Sulaiman: We know how much the Youth Cup means to the Academy | News | Official Site

Final time period, the Blues bowed out of the distinguished academy competitors towards Millwall on the quarter-final stage, when Sulaiman’s facet had been held to a 1-1 draw earlier than being crushed 4-2 on penalties at The Den.

There’s a willpower inside the Academy to start out strongly this season and an ambition to convey the trophy again to Cobham. Now we have a wealthy historical past within the FA Youth Cup, having gained the competitors 9 instances in whole, together with 5 consecutive victories from 2014 to 2018. That yr was the final the membership lifted the trophy.

This night’s match mirrors final season’s opener, when Chelsea secured a 3-1 victory at Leicester’s coaching floor. Donnell McNeilly gave the Blues an early lead that day earlier than substitutes Michael Golding and Shumaira Mheuka added to the scoreline.

Sulaiman’s crew is in good kind heading into tonight’s fixture, unbeaten in our final 4 video games, the newest of which was a 3-3 draw towards Tottenham Hotspur, through which three completely different gamers acquired on the scoresheet.

Whereas there was a slight pause since that London derby, centered coaching periods have been undertaken at Cobham to make sure the crew is prepared for tonight’s problem.

‘We’re feeling very excited in regards to the fixture and the chance to play within the competitors,’ Sulaiman mentioned. ‘It’s all the time a particular competitors and we all know how a lot it means to the Academy. Chelsea has a powerful historical past within the FA Youth Cup and we’re keen to construct on that legacy.’

Final season was Sulaiman’s first main the Underneath-18s within the competitors. His function as head coach was confirmed in March 2023 and through his first FA Youth Cup run the Blues secured victories towards Leicester, Everton and Crystal Palace.

‘Whereas it was a precious studying expertise, it taught me quite a bit about managing gamers successfully,’ mentioned our Underneath-18s boss. ‘It’s not simply in regards to the gamers on the pitch, however about managing the complete squad.

‘One of many challenges was addressing the frustration felt by those that didn’t get the prospect to play. Everybody needs to take part on this competitors, because it’s probably the most talked about for academy gamers. Because the depth and stress of the video games improve, decision-making turns into much more essential.

‘It’s a must to be assured in your selections throughout these high-pressure moments. For instance, in our first sport towards Leicester, we made two substitutions – bringing on Shumaira and Michael – and each made a big affect. Their contributions helped us safe the win and progress to the subsequent spherical.

‘One other memorable second was towards Everton, after we went all the way down to 10 males early within the sport. Regardless of the setback, the crew fought onerous and confirmed nice character to return out on prime. Sport plans are important, however they don’t all the time unfold as anticipated. In these moments, it’s essential to belief your instincts, make decisive calls and again these selections with confidence.’

Every season, the Underneath-18s profit from the help of the complete Academy, be that gamers or employees members. The values ‘many groups, one membership’ and ‘proud to be Chelsea’ resonate strongly all through the Academy and the remainder of Cobham.

Sulaiman concluded: ‘Some of the particular elements of the Chelsea Academy is the sense of togetherness, it really looks like a household. I’ve been at Chelsea since 2008 and I’ve constructed shut relationships with not solely the teaching employees however everybody concerned within the Academy.

‘The help we obtain is unbelievable and it means quite a bit to have the backing of everybody as we put together for this yr’s competitors. It will likely be nice to see the employees come as much as Leicester and want us luck. We’re able to embrace the challenges forward and hope to make everybody proud this season.’

Watch our FA Youth Cup fixture

Chelsea supporters worldwide can watch the opening FA Youth Cup fixture towards Leicester Metropolis tonight at 7pm. The match will probably be streamed stay at no cost on the official Chelsea app and web site. To entry the stay stream, head to the Leicester Metropolis vs Chelsea Underneath-18s Match Centre.