I was talking about the playing time they're getting - it's nowhere near as important as getting a few minutes in the first team, or even on loan. I don't see that cup as an 'efficient tool for development' at all.
See I'd say the exact opposite. Having a few minutes in the first team every so often is useless for his development because he needs to be playing a lot at his age, especially when adapting to play in a new culture. All he'll learn from his cameos in the PL is that no one in the first team except Mata and the ****** centre back can pass and holy **** it's very tense playing for such a big club. Those are not the things he needs right now, in time of course he will need to learn to deal with the pressure and the expectation but atm he just needs to focus on improving as a player. Next season, if he's developed enough, you put him in for the odd appearance and let him understand what it means to play infront of a packed Bridge, but he's not good enough to play for Chelsea yet, nor is he expected to be until at least the summer. He's probably better going on loan next season, if we can find a club that will play him a lot.
All you do by taking him out of the FA Youth Cup and putting him on the bench for 90% of the season is restrict his match time, hinder his growth and pile heaps of pressure on the guy. I know it's ironic for a Chelsea fan to say this but you've got to have patience.
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