They kick me and punch me ...and I love it
Chelsea star on life at Bristol City
IT happened in a feisty clash with Sheffield Wednesday under floodlights at a raucous Hillsborough. Tammy Abraham, the Chelsea youngster on loan at Championship Bristol City, went to ground under a strong challenge.
No free-kick was given and, as the 18-year-old lay on the damp Yorkshire turf with the officials’ eyes elsewhere, he felt an opposition boot unceremoniously rake along his back. Welcome to men’s football.
This was not Derby County Under 23s v Chelsea Under 23s at St George’s Park in the much-maligned Premier League 2. This was blood-and-guts football, with precious win bonuses to be earned or lost, 24,000 passionate supporters scrutinising every move and the £200million prize of the Premier League never far away.
On Tuesday night it happened again. Abraham, who has scored 10 goals in 13 games, got punched in the 1-0 victory over Leeds United. He is loving every minute.
‘I was on the floor at Sheffield and someone kicked me in the back as they ran past,’ he recalls with a smile at the club’s training ground on the leafy outskirts of Bristol. ‘ I got angry but my team-mates calmed me down. That doesn’t happen in Under 23.’
Abraham’s response to the brutal challenges and off-the-ball whacks has been to do what he has always done. ‘ You just have to think that you will get chances, you will score goals — stay relaxed,’ he explains. ‘ Stay in the game and show them what you are made of by scoring.’
He has certainly managed to do that. His form has given Chelsea fans hope that their academy can finally produce a new generation of homegrown heroes.
There is competition. Abraham is one of the famous 38, who Chelsea have out on loan. Abraham confirms the rumour that those players have a group on social media platform WhatsApp to share messages. I ask if that means his phone is constantly pinging with updates.
‘ I don’t mind it!’ he says. ‘It’s always nice to see how other people are doing. It’s like a big family. When I score everyone congratulates me and vice versa. There’s a bit of banter and it’s a good feeling to have that support.’
A lot of that support comes from John Terry, who had a spell on loan at Nottingham Forest at the turn of the century before becoming a Chelsea legend.
‘He was telling me what to expect, what defenders will do on and off the ball,’ Abraham says. ‘ He congratulated me after my debut. I asked him about his loan at Forest. He’s told me to get that experience and enjoy it.’
Camberwell- born Abraham’s form at youth level, where he scored 74 goals in 98 games, attracted plenty of summer suitors, but a visit to his house by manager Lee Johnson swung it the way of ambitious Bristol City.
‘The gaffer got mine and my parents’ trust from there,’ says Abraham, who has made two substitute appearances for Chelsea. ‘It was more of a family decision. We sat at the kitchen table and he outlined what I could expect. He told me that it’s a young side that can push for promotion and if I keep working hard I will get games.’
Johnson, himself just 35, has been true to his word. The rocking Robins are perched in sixth place and Abraham has started nine of their 10 league games.
The ex-Oldham and Barnsley boss is on his own rapid trajectory — although he puts some of his success down to his willingness to learn from other occupations. Johnson has been to an A&E ward to study how doctors deal with pressure, has spoken to the SAS about communication and is planning on experiencing life inside the kitchen of a Michelin- starred restaurant during the forthcoming international break.
‘I’d like it to be a Friday night service,’ he says. ‘I’ll be at the mercy of the chef. It’s an environment where you have to succeed, get your best workout, under intense pressure.’
Johnson, under dad and current Cheltenham Town boss Gary, suffered play-off heartache in 2008 when Bristol City lost to Hull at Wembley. He is at the start of a three-year plan but admits much rests this season on the borrowed star’s broad shoulders.
‘It sounds crazy but Tammy is a proven goalscorer at 18,’ he explains. ‘When you see the way he plays, the movement, he’s just got that art and that skill.’
Johnson and Abraham ply their trade in an almost- complete 27,000- capacity Ashton Gate, which looks Premier League-ready following a £45m facelift. ‘I say we can’t let the football ruin a good day out,’ Johnson jokes. ‘We have that environment now that people want to come to. The fanbase will grow and we are building something sustainable.’
The manager believes they are doing something similar with Abraham.
‘The punch against Leeds was a good thing,’ Johnson explains. ‘I asked him, “How are you going to take it?” and told him that actually it’s a compliment. He’s trying to get in your head. This is why you’re here and why you go back to Chelsea and get in the first team.’
Abraham, whose loan has no recall clause, has business to attend to first. ‘I want to fight for the play-offs,’ he says. ‘It would be nice to be highest scorer in the Championship.’
Could he then return to London to fight for a first-team spot?
‘Wherever it takes me, it takes me,’ Abraham says. ‘If you are giving your all and it works out then yes, why not?’