Youth win at day out in Cobham

Much has been said about the why Chelsea have an academy and if it will ever produce a single regular first-team player.

Much has been made of the superb training facilities at Cobham, Surrey.

Chelsea-Mad decided to see for themselves what the fuss is all about.

So this morning I took off down the A3 with my two young sons in tow to watch the U18s play nearest rivals Fulham in the Premier Academy League.

Having got the required okay from the lovely Thresa and Hayley that my name would be on the guest list, the sat nav was set and off we went.

Forty five minutes later we arrived.

There is more security at Cobham than in Fort Knox. I was duly directed to a parking berth.

There were dozens of cars there - very few of the flash variety, suggesting the first team absent and taking it easy at home.

But it did suggest that there was a hive of activity going on - and so it proved.

There was even a burger van, this being Chelsea it was a Gourmet burger van.

But we headed off to reception to sign in.

Another lovely lady, this time Emma, duly welcomed me and then took the three of us into the gubbings of the complex. She left us at a "relaxtion" section where tea and coffee was available and she brought water and Apple juice for the boys.

Everything was decked out in Chelsea blue - I particularly loved the comfy football style chairs, emblazoned with the club crest.

But this is also a working environment.

The journalist in me saw me scanning the notice boards, hoping to spy a tit-bit or two.

But it was all about player training and recovery from injury schedules.

I would have being happy to nose around the schoolroom, meeting room, games room and even the academy restaurant but the boys wanted to get outside and close to the pitch.

Emma was so professional, she even directed me to the pitch the kids would be playing on.

So, with refreshments in hand and a quick pit stop to the toilet - for the boys, we headed outside.

There are numerous pitches at Cobham but ours had floodlights and three marquees with seats lining one side.

We plonked ourselves down in the nearest marquee and watched the kids go through their warm-up routines.

The other people around us comprised of the usual cocktail of parents, Chelsea supporting fanatics who must watch every game possible and the odd scout.

I spied ex-Chelsea defender Ken Monkou and had a quick chat with him.

When I introduced myself as a journalist he kind of half remembered me but to his credit and unlike Avram Grant did not blank me (The Grant episode is for another day).

Ken was down to see a few people about sponsorships and the like and of course he still turns out for the old players' team.

As for the game itself, it was very entertaining.

Chelsea defeated Fulham by 4-3 having gone behind twice and finally seeing off a much bigger and muscular opponents.

With so many reserve team players now out on loan, the reserves have being sucking up players from the junior ranks to fill the side.

This meant the u-18s were playing quite young players.

You could sense the players felt they were on trial and it took a while for them to settle down and show their skills and tactical acumen.

How they reacted to going behind to an early goal told me more about their character than their ability.

They are a quiet bunch - that could be due to the fact that they were on edge for being on show.

It's unfair to name check players of this age, but also if they are to become professionals they will have to get used to the highs and lows of public opinion.

I was hoping that 16-year-old Danny Mills was going to play.

He impressed me when he turned out for the reserves against Wolves earlier this week.

Chelsea doctor in residence and my new best mate "Doc" or Julian to give him his real forename told be before kick-off he wasn't playing as he was needed for another reserve match on Monday night against Arsenal.

So I went into this game like a virgin on a blind date - I had no idea who was going to turn up to entertain me.

The stand-out players for me were numbers 5, 7 and 10.

What, you want names too?

Okay number 5 was left-back Billy Knott. He was nervous at first but showed immense strength, and scored a beauty of a volley from close-range.

Number 7 was Billy Clifford - the skipper and a classy hard-working midfielder. He looked like he could be a contender.

Probably the most skilful player in blue was Joshua McEachran - superb touch and a touch of guile in his midfield passing that suggests he will create many goals.

There were other games going on - lots of much younger players.

When their games was over they swelled the ranks watching the U18s.

Lots of mini-Terrys and Lampards all kitted out in Chelsea training kit milled around.

With the game over and victory in the bag, I'm sure the players will be spending Saturday night feeling that it was a job done well.

For the training staff, this ultra-professional outfit will be studying the video of the game and setting targets for individual players to improve their game.

It's unclear if Chelsea will provide a player who will hold down a first-team slot by their 2010 projection. The start of that year is but months away.

What is certain is that if none of them make it at Chelsea, it won't be for the lack of facilities. It won't be for the lack of physical preparation.

It might not even be due to the lack of natural talent.

All of these are catered for at Cobham.

I'll be going back to Cobham later this season to see the u18s again and check out their development.

Oh, okay the four goal scorers were the aforementioned Knott and Clifford plus Ben Sampayo and Milan Lalkovic.