The recent 3-1 defeat to Southampton appears to have been a tipping point for Chelsea Football Club. The vote of confidence in manager Jose Mourinho from the powers that be signified a new attitude of loyalty, persistence and stability in the face of faltering results. It was a welcome ray of light in what was otherwise a dark weekend for the Premier League champions, and it also marked a significant change of tack from a notoriously impatient board of directors.
A similarly seismic utterance was also made by the manager himself in the wake of that home defeat. Mourinho suggested that now was the time to blood some of Chelsea's undeniably talented (yet experience-starved) young stars in meaningful matches.
Mourinho is rarely the target of any criticism from the Chelsea faithful, even when results go awry, though his failure to develop any of Chelsea's youngsters into first team regulars has certainly counted against him. During the second half of last season, the manager suggested that it was solely the need for old heads amid the intensity of a title race that kept some of his starlets on the sidelines. With those old heads now being scratched after a dismal opening to the campaign, there is now no reason not to try something new.
The club have invested millions of pounds into creating one of the best youth scouting and development projects in Europe and yet John Terry remains the last truly homegrown player to cement a place in the senior team. It is the same old hackneyed statistic that has been thrown at Chelsea for years, though it is still justifiably trotted out.
Of course, the creation of good players and reaping the profit from their sale has been a successful revenue stream for the club in the restrictive era of Financial Fair Play. The fans, however, like nothing more than to see one of their own make the grade at the first team level. For all the megastar signings the club have made over the past 20 years, the excitement of watching a local lad thrive at Stamford Bridge would supersede anything else.
Assuming Mourinho is true to his word, the main beneficiary will be the hugely promising Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with the 19-year-old name-checked by the manager when he mentioned this new direction. Having already started in the Premier League at the back end of last season and shone in both the Champions League and Capital One Cup this time round, the midfielder is well overdue his chance to impress when it really matters.
In his two outings this term, Loftus-Cheek has displayed not only tremendous ability in the heat of battle, but impressive maturity. After he received a harsh booking in the first minute against Maccabi Tel Aviv, there were concerns that his performance might be inhibited or that the impetuosity of youth might result in him being shown a second yellow card. Instead, Loftus-Cheek shrugged off the inconvenience and played his usual game, dominating the midfield like a seasoned veteran. He was no less impressive at Walsall where he excelled both in his defensive duties and his creative responsibilities.
Stepping up to the Premier League level and playing in a team that is in desperate need of points represents a different challenge entirely and will test the youngster to the limit. In his favour is the knowledge that he, personally, has nothing to lose. He has not featured in any of the setbacks this season and therefore has no scars from any chastening experiences. Even so, the confidence of youth tends to dismiss such things with the opportunity to play at the top level offsetting any niggling self-doubt.
The rightly heralded individuals that did so much to bring the title back to West London have, mystifyingly, been unable to replicate their previous form and quite frankly, Loftus-Cheek could not do any worse. His physical presence can be an asset to his defence while his vision and quick feet can help his teammates start scoring from open play, rather than continuing the worrying reliance on set-pieces.
Although the vast majority of match-going Chelsea fans have not forgotten last season's triumphs and haven't yet turned on their team despite some wretched performances, there is deep concern on the terraces at how quickly an all-conquering team can seemingly fall apart. With Eden Hazard strangely subdued, Cesc Fabregas largely anonymous and Branislav Ivanovic suffering in every match he plays, supporters are in dire need of something to get excited about. Seeing Loftus-Cheek in the starting line-up will certainly do that and any mistakes he makes will be tolerated by those aware that he is a just a teenager, however gifted, learning his trade.
Being the canny old fox that he is, Mourinho will know that Loftus-Cheek's involvement will foster goodwill from the stands and no doubt that formed part of his thinking when he stated that his young charges would get more games. With 19-year-old Kenedy having already been given some game time this season and the likes of Bertrand Traore and Baba Rahman also waiting in the wings, the young Englishman might not be the only fresh face to be seen in the coming weeks.
Overall, Loftus-Cheek's involvement is the most eagerly anticipated. If he does make a first team place his own, perhaps he might even emulate Tottenham teenager Dele Alli and earn a senior international call-up. First things first, though; if he does the business for Chelsea, the rest will take care of itself.
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