Loftus-Cheek ends TEN-YEAR Chelsea hoodoo



An assured FA Cup win for Chelsea over Scunthorpe saw Ruben Loftus-Cheek come off the bench to expertly guide the ball into the back of the net and score his first-ever goal for the club to make the tie safe.


But the effort is even more notable than it appears at first glance - it also marks the first time a product of the Chelsea youth system who is not John Terry has hit the net since 2006.

Carlton Cole was the last academy graduate, taking into account any player who joined the club at the age of 15 or before, to score for the Blues, ironically in another FA Cup third-round clash against Huddersfield Town on January 7 2006.




Terry, of course, has scored plenty of memorable goals for his club over the years, having joined Chelsea from the West Ham academy aged 14.

Ryan Bertrand and Scott Sinclair have also scored for the Blues in that time period but having signed for the west Londoners at a more advanced age, from Gillingham and Bristol Rovers respectively.

Loftus-Cheek deserves to savour his achievement, but the decade that lapsed between his strike and Cole's last goal is a damning indictment of the youth policy in place at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's youngsters lifted the Uefa Youth League in 2014/15 and have also won four of the last six editions of the FA Youth Cup - but bringing through those promising, up-and-coming starlets to compete with the established stars bought with Roman Abramovich's millions has proved an altogether trickier prospect.
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My names are Dalamu Oluwatosin Abiodun, hailed from Ijebu North Local Government Ogun State, I acquire my First Degree in Computer Science/ Mathematics (B.sc Computer Science) at Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago Iwoye Ogun state. I am a programmer. I like reading, writing and exploring.
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