[Football] Tuchel: Chelsea first-team players could feature in under-23 relegation decider

[Change at Barnham]

From The Athletic:
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has suggested some of his first-team players could feature in the club’s Under-23 relegation decider against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The Chelsea Under-23 team need to win against Spurs to remain in the Premier League 2 Division 1 as they are two points from safety. Leeds United, who sit 12th of the 14 teams, have already played their final game of the season.
Andy Myers’ side have suffered an alarming decline in form this season and have been battling against relegation all year, having finished second behind Manchester City in 2020-21.

But Tuchel, speaking ahead of the senior side’s Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, suggested that some of his team may play in the fixture.
He said: “Of course, we hope for the very best and at the same time we play here with the under-23s, a crucial match to avoid relegation and it will maybe involve some players for us we will see what is on Saturday.”

Premier League rules dictate that three overage outfield players may feature in any given match, as well as an overage goalkeeper.
Should Myers’ side fail to beat Spurs, they will drop into the Premier League 2 Divison 2.
The Under-23s won the Division 1 title as recently as the 2019-20 campaign and have not been relegated since its formation in 2016-17.

The full article: https://theathletic.com/news/tuchel-chelsea-first-team-players-could-feature-in-under-23-relegation-decider/PWb58dilWwnw/

I so hope Chelsea lose if they need to pull stunts like this. The only consolation of Chelsea winning the game with their senior players included is that it relegates the other Champions of Europe, the mighty Leeds, who are no longer Marching On Together since they sacked the world's greatest coach.

 

[GT49er]

Perhaps they need to change the rules for next season if Chelsea are pulling stunts like this, while we put out a team which would qualify for an U21 competition, with the odd U18 thrown in for luck.

 

[Stat Brother]

We could pad our team out with:-

Lamptey
Caicedo
Sacramento.

and depending on the registration date:-

Cucurella
Alzate.
Mac allister.
Moder.

AND

3 overaged players!

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Perhaps they need to change the rules for next season if Chelsea are pulling stunts like this, while we put out a team which would qualify for an U21 competition, with the odd U18 thrown in for luck.

It’s not a stunt if it’s the rules. Presumably the rule is in place because clubs want to be able to field over age players. It’s only Leeds anyway…

 

[GT49er]

We could pad our team out with:-

Lamptey
Caicedo
Sacramento.

and depending on the registration date:-

Cucurella
Alzate.
Mac allister.
Moder.

AND

3 overaged players!

AND Sanchez in goal.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

We could pad our team out with:-

Lamptey
Caicedo
Sacramento.

and depending on the registration date:-

Cucurella
Alzate.
Mac allister.
Moder.

AND

3 overaged players!

The cut off for this season was players born on or after 1st January 1998, so you can add Mwepu to the list of those above that are eligible to play.

It’s not a stunt if it’s the rules. Presumably the rule is in place because clubs want to be able to field over age players. It’s only Leeds anyway…

The rule is mainly in place so clubs can use U23 games for overage players to gain match fitness after injury.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

The rule is mainly in place so clubs can use U23 games for overage players to gain match fitness after injury.

Pretty similar to the old days of reserve team football. I don’t really think Chelsea are doing anything wrong. It would be impossible to implement a system that ruled on motivations for picking players.

 

[Taybha]

Pretty similar to the old days of reserve team football. I don’t really think Chelsea are doing anything wrong. It would be impossible to implement a system that ruled on motivations for picking players.

Absolutely true,if they want to use first teamers then they can,we've done it and I expect most U23s have.


However,I hope they get smashed

 

[Postman Pat]

Should be a limit on players who have appeared in more than 50% of first team squads or something. Can play 1 or 2 to help players back from injury, but to stick a load of first teamers out does seem a bit unfair on the competition, if they havent been good enough tough shit. Will also weaken the first team too i assume, who have little to play for now.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Pretty similar to the old days of reserve team football. I don’t really think Chelsea are doing anything wrong. It would be impossible to implement a system that ruled on motivations for picking players.

Exactly, this is effectively reserve team football now, but with more emphasis on giving youngsters a better development.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Exactly, this is effectively reserve team football now, but with more emphasis on giving youngsters a better development.

Has that always been the case with the U23 league or is the over age players a new thing ? I genuinely don’t know much about it. When they used to call it a reserve team I used to look out for the results but I have never bothered since the onset of academies and the U23s.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Has that always been the case with the U23 league or is the over age players a new thing ? I genuinely don’t know much about it. When they used to call it a reserve team I used to look out for the results but I have never bothered since the onset of academies and the U23.

The 3 overage outfield players has been in place ever since the revamp of youth football in 2016 which saw the creation of Premier League 2 and the raising of the age limit so it became an U23's competition. I believe similar rules were in place to allow overage players in the U21 games that preceded it.

 

[GT49er]

Absolutely true,if they want to use first teamers then they can,we've done it and I expect most U23s have.

