EPL debut, he creates the goal for Giroud. Higuain on the bench, eventually. Sarri is a knob.