Will Jose Mourinho Use Chelsea's Champions League Draw to Develop Youth Talent?
An "easy" draw in the Champions League does not exist.
What does exist, however, are relatively easy draws when compared to others—and Chelsea Football Club received one such group in 2015/16: Group G.
Jose Mourinho's men will start the world's most prestigious club cup competition with FC Porto, Dynamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel-Aviv standing in their way.
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What the draw gave them in travelling (the Blues will travel 3,290 more miles than any other Premier League team, per Jake Cohen), it rewarded them by avoiding Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Roma and VfL Wolfsburg.
Chelsea, given their squad, managerial staff and contemporary pedigree, are clear favourites to advance first from Group G—and will be favoured to win every fixture. Supposing the west Londoners find their task child's play (as most seem to predict), Mourinho must use his squad more economically than he did last season.
In the 2014/15 Champions League, the Blues had first place in their group locked in five matches. Their sixth game was at home vs. Sporting Lisbon. With the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dominic Solanke and Isaiah Brown available, Mourinho elected to start (in a meaningless game):
"Here's a reminder of tonight's team news... http://t.co/n1S8a6niqg #CFC #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/xXXNTvzogV
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 10, 2014"
John Obi Mikel, Andre Schurrle, Mohamed Salah, Filipe Luis, Kurt Zouma and Petr Cech were handed starts, when normally they would have been members on the bench. Mourinho proceeded to give Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Gary Cahill, Nemanja Matic and Cesar Azpilicueta starting berths along with them.
Playing five footballers with heavy minutes already on their legs puzzled many. Deciding to start Fabregas—above all else—was the most perplexing.
The Spain international made way in the 83rd minute, giving Loftus-Cheek his first-team debut of only seven minutes, but should the ex-Barcelona man have played at all?
Probably not was the consensus answer.
Fabregas evaporated in the second portion of 2014/15 and has started 2015/16 in rusty fashion. Thus, finding the now-28-year-old—and other integral pieces—time to recuperate is vital to Chelsea's long-term viability.
With a lighter group this year, when weighted against last year (Sporting Lisbon, Schalke 04 and Maribor), Chelsea must work this season's group stage to their advantage—especially considering their Premier League title rivals Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United find themselves in far more competitive UCL scenarios.
Provided the Blues handle their business in the first four group matches, they could have two games with first place secured; Chelsea's fifth game is away to Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and the sixth is vs. Porto at Stamford Bridge.
Were 12 points registered, and the mathematics complete, Mourinho dismissing one or both fixtures to rest his preferred XI, rotate bench players and insert the youth at his disposal would be criminal.
Solanke, Brown and a several other prospects are presently on loan, but the Blues' academy retains many candidates worthy of first-team trials. Charly Musonda, Jeremie Boga, Charlie Colkett, Jay Dasilva, Tammy Abraham and countless others await their Chelsea debuts, and should the Champions League play out correctly, there should be chances.
Mourinho, as documented by Mirror Sport's John Cross, lamented the fact that England's Football Association are apparently unwilling to assist their teams in Europe.
The Portuguese warned reporters: “My reaction is until we have four teams in the Champions League, we will not make a big noise of it. But one day when England has only three teams in the Champions League people will wake up."
If he knows the FA's stance (whether right or wrong), whenever chances arise, Mourinho must help himself.
Using his lucrative bench and distinguished academy would be an ideal place to start.
*Stats are via WhoScored.com; transfer fees are via Soccerbase where not noted.
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