The 2010 – 2011 Champions League campaign began with exceptionally smooth progress through a first stage comprising Marseille, Zilina and Spartak Moscow, ending with Chelsea topping the group on 15 points, having won 5 games and lost 1, the latter in a tough visit to Moscow, and, when the draw for the Round of 16 was made, there could have been few fans unhappy with a pairing against FC Copenhagen, a tie from which the club could be fairly confident of progressing.

Having sourced possible flight and hotel combinations for every other team we could have been drawn against, but improbably omitted Copenhagen, the usual scramble to secure a flight and a hotel ensued.  So it was that I found myself on a BA flight from Heathrow Terminal 5 on the morning of Monday 21^st February.  Over the years, I’ve tended to find myself flying out of Gatwick more than Heathrow (although as I’m now living in the heart of London, I now try and arrange to fly out of there in preference to anywhere else).  T5 is light years away from the rest of the Heathrow monolith, being airy and having a feeling of space.  The shopping is also rather good, and flying with BA has all the advantages of a reserved seat and free baggage.

This trip was the furthest I’d been north, and as the plane started its approach to Copenhagen, it was possible to see from my window that the country’s coast was not only bleak and sepia-tinted, it was also literally freezing. The weather forecast for the week had promised sub-zero temperatures, so I had invested in a thermal vest and socks, and planned to attend the game in many more layers than is my norm.

Copenhagen Airport is brilliant to get to and from.  None of your getting on a airport bus here, but a rapid train ride from the airport to the city centre in about 15 minutes for the equivalent of £7.  I’d travelled out to Denmark on my own, but was meeting up with a party later in the evening, having declined an invitation to visit a brewhouse almost as soon as I landed, when all I felt like doing was finding my hotel, having an orientation walk and getting a square meal. 

I’d managed to get quite a good deal on a hotel in the centre of town, and speedily located it. Having checked in, dumped the luggage, and been charmed by the fact the room even had a kitchenette, I set off for a walk into the biting cold dusk.

I remain quite sad that due to the fact it was the middle of winter, I didn’t see as much of the city as I’d have liked, and certainly didn’t see the royal palace, which I’d hoped to do, and the famous Tivoli Gardens on Hans Christian Anderson Boulevard are closed in February.  However, the walk took me past the Tivoli and on towards the Radhus, as it got darker and colder.  After a brief perusal of the main shopping thoroughfare, where I pondered and rejected the possibility of buying another sweater (a decision I later regretted), I decided to find my dinner.  Having walked back towards H.C. Boulevard, I found rather a nice looking Italian restaurant and walked in. 

 As readers of the Travels will recall, I have a very poor grasp of most European modern languages, but my Danish extends no further than “Tack”.  So in order to get over the language difficulty in Ristorante Vesuvio, I decided I might as well give the Italian a run out.  And surprisingly, it was rather successful, and I had an extremely enjoyable meal of bruschetta, tortelloni melanzane e zucchini, and sorbetto Vesuvio (lemon sorbet with limoncello liquor).  Once fortified, I headed off towards the train station, to meet another member of the party, who was arriving on a later flight.  Just as I was saying hello to H., it so happened that Dazza A. (whose prophecy regarding the Milanese coleslaw was so accurate – see Travels with the Chels – Milan), who was also joining the trip, was short-cutting through the station with his half-brother, Kim, who was over from Norway for the game.  Our final renegade, Mr E.,who’d escaped the carnage of the Milan lurgy, was also in town and, as a real ale buff, had reluctantly agreed to meet the rest of us in the Old English Pub in Vesterbrogade, but had retreated to his lodgings to change his frock.

 It’s usually the case that any English/Irish pub you wander into on a European trip will be stuffed full of Chels, but Copenhagen seemed to be the exception.  We found this slightly strange, but settled down for an evening with reasonably priced alcohol, a band playing U2-type numbers, and Sky Sports News on the TV.  About 9pm, not having had any dinner, H., Dazza and Kim went out to the conveniently-located Burglar King next door. When they returned, it was with the news that the reason that the Old English Pub was so quiet was that everyone was probably in the Cafe Guldhornene on Vestegarde, which had heavily promoted itself as the home of Chelsea in Copenhagen, and who were said to be running promotions on drinks.  Mr E. decided he was feeling his age at this point (about midnight) and wanted to be up at the crack of dawn for his day-trip to Malmo, so he left the rest of us wastrels to make our way to the proposed den of iniquity. 

 As we left Vesterbrogade and crossed over to HCA Boulevard, it seemed to have got even colder.  And as we reached the Rathaus, we felt the first flakes of snow drifting gently to the ground.  Although old enough to know better, this was the signal to caper around the square shouting “It’s snowing! It’s snowing” (like we hadn’t had enough snow in London during that winter).  After a slight disagreement about the location of the Guldhornene, as is usually the case, a colossal drunken roar signalled that we were in fact near the venue, so we followed the noise down a side street.   The bar appeared to be subterranean, and we could see a fairly crowded looking room through the basement windows.  However, we weren’t ready for the heat and the noise which hit us.  It was obvious that a fair proportion of those who had travelled to Denmark were in there.  The Tuborg, at the equivalent of just £2.20 a pint, was fairly flowing, and so were the bawdy songs, in particular one coined especially for this trip to one of those Euro-type tunes:-

“We’re in Denmark

We’re in Denmark

We’re on the p..s

With Abramovich*

We’re in Denmark”

 (*in general terms presumably, I certainly didn’t see him in there).

