Cobham Kids: Continued

Lets pay some attention to how good Cobham is just for a little while...

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gents,

Today I am continuing a new series on this site to look back (and in to the future) at just how good our academy is.

Lets please not use the comments to slate the board or anything about the young signings we have made over the last couple of years and just appreciate Cobham for being Cobham

So todays ‘Cobham Kid’ in question is Champions League Winner Ryan Bertrand.

The man who made is UCL debut on that night in Munich, STARTING in the game for his boyhood club.

He had a bit of a turbulent Chelsea career although he was branded ‘The Next Ashley Cole’ at one point, a nickname that should never be thrown around lightly.

Before he even wore a Chelsea first team shirt he had 6 loan spells, the first of those coming with AFC Bournemouth where he made 7 appearances during the 2006-07 season at just 17 years old.

The following season he stayed in league one for the first half of the season on loan at Oldham Athletic, he made 24 appearances that season and enjoyed his first breakthrough into the men’s game.

In the winter window (2007-08) he moved to Norwich, he impressed in the Championship, making 20 appearances in his debut campaign in Norfolk, he impressed so much that they extended his loan for a further season (2008-09) in which he made 40 appearances for the canaries.

The 2009-10 season saw him stay in the Championship this time with Reading and this season not only produced his most appearance but his first senior goal, he made 51 appearances in all competitions, he came 3rd in their player of the season vote.

The following season (2010-11) saw a loan to Nottingham Forest, he played 19 games up until the January of that year where forest wanted to either extend his loan or sign him on a permanent deal, Chelsea had seen enough to realise he could make it and recalled him, he featured once for the Blue in the rest of that season.

The next year was Ryan’s big year he was a first teamer now and made 15 appearances in all competitions with the 15th of those being a start in UCL Final in Munich……you all know the rest.

Roberto Di Matteo got appointed permanently and that was it Ryan had broken through, RDM got sacked and in came Rafa Benitez, Ryan tallied up 38 appearances and 2 goals for the blues during the 2012-13 season and looked like the first player since JT to make it and sustain a place in the first team.

Then ‘The Special One’ returned. Ryan stayed around the squad for the first half of the season but only featured 3 times in that period, he then requested to go on loan in the January to play games, he went to Aston Villa where he played 16 games in the remainder of that season.

He was then loaned to Southampton at the start of the 2014/15 season which turnt in to a permanent transfer for £10 million pounds in the winter window 2015, in his first season he got into the PFA Team of the Year.

He stayed with the Saints until May 2021, even becoming club captain during his time there, he left for a new adventure with Leicester City in July 2021, he made 11 appearances for the foxes before being released last summer.

He hasn’t officially retired but it looks unlikely Ryan will continue to play in the professional game.

He made 19 appearances for England scoring 1 goal, appearing at 1 major tournament and being incredibly unlucky to miss out on the 2018 world cup squad.

Thanks for reading

Luke Rushbrook