It's Alfie Gilchrist time
Chelsea got their 2024 off to the best possible start with a routine win in the FA Cup, with one Cobham graduate earning the plaudits
It was timed to perfection, but it was also difficult to understand.
As the game timer ticked over from 59:59 to 60:00, Alfie Gilchrist’s number appeared on the electronic board. Being withdrawn two-thirds of the way into the game is not typically an indicator that you performed well, but there was little doubt in the minds of those packed inside Stamford Bridge that he did.
No, that’s underselling it. He was phenomenal.
Just a week after his stoppage-time cameo, which included a viral clip of Gilchrist chasing the ball like a Pamplona bull charging at its matador, Mauricio Pochettino rewarded him with another appearance against Luton. His tackle on Alfie Doughty in the 98th minute denied the Hatters one last throw of the dice and calmed everybody’s nerves when, really, this is a 20-year-old kid who was making his second appearance. He should have been the nervous one.
Pochettino perhaps felt that Preston were the ideal opposition for the right-back to test himself against if he is to head out on loan in January and so he gave him his full debut. The Argentinian probably came away an hour later thinking that he might just need a player of this kind in his squad after all. That might say more about Chelsea than Gilchrist right now, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
I counted four different times that the Preston left winger, Liam Millar, sized up Gilchrist and quickly ran out of ideas, aimlessly knocking the ball beyond him to try to outpace him. Each time, he failed to get the ball back.
THROWBACK
Gilchrist was composed on the ball, using his movement to create space when waiting to receive it. Sure, he wasn’t as adventurous as Reece James in overlapping when Chelsea wanted to overload, but that’s not necessarily his game.
His hunger was infectious. As he made a robust tackle, the crowd cheered and suddenly his team-mates followed suit. He is a defender built arguably for the wrong era of football - a throwback to your Gary Neville, Steve Finnan kind of right-back, if you will… (but obviously better).
The reality is that with James out for several months, Gilchrist could be a useful member of the squad until the end of the season. Chelsea are losing players every week to injuries, and while Malo Gusto has been outstanding, the Frenchman’s presence in the side hasn’t been long-lasting this season.
He might be needed - and judging by the standing ovation he received from the crowd - the fans would be delighted to see him stick around. Just a guess, but maybe Gilchrist wants to as well.
“I’m always ready and available for wherever the manager wants me to play, whether that’s centre-back or right-back.”
Alfie Gilchrist
“It means so much and just hearing them – wow,” Gilchrist said, speaking to the club’s official website. “It’s crazy just being out there. Last season I would’ve been up there in the West Stand watching it, wanting to get on the pitch. Now it’s the first game of the year and the [fans] are singing my name.”
You see? This kid just gets it.
You can hear how much he loves pulling on the shirt. He chases every ball, throws himself into challenges and pursues every lost cause because he doesn’t know any other way. It’s ingrained into the Cobham DNA. Mason Mount was the same, Conor Gallagher definitely is, Trevoh Chalobah has shown the same commitment before he was frozen out/injured.
One could only make the case for Gusto keeping his place in the team backline at the moment, such is the awful disorganisation at the back. So why not give Gilchrist a run of games?
Sure, the likelihood is that he’ll end up getting sold to Burnley for £15million after three substitute appearances, but we have to believe our own academy graduates will get chances if they earn them.
After all, it’s what Pochettino has done countless times at Southampton and Spurs with Luke Shaw and Dele Alli. It’s also what Pochettino should do now, given how his big-money signings have largely failed him.
It’s time for Alfie.