In spite of the heaving crowd, the bar staff were very efficient, but after we’d had a couple of drinks we decided to call it a night and returned to our respective hotels, having arranged to meet again at the Old English pub the next day for a drink before a pre-match lunch.

I shall never forget the next morning. Having turned on the TV for some local news, in particular hoping to see pics of Chelsea fans out and about in Copenhagen, most of the coverage was, justifiably, about the awful earthquake in New Zealand.  However, further down the news was indeed unintelligible reporting which appeared to have taken place outside and around the Guldhornene, and much to my amusement, I saw various face I recognised cavorting around in the background – however, happily not mine nor my friends, the camera crew must have bailed out before we arrived.

Having breakfasted on an excellent buffet spread, in spite of having said I’d meet the others at the pub, I whistled up H. and asked if a walk was in order. Meeting outside the Rathaus, we wondered if we could make it as far as the Carlsberg factory for the free tour, but decided it was probably too far away so we did the photo ops by the lovely statue of Hans Christian Anderson and the town hall, and then headed down towards the river. It was a brilliantly sunlit day but bitingly cold, even more so than the previous day and, pausing by the river before we turned back towards the Rathaus, we were astonished to see it was freezing over. Heading back towards the pub, we passed the Tivoli Gardens and I peeped through the railings for a proper look. It looked extremely attractive clad in its winter mantle, and again I felt disappointment that I wasn’t able to visit.

The team congregated at the pub, and although it was midday by this time, all I wanted was coffee. I was feeling sleepy due to the extreme cold and managed to nod off whilst the others watched England getting mauled by Holland in cricket’s World Cup. Mr E. joined us about 12.30, having spent the morning on a train between Copenhagen and Malmo where he’d managed to avoid getting detained by border control in spite of not having taken his passport with him.

I had sourced what seemed a suitable venue locally for a cheap lunch, but Mr E. thought it sounded ghastly, so he decided to go and visit another brewhouse, where we would meet him later whilst the rest of us headed to a restaurant call Ad Libtorv. This sounded rather a fun place where you buy a space for roughly 15 pounds, but then you could eat and drink whatever you liked from a buffet which included hot and cold dishes, breads, salads and soups. The drinks even included wine and beer as well as soft drinks.   En route, H. decided he fancied a bag of crisps or similar for the match, and we spotted a likely looking shop called Tiger.  This turned out to be a magical cross between Poundland and Primark and we wandered around the aisles examining local delicacies.  H. found a massive bag of the equivalent of Kettle Chips for about a pound.  Then we headed towards the restaurant, grabbed a table and were soon stuffing away. H. thought the beer rather watery, but managed to drink a half a pint of white wine, a tremendous achievement. I merely sipped a glass of red. Dazza A. and Kim tried the wine and the beer, as well as the coke. Whilst we were enjoying our meal, the skies had grown ever more cloudy, and again the snow began to fall. Whilst the boys were sitting in the restaurant, I went back to my hotel to put on a number of layers as the weather forecast had threatened that the temperature could be down to -6 by the time the game started. I returned to the restaurant to rejoin the boys, and as we were heading out the door, the bus we needed to take us to the brewhouse pulled up over the road. We travelled through the streets of Copenhagen which were growing increasingly snowy, and upon alighting walked to the brewhouse which was probably a mile and a half away from the ground and which Mr E. proposed walking to. In the snow. And sub-zero temperatures.

In Stephen Fry’s film of Vile Bodies, “Bright Young Things”, near the beginning the heroine, Nina, says to her cousin Miles “I’ve never been so frantically bored in all my life”. Which pretty well sums up those three hours. I love to travel and I like to meet the locals, but my idea of pre-match hell is being stuck in a pub with real ale enthusiasts and no Chelsea fans. Eventually the time to depart arrived and we headed off towards the ground, with the thermometer now in the region of -8. In order to get to the ground, we ended up having to cross a park. In civic, civilised, environmentally friendly Copenhagen, cyclists have priority, even over pedestrians and we found ourselves having to dodge them as they speeded around us as I dragged myself with frozen feet towards the welcoming lights of the Parken, cursing that I hadn’t insisted on a cab.

However, we finally got there, and were searched by friendly stewards who happily didn’t manage to find H’s hip flask (tucked inside my bra) or the packet of B U M (delicious fruit and vodka drink from Germany, provided by my nephew) hidden under my hat.

