https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/07/30/
bath-honoured-with-eammon-dolan-award
Neil Bath honoured with Premier League award for outstanding work in youth
development
31 Jul 2020
Neil Bath, Chelsea's head of youth development, has been presented with
the Eamonn Dolan award as a recognition of his exceptional work with young
players at the club.
https://i.imgur.com/Owi9wFq.jpg
The accolade was presented to Bath during tonight's Virtual Premier League
Academy Awards. The Eamonn Dolan award was established in honour of the
former Reading Academy manager, who passed away in the summer of 2016
after a battle with cancer.
Bath, who first joined the Chelsea schoolboys coaching staff in 1993, has
witnessed over 45 senior debuts since becoming Academy manager in 2004,
eight of those having come in the current 2019/20 season under head coach
Frank Lampard.
https://i.imgur.com/jbhpLS1.jpg
Neil Bath recognised with Eamonn Dolan Award
'I'm really pleased about this achievement,' Bath told the official
Chelsea website. 'When you receive an award like this, it is for the
efforts that have come from a team set-up. I'm very happy to be awarded
personally but I also receive it on behalf of all the staff and players at
the club because this is recognition of the work of many people.
'I feel very proud because it's an achievement for playing your part in
developing players but also in developing staff and I get as much
satisfaction in seeing staff at the club grow as I do players.'
Bath has overseen the most successful period for the Academy in terms of
tournament achievements. Following the FA Youth Cup triumph in 2010, our
first success in the tournament since 1961, we have lifted the trophy in
2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The feat of winning five years in a row has only ever been accomplished
once before in the history of the competition, by the Manchester United
Busby Babes side of the 1950s.
https://i.imgur.com/ouD4ggj.jpg
Bath has overseen incredible silverware success for our Academy
Other Academy achievements in Bath's time have included being crowned
Under-21 Premier League champions in 2013/14 and back-to-back UEFA Youth
League titles in 2014/15 and 2015/16.
As well as silverware success, the childhood Chelsea fan has overseen an
incredibly successful restructuring of the youth development programme at
the club, making it more holistic in its approach to nurturing the next
generation of local talent.
The fact that 29 per cent of Chelsea's Premier League minutes this season
have been played by Academy graduates, most of whom signed at the age of
eight, is a huge testament to the pillars of recruitment, coaching and
off-field support overseen by Bath, the reassuring ever-present in charge
of the operation - always innovating, adapting, modernising and believing
that a homegrown core of players could form the basis of the Chelsea
squad.
'Over the years, we've always strived for players from the Academy to get
more opportunities in the first team,' he said.
https://i.imgur.com/1WjcWEB.jpg
Abraham and Mount have accounted for plenty of the 29 per cent of Premier
League minutes played by Chelsea Academy graduates this term
'However, in this particular year and under the management of Frank
Lampard, who has been prepared to play and give them an opportunity if he
feels they are deserving, it has been an incredibly successful season.
'It's a very timely award because when you look at the minutes that our
Academy has contributed to the men's first team, it will be the most we've
had in modern history.'
https://i.imgur.com/8jrLSPG.jpg
Bath pictured alongside Lampard and Jody Morris
The Premier League Academy Awards has been running for three years, with
the inaugural ceremony held at Cobham in 2017, where all in attendance
learned of Dolan's huge influence on the game and those he worked with. He
was regarded as a creative, innovative coach and mentor to staff and
players alike, before passing away at the age of 48 after a battle with
illness.
'Eamonn was a man who I knew well,' said Bath as he reflected on the award
and Dolan's influence. 'Whenever we played against each other, we would
always meet prior to kick-off and have a cup of tea together. We would
reach out to each other during the year and catch up.
'I know he was passionate about developing people as well as players so to
receive an award in memory of Eamonn makes me very proud.'