All that glitters is not silver with Chelsea’s latest FA Youth uth Cup win

Chelsea’s under- 18 side did what their elder counterparts have so far failed to do this season and wrapped up some silverware. The junior Blues won the FA Youth Cup with a 5- 1 second- leg victory over their Manchester City counterparts at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, ensuring that the trophy remained in West London.

They might get to keep it at this rate. This was the fourth year in a row that Chelsea have lifted the FA Youth Cup – the third consecutive final where they have beaten Manchester City – and it would have been six in a row but for a rather unexpected loss to Norwich City in the 2013 edition. Nothing like this has been seen since the Busby Babes won five in a row between 1953 and 1957.

The next step for Chelsea’s dominant under- 18s is to chase down Manchester United’s record number of wins and they have them in their sights. The Blues have eight now while the Old Trafford club have 10 and the impetus is firmly with the Londoners. Six of those titles have come since 2010 while Manchester United last won it in 2011.

Not all of those United youth players have gone on to thrive in the first team – some have not even managed to fulfil their potential elsewhere. The star player of that vintage was Ravel Morrison, a player who may yet come to define the term “wasted potential,” while his teammate Paul Pogba was let go after the final and re- recruited last summer for a world- record fee. Only Jesse Lingard has come through the ranks at Old Trafford and secured a place in the squad.

The subsequent successes and fail- ures of the rest of that side make an interesting read. Michael Keane, now of Burnley and England, might become another expensive mistake for Manchester United if he rejoins them in the summer but the rest of the players – including his twin brother Will – have gone on to less spectacular careers so far.

That’s often the nature of youth soccer. Even for the players that lift the FA Youth Cup, there is no guarantee of a path to their club’s first team. Nowhere is that more true than the finalists this year. Chelsea’s last first- team regular to come through the ranks was John Terry and the 36- year- old is leaving the club this summer, 19 years after making his debut. Meanwhile, Manchester City’s last youth teamer that came good was Micah Richards, whose debut was in 2005. Both of this year’s finalists have made great inroads into their youth systems in the last few years, but all of the FA Youth Cups in the world are meaningless until they can get those players lifting trophies in the first team. The likes of Celtic’s Lisbon Lions, Manchester United’s Class of ’ 92 and the La Masia products that lifted the Champions League twice under Pep Guardiola don’t come along too often, but one youth teamer making a spot of his own would be a start.

The author is a Shanghai- based freelance writer. jmawhite@ gmail. com