Once waved through, we made our way into the bright, modern stadium and I decided a loo visit was definitely needed due to the cold.  Carlsberg don’t do ladies’ toilets, but if they did, they’d probably be like the ones at Parken.  Having rejoined the rest of the class (who’d obtained some Carlsberg that was suspiciously light on alcohol), we found seats together and warmed up vocally.  I have to say most of what was a solid, albeit fairly pedestrian game, warmed only by a brace from Anelka, taking him to six goals in seven Champions League games and the presence of dear old Jesper Gronkjaer in the home side, passed me by.  I have never been so cold in my life, and I shall always be grateful to the Police and stewards for not implementing the usual CL lock-in after the game.  Chances are, if that had happened, many of the travelling fans would have ended up with frost-bite.  My toes were absolutely numb by this time, and, having managed to lose Dazza A. and Kim along the way, Mr E. and H. ended up dragging me back across the park towards the brewhouse.  Proof, if it were needed, of the bitter frost was provided on the way  back when we passed occasional pint of lager, abandoned and frozen.

By the time we arrived back at the brewhouse, they were winding down for the evening, but we were welcomed in for a drink and the chance to warm up, and it was interesting to see that Danish CL television coverage was being hosted by none other than Peter Schmeichel.  It was literally one drink, however, and we bade farewell to the owner and trekked back to the bus stop.  Luckily we only had to wait a couple of minutes and within another 15, I was back at my hotel, having said goodbye to the chaps, who were flying back to London on the first plane.  I crawled into bed, where I slept soundly due to the cold and the evening’s perambulations.

As I wasn’t flying back until mid-afternoon, the next morning afforded a brief opportunity to pick up some souvenirs, so, having left my holdall with reception, I ventured out into another snow shower and not only visited a tat shop for local gifts, but also popped into Tiger and bought a purse and a note book.    On my way there, I’d bumped into a Mantle twin.  In spite of the cold and snow he was sweating profusely and drinking water, having been in the Cafe Guldhornene until 5am!

After picking up my luggage, I caught the train back to the airport, and found the time for an authentic, delicious smorgasbord of smoked salmon on rye bread.  Probably the gastronomic highlight of what was a hugely enjoyable trip.

And I’m sure we all hope and pray that this week’s trip is just as enjoyable.  I’m off with my party (including Dazza A., Mr E. and H.) to Stuttgart on Friday for an overnight stay, prior to arriving in Munich by train about 10am on Saturday morning.  I’ll be wearing my now-lucky oldish shirt with Blue Baby on the back, so feel free to say hello.  I’ll also be wearing my lucky hoody, my lucky jewellery, my favourite lucky jeans and my lucky underwear.  My hair will be in its lucky bun (I’ll be glad to get it cut), and I’ll be listening to the lucky songs (Three Little Birds and The Liquidator) on the i-pod.  And know this; in my 10 European away trips, I have travelled from Heathrow to four of them.  And my record? 100% – see, lucky airport.  And if we win, there’ll be a special edition of Travels next week.

Wherever you are watching the game, whether it’s in the Allianz Arena, in SW6, in a hostelry local to you, or in the comfort of your own home; whether it be on your own, or with an army of friends, I sincerely hope that we all enjoy the most wonderful night in our club’s rich history on Saturday. 

I’ll be here sporadically throughout the summer, but in the meantime you can follow me on Twitter @BlueBaby67

Nathaniel Chalobah, Lucas Piazon and Jamal Blackman followed in the footsteps of Conor Clifford, Josh McEachran and Gökhan Töre in the 2009-10 season as both groups of Under-18s went on to lift the coveted trophy.

Many will look to draw comparisons between the two teams and attempt to conclude if one is better than the other, but in truth, each group have their own strengths and weaknesses and were really quite different.

The 2009-10 team were clearly very strong from an early stage and were arguably the favourites to win the competition. They had strength in depth and unrivalled attacking talent to the degree that Milan Lalkovic was relegated to something of a super-sub role for much of the run to the Final.

McEachran was on the fringes of the first team whilst Jeffrey Bruma played at centre-half despite making appearances in the Premier League during the same season.

The Dutchman scored three times in the competition, most notably a free kick to earn a first leg draw at Villa Park in the first leg of the Final. Rohan Ince and Daniel Pappoe also featured at centre-back and have incomparable size and physical prowess, something which was the bedrock of a defence which only conceded three goals in their eight matches.

That in itself was quite a feat but the team were so good going forwards that they were rarely threatened. Töre and Jacopo Sala manned the flanks with Marko Mitrovic capable of occupying two centre-backs at the same time, freeing up space for McEachran in the final third whilst Kaby and Clifford provided the industry in the middle of the pitch.

Billy Clifford and Aziz Deen-Conteh were full-backs nominally but both are at their best going forward and made their presence felt time and again.

Perhaps the strongest indication of just how good that team was is the list of teams they beat. Charlton, Nottingham Forest, Portsmouth, Watford, Blackburn and Aston Villa are all extremely capable sides who are regularly involved in the later stages of youth competitions and are amongst the more productive academies in the country.

Only Villa came close to pulling off a result, earning a credible draw at home in the Final and holding their own in the first half at Stamford Bridge.

Samir Carruthers is the sole member of that team to have featured in the first team since and Benjamin Siegrist is still held in high regard but the remainder of the team are unlikely to ever make a notable impact.

In contrast, the Chelsea team has already spawned two full internationals in Bruma and Töre (Conor Clifford has been called up to a full squad but was not capped) and a host of Under-21 internationals.

