Chelsea FC: Class of 2016

Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to The Class of 2016, my post-exam adventure into Football Manager 2016. This is the story of a challenge - the challenge of replicating (in a sense) the now world-famous ‘Class of 92’ which brought Manchester United so much success.

My rules are simple - In order to take a spot as part of the Class of 2016, the players myst be 22 or under as of August 1st, 2015, and have been trained at the club for at least 3 years prior to their 21st birthday. There is no need for these players to be of the same nationality as the club, so this is not a homegrown challenge as such, so long as they match the above criteria.

I’m starting this save as Chelsea, in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s departure, and as such many of the players I’m using to form the spine of my team are out on loan at the beginning of the game. However, the initial ‘core’, chosen from the players already at the club, is made up of the following:

Andreas Christensen - 19 - Centre Back - Denmark


Nathan Ake - 20 - Defensive Midfielder - Holland


Nathaniel Chalobah - 20 - Central Midfielder - England


Christian Manea - 17 - Right Back - Romania

Note: Manea does not yet meet the criteria, but he will by his 22nd birthday, and for this reason I have included him in the initial crop of players for the challenge

Reuben Loftus-Cheek - 19 - Central Midfielder - England

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History

NB: In no way am I claiming this is an original idea - it is my personal take on a challenge from the FM Addicts, and you can find the original details Here

Can't wait for more!

July 2nd, 2015
Cobham Training Ground, London - Press Conference

I leant back in my chair, relaxing slightly before the wave of questions finally broke. Journalists were piling into the room, eager to meet Jose Mourinho’s successor. I was perfectly aware they were expecting Guus Hiddink, or perhaps Carlo Ancelloti…but that was not to be the case.

Instead, they were getting me - Dayton Lynch - A 34-year old Londoner who once turned heads in the youth leagues of England, before a career-ending injury; Since then, I’d been all over the world, coaching with youth teams, high schools, and even some of the best college football teams in the United States. Now, with their senior team rudderless, and no managers willing to take on Roman Abramovich and his billions, Chelsea were desperate. I had speculatively enquired, and the board were more than willing to listen to my vision for the club.

Silence fell in the room, exactly at 2pm. The press officer turned to the horde of journalists, and the wave of questions broke. “Who is this?”; “is this the club’s future?”; “why no big-name manager?” The onslaught was never ending…It almost felt like I was on trial - an imposter - but really, I was the club’s only hope - untested at the highest level, but with a reasonable pedigree in various youth systems, bringing success to almost everywhere I had been.

As I patiently waded through the questions, I explained my intentions for the club; the same regime I had installed at my previous club: A stringent focus on youth, development, and indeed, an ongoing focus on developing players; not just as athletes, but as pillars of the local community. I believed that, with the incredible focus on footballers, and the turnover of the club, there was so much more which could be done for the local community, and the wider population.

Indeed, I had already identified a nucleus of players at the club who I believed could be the future of this great club: Rueben Loftus-Cheek, Andreas Christensen, Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Ake and Cristian Manea - five players with incredible talent.

Eventually, the wave of questions subsided, and I rose from my chair, posing for a few photographs, before returning to the training pitch, where the senior squad and Under 21s were going head-to head in a closed door friendly.

What a fantastic update! Very keen to see how this squad does, as there are certainly a brilliant bunch of players in that team.

I've seen this kind of thing done before, but since you're the one behind it I believe this could go further than any other attempt

Great update man. Interested to see how Manea and Christensen develop whilst under your stewardship :D.

Nice idea, a different and exciting challenge.
Good luck

good luck keeping the job while trying to bring them all through bud.

Great update! Look forward to seeing more.

Hi im Chris from the FM Addicts had this brought to my attention, would just like to say thank you for using it. I too am doing the same save and am 3 season in. Andreas Christensen is a god at CB with Zouma his Anticipation makes him key, ill be writing mine up over Christmas for the website look forward to following you on your save.

