The Class of ’26: Why Cobham Is Chelsea’s Only Desperate but Necessary Way Out | OneFootball

Another day passes, and Chelsea are decimated by a more physical team. Once again, the questions turn to who bears the blame: Is it Clearlake? Is it Winstanley and Stewart? Is it Rosenior? Or is it the players?

The reality is that when failure reaches this magnitude, there is no single person to blame. It takes a collective, concentrated effort to achieve this level of failure and disappointment. In this article, we will not point the finger at any one individual. Instead, the author will propose a solution that may actually fix the club—one that has been overlooked.

I’ve actually changed my mind. It’s become a personal source of enjoyment for me to discredit any theory that suggests sacking one person would fix Chelsea’s problems under Clearlake. I now feel the need to point out that this is a collective effort.

Who’s TO BLAME fOR cHELSEA fAILURES?

Well, everyone. Clearlake bears the brunt of the blame. Plain and simple. At this stage, it is not a simple “mismanagement” problem. It is all the more ironic that everything they briefed to blame Roman Abramovich for this mess, they are now failing miserably at themselves.

They blamed Abramovich for the lack of financial revenue, yet they have failed to secure a permanent front-of-shirt sponsor since 2022. They blamed Abramovich for the absence of a big stadium, yet five years have passed since Clearlake’s takeover with no tangible steps taken on stadium plans.

While Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already announced Old Trafford plans in less than two years, at Chelsea, there remains no consensus between co-owners on what they actually want to do. On the footballing side, do we really need to speak about the so-called “project“? They preached stability, and they are on their fifth permanent manager in 5 years.

Which brings us to Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley. I have seen reports that shift the blame entirely onto Clearlake, painting WinStewart as victims of a project imposed upon them. The narrative goes that every time they identify a primary target, they are handcuffed by the salary cap Clearlake imposes.

Well, if it were not for that salary cap and this “youthful” project—for lack of a better word—WinStewart would never have been sporting directors at a top club in the first place. And here is another thing about successful people: if they have plans and feel the board is circumventing them, they tender their resignations (cough, Enzo Maresca, cough). They understand that their reputation cannot be tarnished, and they believe in the success of their ideas.

If WinStewart were as competent as they believe themselves to be and truly handcuffed by this “bad project,” they would have tendered their resignations. It is not as if they lack suitors—Winstanley, in particular, is believed to be a source of interest (for some reason) for Tottenham Hotspur.

The only person I actually empathize with is Rosenior. I cannot even say he is out of his depth. I do not know. No one can truly know with this crop of center-halves. No one can know with a midfield as imbalanced as Chelsea’s. Certainly, he is not a master tactician in the mold of Tuchel or Maresca.

He has a defined way of playing, and he does not seem able to think outside of it. The decision to not press James Garner while the team sat in a mid-block was shambolic, to say the least. The decision to drop Sanchez and bring his once-soaring confidence back to earth reignited debates over the goalkeeper position.

Yet I cannot say with certainty he is a bad manager. The way the Blues picked up various teams under his reign when things were going their way was encouraging. Time will tell when, and if, he has a chance to work on his ideas in a preseason. This preseason cannot come soon enough. For the time being, he either needs to trust his ideas and either play players who are able to play his football or consolidate on Maresca’s work and play his football.

Rosenior’s main problem is that he does not seem to have enough time. He may have already lost the fans and the dressing room. Luckily, however, I may have a solution for both, one that has been overlooked during this so-called “project.”

THE OVERLOOKED SOLUTION: IS IT TIME TO TRUST COBHAM?

Yes, I believe that the solution to a lack of experience is more experience. Hear me out and you may understand my view.

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 23: Michael Forbes of Northampton Town rises to head the ball away from Kobe Barbour of Chelsea U21 during the Vertu Trophy match between Northampton Town and Chelsea U21 at Sixfields on September 23, 2025 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

Chelsea does not need experienced players. More importantly, they need hungry, physical players—players you can mold to your way of playing football. And who better than kids willing to give anything to represent the clubs of their dreams? Cobham players would kill for the opportunity to represent Chelsea.

This solution is a win-win for everyone. Rosenior would send a message to the underperforming players that he will not accept a deterioration in standards. At the same time, he would send a message to the board that the players they signed are, simply put, not good enough. The board, for their part, would reasonably be pleased—academy players are not high earners and still align perfectly with the “youthful project“.

There is always the added caveat that Cobham players are simply better players. I sincerely believe that Kavuma-McQueen or Tyler Derry would be far better than whatever sport Garnacho and Pedro Neto are playing. Reggie Walsh would add so much flair and creativity to Chelsea’s midfield. And I believe time has proven that Josh Acheampong is better than any Chelsea defender not named Levi Colwill—who, reads notes, happens to be a Cobham graduate. Players like Kiano Dyer, Shim Mheuka, and Genesis Antwi would add genuine firepower.

BROMLEY, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: Harvey Vale of Chelsea U21 celebrates with Kiano Dyer after scoring his side’s second goal during the Bristol Street Motors Trophy match between Bromley and Chelsea U21 at Hayes Lane on September 24, 2024 in Bromley, England. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

More importantly, they would have respect for Rosenior—the very thing the senior players seem to lack. They would die for him on the pitch. He is the man who gave them the chance to live their dream. If we are committing to inexperience and believing in potential, who better to trust than perhaps one of the best football academies in the world?

Lampard did so in 2020 and gave us, among others, Reece James. So we did with John Terry before. Alex Ferguson understood that the Class of ’92 is the key to the future and empowered them to do so.

Perhaps the most fitting example would be Mikel Arteta. He had similar problems to Rosenior in the beginnings of his reign: players falling out of line, standards dropping, shambolic results, and a lackadaisical brand of football. What did he do? He turned to Hale End. It gave him Smith-Rowe, Nketiah, Saka, and Reiss Nelson.

Finally, fans will be reasonably more patient with academy players than with the bought prodigies Clearlake has drowned them in. Everyone will be more patient with Tyler Derry than with Garnacho or Gittens—probably something to do with their price tags. Everyone will be more patient with Acheampong and Colwill than with any other center-back pairing. Everyone will be more patient with Antwi than Gusto, with Walsh than Enzo, and with Dyer than Lavia.

The core players would remain: Caicedo, Palmer, Estevão, James (when he returns), Cucurella, and João Pedro. For the time being, it is time to inject some real, no pun intended, youthful energy into this squad. Hungry players who will give life to Rosenior’s ideas.