Perhaps that’s what one would expect of a team which featured it’s fair share of imported talent. It’s also one of the two major differences between this year’s team and the class of 09-10.

The attacking triumvirate of Lucas Piazon, Islam Feruz and Amin Affane and defender Nathan Aké were all sourced from abroad, but otherwise the rest of the players who featured in the competition were club sourced and developed, and for many years in a lot of cases.

The other, of course, is experience. Only five of this year’s regular squad are unable to return next year as Chelsea became one of the youngest sides to ever win the competition.

Feruz and Alex Kiwomya played a regular role as schoolboys whilst Ruben Loftus-Cheek would surely have done so if not for injury, and there was also involvement for Reece Mitchell in dispatches.

Adi Viveash’s team faced more adversity than Dermot Drummy’s, but in that adversity they displayed a will and desire which may not have been apparent in their predecessors. Where the class of 09-10 ran roughshod over each opponent, the latest crop were the comeback kings, battling back from deficits against Doncaster Rovers, West Ham United, and most famously Nottingham Forest.

The unity and belief created from those magnificent moments clearly helped the team grow and they produced their best moments when it mattered most. Their most impressive 45 minutes came in the first half at Old Trafford, and they were clinical and decisive against Blackburn at Stamford Bridge to all but secure the title.

In general, both teams played in a similar manner, as the academy attempts to breed players who play the same way throughout the age groups, but differences still remain clear. The team of two years ago were more dynamic and able to go from one end to the other with devastating effect.

The younger, more recent crop, however, adopted a more measured approach at times and perhaps played more ‘attractive’ football (whatever that means), but they were also more open at the back and defended with the sort of naivety and nervousness you might associate with first-year scholars.

In a head-to-head, one off match, the 09-10 team would probably win as a result of their added experience and attacking prowess, but to write off this generation is foolish, as they’ve proven time and time again.

Perhaps we should just sit back and appreciate two superb teams who have entertained us and provided exceptional value for money whilst offering a glimpse into the future, whether it’s in blue or not. Only Chelsea FC themselves can make that choice.

Thibaut Courtois turned 20 on Friday, two days after keeping his 21st clean sheet of the season in the biggest game of his career to date. Atlético Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in Bucharest to lift a second European trophy in three years, and they did so deservedly.

The big Belgian certainly played his part, making a string of impressive saves throughout the match to preserve his team’s defensive perfection, whilst Falcao caused havoc at the other end.

You can see the highlights of the game here:

He returned to domestic action on Sunday no longer a teenager with Atlético’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League out of their hands, with Malaga firmly in the ascendancy.

Another Falcao goal ensured three points (which incidentally relegated Villarreal) but Malaga did their bit too, meaning Los Colchoneros finished fifth and will be defending their Europa League crown next season.

Elsewhere, the most notable outings of the week went to Tomas Kalas, who featured for Vitesse Arnhem in both legs of their Europa League Playoff Semi Finals against NEC Nijmegen.

NEC won a controversial home leg 3-2 in which Kalas had an up and down performance, but the Arnhem side won 2-0 on Sunday to set up a final showdown with RKC Waalwijk (again over two legs) for a place in next season’s European competition.

Patrick van Aanholt remained an unused substitute in both matches.

There was no playing time for Josh McEachran at Swansea in the final round of Premier League matches, nor was there for Gael Kakuta at Dijon in the penultimate matchday for Ligue Une. Kakuta has been left out of recent matches for reasons manager Patrice Carteron has not been thoroughly public with, although it’s understood that it’s less about Kakuta and more about the team attempting to stave off the threat of relegation.

Matej Delac’s Ceske Budejovice lost 3-0 to Sparta Praha with the Croatian no closer to action, but he reminded everyone of his existence this week with an interview to his national press.

He revealed that the decision to play in the Gambrinus Liga was suggested to him by Petr Cech, who considered his young protege to be more than capable of holding his own at that level.

As we well know now, Budejovice have decided against using Delac’s talents, a decision Cech is apparently baffled by. In any event, he will return to Chelsea in the summer before making a decision on where to play next season.

Finally, Ben Gordon signed off in Scotland with a 2-1 win for Kilmarnock away to Dunfermline, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back at Rugby Park again next season on a permanent basis.

With only Kalas likely to be involved in action over the next seven days (Kakuta and Van Aanholt are unlikely to feature), this will be the last Loan Report of the season. It’s not the end of the coverage though, with a full section of the upcoming review of the season dedicated to those who have spent portions of the 11/12 campaign away from Stamford Bridge.

With a sizeable first leg lead in the bag the return fixture was always likely to be underwhelming and so it proved, with a solitary first half strike from Tim Payne decisive on the night, but not enough to turn the tie in Blackburn’s favour.

Both teams made changes from the first leg, with Blackburn deprived of Reece Hands and Osayamen Osawe through injury and choosing to rest Curtis Haley and Will Beesley ahead of Saturday’s academy league final at Fulham.

