Sweet birds of youth

Picture: Facebook/Chelsea FC

Many words have, over the decades, been expended on the involvement of English (and Scottish) clubs in European football. I’m neither an archivist or an inveterate Statto, so I won’t bore you with fancy-pants recollections of the giants of the game, past and present, and their exploits (although into that category you still must include Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, even if they’ve lost their way, domestically, since). European football nights have changed, somewhat, in the Champions League era, with its TV rights-hiked, inflationary stadium ticket racketeering, but I think to childhood TV broadcasts featuring the likes of Borussia Mönchengladbach and a Brian Moore TV commentary coming over a telephone line. It was rather exotic, wasn’t it? Players you’d never heard of and probably would never again, scoring wonder goals. Now, you see them once, and expect to see them again within the next transfer window at your own club. These were the days when “the Continent” seemed mystical: you could get away with subtle xenophobia about players with ‘amusing’ names in much the same way as Stuart Hall did during the Jeux Sans Frontières international stages of It’s A Knockout.

Having lived in continental Europe for the better part of two decades, travelling throughout for work and pleasure, some of the exoticism of foreign football has dissipated. Last night, however, I received a sharp reminder that such mystique still existed, when Chelsea entertained Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s European history, in my conscious lifetime, has been something of a Curate’s Egg. For example, there was that Cup Winners Cup run in 1995, which took us to Club Brugge on a night when Glenn Hoddle was in charge and played David Rocastle up front on his own to no discernible impact. It was my first and only European away fixture experience, too and, now I think of it, it was quite surreal: dawn departure from the Fulham Road in what looked like a D-Day column of numbered buses (“Orange 5, Orange 5, Orange 5!!!”, we taunted Purple 7 at a convenience stop), being marched past overly aggressive Belgian riot police, their horses and their dogs, before heading back down the E40 to Calais and a return roughly 24 hours after we departed, suitably chastened by having lost to the single Gert Verheyen goal. Since then, Chelsea have motored through numerous managers of eclectic European origin, and have established themselves - questionably, in some people’s minds - as one of the European elite. Well, we did win it in 2012, in Munich, which I watched from my local pub in Paris. One of the best nights of my life. Period. Last night, Chelsea suspended that status as Bayern took revenge on 2012 and were punished 3-0 on home turf, leaving them without Jorginho and the red carded Marcus Alonso for the return leg. It’s unlikely that there will be a further round for the Blues, even if miracles have happened before.

Perhaps unusually, I’m quite sanguine about it. Head coach Frank Lampard might, as is his duty, be fuming (“They outclassed us in pretty much every department, so it was quite sobering,” he said afterwards), but Chelsea fans should be philosophical. Bayern were, frankly, scintillating, as they were in their 7-2 demolition of Spurs last Autumn. Chelsea are a work in progress. That’s not an excuse, but when you’re comprised of still-developing youngsters and veterans over 30 eying last payday-ahoy opportunities elsewhere, you don’t have to look too far for reasons. It’s just one of those things. Learn from it and move on. God knows what the reverse fixture will be like next month in Bavaria, but I sincerely hope that Bayern don’t take their foot off the pedal, even if the other foot is currently on the windpipe of my beloved football club. Sometimes you just want to see European class, even at your own expense. As I blogged on Sunday, Chelsea weren’t meant to get higher than the bottom half of the Premier League’s top ten this season, so as long as they remain focused on staying in next season’s European places, it will only serve their youngsters’ progress well.

That, still, won’t prevent the boo boys from having their say. The “#LampardOut” tweets are depressingly predictable, even if they come from a myopic minority. Some have even suggested that the club should never have discarded Maurizio Sarri, God help us (though in mitigation he did win a European trophy in his single season at Chelsea). Few football fans are suitably patient when it comes to their beloved clubs. Win handsomely one week and the insistence is that a consecutive win will follow. When it doesn’t, the grumbling breaks out. I’ve seen that this season at Chelsea. After that opening day disaster against Manchester United, things started to look up, and youngsters like Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Christian Pulicic and Fikayo Tomori were giving our jaded eyes hope that, maybe, this wouldn’t be a fallow season, after all. But that was delusional. These talented players have tremendous potential (and great prospect for the national side), but to expect them to just step into gear in their debut seasons in the Premier League is asking a lot. Even more so, in their European debuts. That’s not an excuse, just a statement of reality. What Frank Lampard and his coaching staff have to ensure, however, is that it doesn’t become an excuse for them, either. Lampard might be a club legend, rightly revered, even more so than his ‘Captain, Leader, Legend’ teammate John Terry, but that still doesn’t immunise him from Roman Abramovich’s all-seeing eye. Just look at the treatment of the late, great Ray Wilkins.

Taking last night’s Round-of-16 first leg tie into account, Lampard’s job is and shouldn’t be at risk. Genuinely, Chelsea have a golden opportunity to learn from the experience without recourse. Rarely does that happen in football, even rarer at Chelsea, but if Abramovich and his directors have any amount of common sense, they will treat this season in the correct context. Yes, the loss of Eden Hazard has been painful; yes, the FIFA transfer ban has been significantly restricting; yes, the need to draw on Academy players has been both challenge and opportunity. These aren’t excuses but unavoidable points of mitigation. Losing 3-0 at home to this Bayern Munich is nothing to be ashamed of, even if the goals came in a negative sequence that began with Jorginho’s needless booking. Chelsea had actually played quite well before that point, even if there were early signs of Bayern’s ruthlessness, and the class of Robert Lewandowski and the forgotten capabilities of former Arsenal player Serge Gnabry. It would, though, be remiss to just dismiss the defeat as a combination of unavoidable factors. Alonso - redeemed against Spurs on Saturday - let himself down with two equally avoidable bookings, while Jorginho’s discipline let him down by mouthing off to the French referee to receive a next-match suspension. Stupid. Abraham and Mount both showed their inexperience with wasted chances late on that could have restored some pride had they been properly converted, while Barkley’s inability to complete passes cost dearly. Things to work on? Of course. Things that might improve in the next leg? Unlikely. That’s just where Chelsea are. Like the marathon runner running out of puff, sometimes you can only give so much. These Chelsea youngsters, in particular, still have a lot to give, and in seasons to come will do so. For now, they are where they are. Playing Bayern Munich - already being talked up as European champions-elect - will only serve them well.