Reports: Neil Bath, Jim Fraser OUT at Chelsea Academy
07/03/2024 08:13 PM
WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!?
Neil Bath, the man who's guided and overseen Chelsea Academy's rise to the best youth football academy in all of England over the past 20 years, has reportedly left the club. Bath had been at Chelsea since starting as a part-time youth coach in 1993.
His deputy, Jim Fraser, who's worked alongside Bath in the Academy for the better part of those two decades, has also left.
Bath and Fraser were supposed to lead the next evolution of the Academy as well, including our Vision 2030 initiative, and were heralded as essential to the club's operations by the new ownership as well.
Jim Fraser has left Chelsea, with Neil Bath set to follow, amid radical changes to the academy's management structure. The duo established a best-in-class operation with global renown and relentless success for more than two decades. pic.twitter.com/uKNPW69usx
— Chelsea Youth (@chelseayouth) July 3, 2024
It's unclear, at this time, who or what motivated this decision. But as per The Athletic, a "significant restructuring of the club's academy management team" is imminent, with ex-Southampton man Joe Shields and recently arrived (from Brighton & Hove Albon) Sam Jewell set to take over running things.
Hmmm.
Full @TheAthleticFC story on the news that Neil Bath and Jim Fraser are leaving Chelsea, with Joe Shields and Sam Jewell set to have a big influence in a restructured academy management team.
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) July 3, 2024
#CFChttps://t.co/mbHaFEekgK