Adi Viveash was forced into a change of his own with Nathan Aké away on international duty with the Netherlands. Archange Nkumu was given the nod in his stead, and was joined at left back by Ali Gordon, who replaced Adam Nditi.

In terribly wet conditions on an Ewood Park pitch that has been soaked throughout the week (and seen Premier League action), both sets of players struggled to keep their footing in the opening stages and neither side were able to get the game under control.

Islam Feruz had an early glimpe of action as he looked to latch onto a through ball but quick work by Matthew Urwin in the home goal just about took the chance away from the Scottish Under-21 forward.

As expected, Blackburn were keen to exploit their physical advantage and regularly looked to play the long ball in over Todd Kane to big winger Brad Mason. Their first shot in anger came through John O’Sullivan, but his tame effort was easily gathered by Jamal Blackman.

A relatively even first twenty minutes was interrupted by a robust challenge on Amin Affane which left the Swedish winger struggling. He tried to run his knock off but was unable to, meaning an earlier than usual introduction for Youth Cup super-sub Alex Kiwomya.

Blackburn took the opportunity to seize the initiative and momentum and took the lead minutes later. The Blues conceded possession on the halfway line and watched as O’Sullivan carried the charge for Rovers, but the move only became threatening when Nkumu lost his footing on the edge of his own area.

O’Sullivan squared the ball across the face of goal, Hugo Fernandez left it, and Payne beat the crowd on the goalline to give his team a glimmer of hope in the tie.

That glimmer very nearly became a full crack of light five minutes later when Robbie Cotton found space down the inside right and shot only to see Kane scramble his effort off the line.

Kane had easily been Chelsea’s liveliest first half performer, and his marauding efforts on the right hand side began to stretch the home defence. Swift forced a save from Urwin and provided a pass for Kiwomya which the schoolboy wasted with a poor first touch before full-back Kane drew a save at the near post and then struck the outside of the woodwork in stoppage time.

Viveash reverted to familiar faces at the break, bringing Nditi on for Gordon in a bid to give his team some balance. Gordon had largely played in a defensive role to retain a compact shape but the Blues struggled to move the ball forward and looked predictable with their distribution.

The home side poured forward from the first kick of the second half but in doing so left wide open spaces at the back which was very nearly their undoing. Piazon put the ball on a plate for Kiwomya but once again, he struggled to get his body shape right and placed his attempt well wide of the far post.

Raheem Hanley missed a gilt-edged chance from no more than eight yards out before receiving the game’s first yellow card for a crude challenge on Kiwomya which probably warranted a red.

As the clock ticked towards the hour mark Nkumu became the second Chelsea player to succumb to injury having hurt his hamstring. Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaced him, meaning Nathaniel Chalobah dropped back into the back four.

Blackburn sent more and more bodies forward resulting in more than a few heart in mouth moments for Chelsea, but by hook or by crook they were able to get away with things.

With many of those around him struggling and playing some loose passes, Alex Davey was in the middle iof another excellent performance, showing composure and determination to shore things up at the back.

Curtis Haley and Danny Laverty were thrown on as coach Terry McPhillips went for broke in the final fifteen minutes but his team were clearly tiring and Chelsea’s greater fitness levels began to come into effect. Piazon and Nditi did well to create openings which weren’t taken, whilst Loftus-Cheek steered a volley towards goal which was deflected millimetres wide of the post.

Referee Lee Probert signalled the end of proceedings after four minutes of stoppage time to declare Chelsea FA Youth Cup winners for the second time in three years and fourth time in club history.

Nathaniel Chalobah lifted the trophy in front of a sizeable Chelsea contingent in the crowd to signal the end of another fantastic, engrossing youth season.

Chelsea: Blackman, Kane, Davey, Nkumu (Loftus-Cheek 60), Gordon (Nditi 45), Chalobah (c), Swift, Baker, Lucas Piazon, Affane (Kiwomya 28), Feruz
Subs not Used: Beeney, Nortey

Booked: Davey

A full review of the campaign at youth and reserve level covering every angle possible will be on TheChels.net throughout late May.

(Thanks to Ross Mooring for the photo)

A 4-0 win in the first leg at Stamford Bridge just shy of three weeks ago makes the Blues overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy but everyone involved with the academy has been keen to avoid complacency, stressing that the tie is not over.

What they say in public and what they actually believe may well be two different things of course, and realistically nothing short of a catastrophe should prevent them from coming out on top, but football can and will throw up surprises of epic proportions.

Blackburn are certainly a capable side and showed that in the early stages of the first leg, when they threatened to take control of the tie. Strong and athletic, they built their game around the aerial prowess of centre-back Ryan Edwards and striker Curtis Haley and the speed and trickery of Osayamen Osawe and Raheem Hanley.

Fortunately for Chelsea, Jamal Blackman was on on form to keep Rovers at bay and once they settled and got a foothold in the game, their superior football took over.

First half goals from Nathaniel Chalobah and Lewis Baker were followed by a brace from Islam Feruz after the break to give the youngsters a lead they now take to Lancashire in hope of finishing the job.

Ten of the eleven are almost certain to retain their places, with the only change being an enforced one. Nathan Aké is currently away captaining the Netherlands Under-17 team in the European Championships in Slovenia, meaning Alex Davey will have a new partner at centre-back.