Have we? Sarmiento has played a couple of times in the first team, Ferguson and Roberts and one or two others have been on the bench - but who else? Cerainly very rarely, and never three at a time.

However,I hope they get smashed

Hear hear! It may be within the rules, but they're still pulling a stunt - as others have pointed out, it's against the spirit of the rule, which is basically to help players get up to match fitness after injury.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Have we? Sarmiento has played a couple of times in the first team, Ferguson and Roberts and one or two others have been on the bench - but who else? Cerainly very rarely, and never three at a time.


Hear hear! It may be within the rules, but they're still pulling a stunt - as others have pointed out, it's against the spirit of the rule, which is basically to help players get up to match fitness after injury.

We've previously had Crofts and Dicker as overage players, but they were specificly employed by the club as overage player coaches for the U23 squad. Other clubs have done this, former loan signing Paul McShane fills a similar role for Man Utd now.

Other than Jurgen Locadia, who played 61 mins, and the previously mentioned Gary Dicker, I don't think we've played anyone else in the U23's this season who didn't qualify through age.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Have we? Sarmiento has played a couple of times in the first team, Ferguson and Roberts and one or two others have been on the bench - but who else? Cerainly very rarely, and never three at a time.


Hear hear! It may be within the rules, but they're still pulling a stunt - as others have pointed out, it's against the spirit of the rule, which is basically to help players get up to match fitness after injury.

It seems we started it;

https://amp.theguardian.com/footbal...de-premier-league-wannabes-brighton-under-23s

 

[GT49er]

We've previously had Crofts and Dicker as overage players, but they were specificly employed by the club as overage player coaches for the U23 squad. Other clubs have done this, former loan signing Paul McShane fills a similar role for Man Utd now.

Other than Jurgen Locadia, who played 61 mins, and the previously mentioned Gary Dicker, I don't think we've played anyone else in the U23's this season who didn't qualify through age.

It seems we started it;

https://amp.theguardian.com/footbal...de-premier-league-wannabes-brighton-under-23s

So, we've not been playing first teamers to try and buy a result, let alone three of them at a time!

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

So, we've not been playing first teamers to try and buy a result, let alone three of them at a time!

But how do you police that ? I found this about Adam Lallana playing for Liverpool under 23s;

https://www.skysports.com/amp/footb...-liverpool-first-team-ban-after-u23s-red-card

Bearing in mind the controversies about asthmtha and Covid it doesn’t make much sense to me to do anything other than have a rule about numbers of over age players allowed. Worrying about motive is just an indignant waste of time. If this issue is actually important then ban all over age players rather than say Brighton’s motives are good and Chelsea’s bad. We were the first so before that nobody did it for any reason. We can hardly claim the moral high ground.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

But how do you police that ? I found this about Adam Lallana playing for Liverpool under 23s;

https://www.skysports.com/amp/footb...-liverpool-first-team-ban-after-u23s-red-card

Bearing in mind the controversies about asthmtha and Covid it doesn’t make much sense to me to do anything other than have a rule about numbers of over age players allowed. Worrying about motive is just an indignant waste of time.

It's difficult to police, Chelsea could bring in Mount, Pulisic, Hudon-Odoi, Sarr, Chalobah, Havertz and James without using any overage players. Maybe the rules need modifying so that if someone has played a certain number of first team games then they count as an over-age player no matter how old they are.

 

[GT49er]

But how do you police that ? I found this about Adam Lallana playing for Liverpool under 23s;

https://www.skysports.com/amp/footb...-liverpool-first-team-ban-after-u23s-red-card

Bearing in mind the controversies about asthmtha and Covid it doesn’t make much sense to me to do anything other than have a rule about numbers of over age players allowed. Worrying about motive is just an indignant waste of time. If this issue is actually important then ban all over age players rather than say Brighton’s motives are good and Chelsea’s bad. We were the first so before that nobody did it for any reason. We can hardly claim the moral high ground.

We weren't 'the first' as you so wrongly say. - there's no way Crofts and Dicker could be regarded as first team players. They weren't even signed for the first team! They were used as an innovative way of coaching (and certainly didn't improve the U23 team with their on-field performances) not to bolster the U23 team for a one-off match advantage!
Chelsea are within the rules - but we still have the moral highground, and that's no error!

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

We weren't 'the first' as you so wrongly say. - there's no way Crofts and Dicker could be regarded as first team players. They weren't even signed for the first team! They were used as an innovative way of coaching (and certainly didn't improve the U23 team with their on-field performances) not to bolster the U23 team for a one-off match advantage!
Chelsea are within the rules - but we still have the moral highground, and that's no error!

If Chelsea do this it will be to retain top division status. That is in the best interests of their academy and U23 squad. Top division status will aid their youngsters’ development just as much as the Albion picking experienced pros has helped our club.