Thanks for the Support guys! Pre-Season update coming soon!

Maestro: Midfielder Eden Hazard has started pre-season strongly, with 6 goals in 5 matches

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Pre-Season. A time when club's dreams can be made or broken. A strong pre-season is always the basis of a strong season, while a shaky set of friendlies could be a sign of deeper rooted issues. Thankfully, we excelled in our 5 matches, drawing against FC Porto in the testimonial match arranged for club captain John Terry.

Our first game of preseason was against our own Under 21 side, in a closed-door match at our training ground in London. Despite an opposition who I would consider greatly weaker than ourselves, I was delighted with our performance. We looked sharp going forwards, and very, very alert defensively. Cesc Fabregas was our engine room in midfield, and his imperious performance was at the heart of an assured display from everybody.

After the game against the Under 21s, we headed to China for our training camp, during which we played one match against Shaggang. Again, we were nothing short of imperious, absolutely destroying the Chinese side, with Eden Hazard inspirational on the left of our midfield. Judging by this performance, we should have no issues with goalscoring in the upcoming season.

Against Cheltenham, we continued the solid attacking play we had displayed in China, and with six goals on the board, we relaxed, and despite some nice football, I was not pleased with the manner of the one goal we did concede. A lapse of concentration from John Terry let Cheltenham in, and 23 year old Josh Lanahan made no mistake to rattle the ball past Courtois to pull one back.

This game, held in honour of club captain John Terry, was by far our most difficult challenge, and I did have cause for concern at how easily our defence lost Hector Herrera's runs in the lead up to the midfielder's two goals. However, despite some poor defensive work, Pedro and Kenedy spared our blushes with 3 excellent individual goals to bring parity to the scoreline.

Our final pre-season game was held in Spain, against Second Division side Recreativo. Truth be told, I would have liked to see some more attacking flair from the side, but a win is a win, and our play in the build up to our two goals was exemplary.

A great preseason, but I couldn't comment without saying how great your layout is! Top work as always, Infra

@Jack: thanks man! All credit for the graphics has to go to the bold Tallery though!

Ready: Arsenal and Chelsea line up ahead of kick-off

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The Community Shield. A trophy often disregarded by supporters, but a solid result in this match, and a trophy under a team's belt before the start of the season, can often be the foundations of a successful season, and both Arsene Wenger, and new Chelsea manager Dayton Lynch, will have been looking for a victory at Wembley.

Both teams lined up with full-strength sides, clearly determined to make an instant impact - and it was Chelsea who struck first, when Diego Costa tore past Per Mertesacker after just ten minutes before rounding Petr Cech - newly installed in the Arsenal Goal - to open the scoring.

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http://www.turnstyle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Diego-Costa-1-e1413374687297-980x412.jpg
Opener:Diego Costa opened the scoring with a cool finish

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Arsenal though, were not to be silenced, hitting back though Mezut Ozil just 10 minutes later, when the German midfielder rattled a powerful shot from the edge of the box which caught Spanish stopper Courtois unawares as it flew into the top corner of his net to level the scores at 1-1.

From that moment on, Arsenal were the side in the ascendancy. Even more so, when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain beat Gary Cahill on the edge of the box before cutting inside, and lifting the ball over Courtois, who was, frankly, having something of a nightmare in the Chelsea goal.

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http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/scaled/1000x563/sep_14/gun__1411860376_Ox-goal-NLD.jpg
Sublime: Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal proved to be the winner

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In fact, as well as scoring the winner for his side, Oxlade-Chamberlain produced a display which drew multiple plaudits - his passing was inch-perfect the whole match, and his dribbling and movement was nothing short of sublime, as he caused all manner of problems for the Chelsea defence.

All told, Arsenal were deserved winners, and as they lifted the trophy, new Chelsea Manager Dayton Lynch was gracious in defeat, as he applauded the Arsenal side, alongside his dejected team.