Manager Adi Viveash has a few options available to him. He could simply bring in second-year Archange Nkumu for what would be his final appearance in the competition, or he could move captain Chalobah back from midfield and add someone in alongside John Swift and Lewis Baker.

If Chalobah is to move back, schoolboy Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be the man to benefit. He started the season in excellent form, averaging a goal every other game before suffering a long-term hip problem which has sidelined him since December.

However, he has returned to match fitness and has travelled north with the squad and is an option to play.

The hosts, meanwhile, have something of a dilemma. They beat Newcastle on Saturday to line up a national Academy League Final against Fulham on Saturday, and they could well feel that their chances of winning that one-off fixture at Craven Cottage are greater than overturning a four-goal deficit.

Boss Terry McPhillips rested four of his starters at the weekend with tonight in mind but may opt to mix things up again and simply try to play for pride at Ewood Park and silverware at the weekend.

Whatever the line-ups, you can expect the hosts to start well, look to assert themselves on the game and attempt to make Chelsea nervous. If the Blues can see off the initial burst in front of what will be a healthy crowd, they should be able to get into the game and control it, hopefully culminating in a much-deserved celebration at full time.

The match is live and exclusive on Chelsea TV with a 7pm kickoff. If you can’t watch, and if you can’t be at Ewood Park (tickets on the door, £5 adults, £3 concessions), you can keep right up to date with events by following @chelseayouth on Twitter.

Kevin De Bruyne’s campaign ended prematurely last weekend through injury, whilst Milan Lalkovic’s was drawn to a close a few weeks earlier after an unsuccessful spell at ADO Den Haag.

Rhys Taylor, Sam Walker and Jeffrey Bruma all joined them this weekend and signed off what must be considered successful enough spells.

Bruma has been a part of a Hamburg team which has grafted hard to retain their place in the Bundesliga in recent weeks, and they affirmed that status with a game to go. The defender played another 90 minutes at right back and was booked, and will now depart on a short club break to Mallorca before going on summer holiday, having been omitted from the Dutch preliminary squad for Euro 2012. He is expected back in Hamburg next season in the second of a two-season loan spell.

Goalkeeper Taylor, meanwhile, may well be back at Rotherham next season, but if he does, it will be on a permanent basis. The Welsh stopper’s agent revealed that there are a number of football league clubs interested in his services and that he will look to move on this summer.

His final appearance of his spell at the Millers was also the club’s last game at Don Valley Stadium, and whilst he was restored to the team after a fortnight out, he was denied a final clean sheet by Adebayo Akinfenwa’s late header.

Fellow goalkeeper Walker completed his stay at Yeovil with a 2-0 loss away to playoff-bound Huddersfield Town and was beaten by two quality finishes on the day. He too could return to the club next season under manager Gary Johnson, who has already signed him twice in his brief professional career and made noises about wanting to do so a third time in 2012-13.

In the Netherlands, Tomas Kalas and Vitesse Arnhem completed their league schedule with a 3-1 defeat against Champions Ajax, but will now play off against NEC Nijmegen hoping for a place in the Europa League.

Patrick van Aanholt was an unused substitute but did feature alongside Kalas in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Utrecht.

Ulises Dávila has returned to Chelsea a few weeks early so that the club’s coaching staff can evaluate his progress before the summer holidays. The Mexican forward may be a part of the reserve team squad heading to Hong Kong this week to participate in the famous Soccer Sevens tournament.

Kalas, meanwhile, is close to agreeing a deal to remain in Arnhem next season, with all parties extremely satisfied with the way this season has gone.

Over in Den Haag, Kenneth Omeruo returned from suspension for ADO (after missing a midweek drubbing at PSV), who lost 5-3 to De Graafschap in their last outing of the year, having avoided being involved in the relegation playoffs.

In France, Gael Kakuta played 65 minutes on Thursday in a 2-0 defeat to Auxerre and looked much the same as he has done in recent weeks; tired, lethargic and low on ideas in a struggling team. In a bid to mix things up and stoke some fires to help his team avoid the drop, manager Patrice Carteron decided to leave Kakuta out of Monday’s squad which travelled to Lorient, but he should be involved in the final two games of the season.

Thibaut Courtois has had no such issues though, yet in the crucial weeks of the season has finally allowed one or two errors to creep into his game. A week after a costly rick against Betis, he and his defenders were all at sea against Real Sociedad in stoppage time and allowed Carlos Vela to score an equaliser which effectively ended their chances of Champions League football next season.

He bounced back well and played strongly against Malaga on Saturday to keep that dream alive mathematically with three huge saves, but their fate is out of their hands. The young Belgian will be desperate to finish a sensational season with a win in the Europa League Final.

In Scotland, Ben Gordon featured as usual against Aberdeen and also revealed this week – unsurprisingly so – that he would be keen to make his stay at Rugby Park a permanent one.

To finish up, Josh McEachran didn’t play again (he hasn’t even featured for their reserves) as Mark Gower was picked ahead of him for Swansea’s trip to Old Trafford, and Matej Delac did the same as usual for Ceske Budejovice against Viktoria Zizkov. Reece Loudon’s spell at Potters Bar Town appears to have now ended after seven appearances and two goals.

