Chelsea academy: journey to winning
- Peter Glynn
- 17 April 2019
During his time as an U18s coach at Chelsea, Joe Edwards, told Peter Glynn that winning games of football can be the focus in the professional development phase if all previous elements of player development have been age-appropriate and connected.
Former Chelsea U18 coach and current development squad manager, Joe Edwards, is comfortable talking about winning.
After all, the former Chelsea academy player led the Londoners to back-to-back FA Youth Cup successes in 2015 and 2016, defeating Man City on both occasions. Success is a prerequisite when working at one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
“It’s important to state that we do go to win at U18 football. Whether it’s our Saturday morning league games or the FA Youth Cup, we are there to win,” explains Edwards.
“People often talk about winning and development as though they are two different things and that they can’t go hand in hand.”
It’s a claim Edwards contests. He believes focusing on winning in the professional development phase is the result of a development programme with appropriate content at appropriate stages.
“When you look at the FA Youth Cup Final team from last year, nine of the boys are from London and had been at the club from U11 or younger, onwards.
“When you have had kids from that age and for that long and who have been doing the technical work and understanding the club’s football philosophy and understanding how we play, they are so familiar with the style that as they get older we can start applying it to winning.
“It’s important that we go out and win games, within a certain style and philosophy, within a certain way of playing," explains Edwards.
Preparing players who can cope with the pressures of competitive senior football is a long-term project that is meticulously planned.
“Like at most clubs we sit down as a group of staff and we breakdown the player journey and look at what we want the players to be competent with at different ages and what the syllabus should look like at different stages," he explains.
“The foundation phase is very much about technique – we put a big emphasis on developing players who can use both feet – and players expressing themselves. There are no set formations at those ages. We also have a real focus on the fundamentals of movement,
co-ordination and balance.
“At the youth development phase we start to look at how we believe the game should be played with a focus on our football objectives and how we want our teams to play. If you went to watch our U12s, 14s and 16s and they were playing side by side we would expect it to look a similar way.
“The boys are then coming to me at 16,17,18 years old and we are expecting them to have all that work and development in the locker. That’s where we are saying lets mould this into competitive football.”
Just because we are in league and cup competitions we still ensure that the individuals are developing
Edwards explains that there’s a close working link between the club’s U18, U21s and the senior team. It’s a seamless way of working designed to help players move through the age-groups. The club’s philosophy can be broken into two parts: one part football, one part a way of working.
“There’s the football philosophy which is basically how we want to play and what our teams look like. A lot of clubs are going down similar routes at the moment with the principles of playing out from the back and through the thirds.
“There’s also the working philosophy – which looks at how we plan our training sessions, the way we plan our syllabus every four weeks to make sure we’re accounting for the matches and opponents that we’ve got that month in combination with whatever football objectives we need to be honing in on.
“Realistic practice is really important to us. If players of certain positions need to be making box-to-box runs over 40 yards and then making strong recovery runs, then we won’t achieve that by putting them in the gym or on a treadmill. We achieve that through real football
related practices," explains Edwards.
“Within all of this we’re conscious not to lose sight of the importance of the individual development of the players. Just because we are in league and cup competitions we still ensure that the individuals are developing.”
It’s something we’re putting a lot of consideration into when we’re planning our sessions
For a professional development phase coach working at one of biggest Premier League clubs, the job also demands an in-depth understanding of the loan-market and the role
it plays in player development. Chelsea currently have a wealth of academy players and young professionals gaining experience on loan.
Edwards admits it’s difficult for young players to progress directly through into the club’s first-team and stresses the importance of the loan system to help prepare for the step up.
“I feel if you are sending players out on loan at 18 and 19 years old, players who will be playing in, or getting close to a senior first team, then you have to help them prepare for that. If only six weeks prior to that you have started talking about the pressures of winning and losing a football match then it’s too late.
“It’s something we’re putting a lot of consideration into when we’re planning our sessions. Working in a certain way, trying to win games, playing creative and attacking football but making sure our programme is preparing the boys for everything they might face on their next step – which, when they are at Chelsea, is commonly a loan.”
Edwards repeatedly stresses both the opportunity and challenge that comes with employment at Chelsea’s academy, describing the environment as a “culture of excellence”.
“Culture is really important at the club. If, as a coach, you are preaching something, it’s really important that you lead by example yourself.
“If we’re continually asking the players to be the best that they can be, to give 100% every day and continue to learn and develop – then we have to lead by example as coaches.
“If you’ve got members of staff who have that mindset – who are always looking to learn, improve and reflect – it develops a certain way of working for everyone and you’re in the best place to do it because you’re surrounded by excellence," added Edwards.
Joe Edwards was appointed Chelsea development squad manager in 2017. This article was first published in The Boot Room magazine in December 2015.