Keen statisticians will have noted that the decisive effort came courtesy of his supposedly ‘weaker’ left foot, and in fact, exactly half of his Wembley goals have come in that manner.

In honour of the goal and of another fantastic moment in his Chelsea lore, we present five of the best left footed Didier Drogba strikes:

Chelsea vs Liverpool, 17th September 2006
Drogba receives a long pass on the edge of the area before turning and rifling an unstoppable effort past a helpless Jose Reina.

Stoke City vs Chelsea, 12th September 2009
Drogba latches onto an exquisite reverse pass by Frank Lampard and shoots first time on the turn into the top corner.

Chelsea vs Everton, 12th December 2009
Ricardo Carvalho wins possession back in the Everton half and feeds Lampard, who simply touches the ball towards Drogba, and the first-time finish is exemplary.

Chelsea vs Arsenal, 3rd October 2010
Of his thirteen strikes against Arsenal, a number of have been impressive left-footed strikes but few surely as impudent and deft as this backheeled effort after fine approach play by Ramires and Ashley Cole.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea, 15th April 2012
One of the strikes at Wembley, Didier dominates for strength against William Gallas and sends a quite sensational shot rocketing past Carlo Cudicini.

Feel free to suggest your own left-footed Drogba classics, and let’s hope there’s one more special one saved up for Munich on the 19th.

Chelsea fans hardly need to be told about the impact of Ramires on the 2011/12 season, but as the campaign reaches the business end it has become more and more apparent that the Blues have another amongst their ranks who produces when the stakes are at their highest.

As Didier Drogba added to his Wembley lore and as Frank Lampard continued to extend his remarkable legacy, the Queniano Azul was busy at work affirming his status as one of the club’s best footballers.

It’s not just in the last month that he’s turned up when it matters most either. En route to the big game in Munich in a fortnight’s time, Chelsea faced win-or-bust ties at Stamford Bridge against Valencia, Napoli and Benfica, and on each occasion Ramires put in a sterling performance with a decisive impact.

He was directly involved in Branislav Ivanovic’s spectacular extra-time winner against the Italians, and his trademark lung-bursting running was there for all to see with the second goal against Valencia in December.

The Brazilian ensured that the road to Wembley got off to a good start with a brace against Portsmouth a week after grabbing a stoppage time winner away to Wolves at a time when the club’s league results and performances were decidely shaky.

He took some time to settle, and there were more than a few doubters during his first few months at the club, but as last season wore on he began to show signs of being the player he has been all season.

A superb solo effort against Manchester City was voted the club’s Goal of the Season and it’s a title he could well retain this time around with his exquisite chip in the Nou Camp.

Versatile enough to have been used in almost every midfield position required by Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo, he has been your prototypical box-to-box midfielder yet has also been the tactically adept winger able to retain shape and nullify the pronounced threat of attacking full-backs like Daniel Alves.

Unfortunately, the man with no song will be missing in Munich and whilst Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Merieles, and John Terry are all big omissions in their own right, it speaks volumes that Ramires is considered to be the hardest loss of all for Chelsea fans.

The way he’s played of late, it’s not hard to understand why.

Yes, he probably would’ve been sold to Huddersfield Town or shipped off abroad only to shine on international waters and make the fans wonder “why have we let another one go?” But what if he managed to replicate his progress at Barcelona and even have his size overlooked (This really is a fictional tale). Well he’d obviously struggle on a rainy day in Stoke… but let’s face it, who doesn’t?!

It’s the year 2000 and the Chelsea scouting system has been busy, the club have had little funds to spend on bringing in new players, so bargain buys and talented youth players have been the focus of the club’s transfer policy. After an extensive search reaching as far wide as Rosario in Argentina, where the scouts report they have found a gem, a diamond in the rough, excited by the prospect Chelsea sign the youngster and in the summer there is a new face at the Harlington training ground.

The youngster is reserved and even for his age (13) he is diminutive in size. He doesn’t speak English but he doesn’t need to, he amazes those in attendance with his skill on the ball, he lets his feet do the talking. Staff and players alike turn to each other and a buzz is already being created but there are worries about his size. For all the skill in the world, the Premier League, the competition he will have to grow up competing in is physically draining. To make matters worse he suffers from a growth hormone deficiency, but Chelsea are prepared to finance his medical costs. Of those watching the little Argentinian, one Chelsea player has taken particular interest, Gianfranco Zola approaches the youngster and asks him what his name is, to which he replies “Lionel Messi”.

Messi finds his first few years are a struggle to adjust, the coaches say that his ‘footballing brain’ is far too advanced for this level and that others around him find it difficult to keep up. Individually his star shines brighter than anyone they’ve seen. I got the chance to interview him as his English had improved.

When asked what he thinks has gone wrong he answers “What, they call this…’Route one’ football, it is just not for me. I’ve tried to adapt but I prefer playing with the ball on the ground” he is humble and from what I can tell hungry to learn and yearns to improve. Maybe we can make a player out of him yet.

It’s 2004. His goal scoring records in the youth and subsequently the reserves are frighteningly good. Not known for its production of youth in its recent past, the Chelsea academy has long awaited Lionel Messi’s chance at the big time and his performances have been noted by new manager Jose Mourinho and the self proclaimed ‘Special One’ is prepared to give Lionel Messi his debut at the age of 17. He plays on the right of a front three and immediately impresses, his first game is against Arsenal and his ability coupled with new signing Arjen Robben are too much for the gunners to handle down the flanks. Chelsea win the game 3-1. In his next few games, Messi fails to have the same impact. His physical presence comes into question with the media claiming that he is too weak for the Premier League. (If only they looked at actual talent, eh?)

A long winter was to follow, fans wondering if it would be better for Messi to go on loan or if his style was better suited to a team like Barcelona (They must have been having a laugh, right?). Mourinho still stuck with his guns and kept the young 17 year old at the club but performances went from bad to worse. A poor work rate on the field was met with trouble off it. Messi was living every 17 year olds dream life, but was he throwing it all away? Kept out the team by Robben and Duff, he failed to make his substitute appearances pay and remained on the sidelines.

Despite all this, he had built a relationship with manager Jose Mourinho and the pair seemingly shared a more father/son relationship rather than player/manager.

“He’s not one from the bottle. He’s like me, special,” said Mourinho when asked about Messi.

Was the manager really prepared to throw away the title bid, to accommodate the player he loved as a person? Thankfully for Chelsea they didn’t have to find out. A knee ligament injury ruled Messi out for the season and the team seemed all the better for it. They raced to the league title without their promising youth player, who unfortunately had only played 9 games in the season and therefore missed out on a winners medal.

Messi now 18, was maturing slightly on the field but his off the field antics worsened. Pictured clubbing before match days, the Argentinian was doing his best impression of Brazilian legend Ronaldo, however his performances weren’t good enough to excuse his behaviour. Which wasn’t far off him receiving an ASBO.

Finding first team opportunities hard to come by and showing that he was far too good for the reserve league in the country, Messi was loaned out to Ajax, a team renowned for its upbringing of youth. He raised eyebrows in the Eredivise, playing an integral part in their bid for the title, in which victory was sealed on the last day of the season. He racked up 12 goals and 14 assists in his 30 appearances. His form in Holland saw him called up to the Argentinian national team for the first time and although early days in his career he was drawing comparisons with former great Diego Maradona. Not convinced by his achievements in Holland many still question whether he can pull of the same back in the Premiership for Chelsea who won their second straight Premier League title.

On his return to Chelsea, Messi is told he is being loaned out to Championship side Nottingham Forest to get a feel for the English culture and its style of football. Reluctantly he accepts but when told for the first game of the season he will start on the bench, Messi packs his bag and goes on a vacation to Argentina, reports circulate that he spends most of his proposed 3 month loan period at Forest, playing golf.

Not one for tough love, Mourinho defends his star pupil and puts an arm round his shoulder after convincing Messi to return to Stamford Bridge. With ten games left in the season, Chelsea’s attacking options have been limited through injury and their title hopes hang in the balance, Chelsea need Messi to step and to fulfil the potential everyone has seen in him. Next stop is away to Stoke on a Tuesday night, the recently promoted side have built a fortress at the Britannia Stadium. Pouring down with rain and the pitch in almost unplayable condition, Mourinho names his team sheet with the little Argentinian in the starting XI.

“He could never do it on a rainy day in Stoke…” The phrase became history after an incredible one man display, Messi scored 4 and set up the other in a crushing 5-0 victory. To quote a line from a Hercules song “You can shout it from the mountain top, A STAR IS BORN.” The little boy from Argentina became a man tonight.

In a magnificent turnaround, Messi’s attitude has been changed. First in, last one out at training he seems to have now understood what it takes to be the best in the world.

Chelsea are propelled up the table in the following games, relying on his incredible talent alone to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Never has a 19 year old shown this much promise in the Premier League. Going into the final day of the season Chelsea are one point behind leaders Manchester United and prior to the game, Alex Ferguson has a few words to say about the new sensation.

“They told me I couldn’t win anything with kids, now I’m hoping it’s true. We have a couple of young talents here in Rooney and Ronaldo, but this lad plays like he’s not from this world.”

As the line ups are announced, what seemed an unlikely event a few months ago is now reality (It’s reality within a dream, inception style). Messi is the source of the biggest cheer from Chelsea fans, he has scored 13 goals in his previous 9 games. From kick-off the United team look frightened of him, he’s everywhere like an energiser bunny from the adverts. The crowd are reminded of a young Zola but even better. As he goes on what has become one of his famous dribbling exhibitions, he leaves Rio Ferdinand flat on the floor and the rest of the team chasing shadows as he lobs the ball over keeper Edwin Van Der Sar… who was still on his line!

Chelsea win the game 2-0, they’re champions once again but more importantly so is Lionel Messi. He picks up the award for young player of the year for his contribution to the champions.

Oh and just before you thought the fairytale story was over, Messi would go on to become the World’s best player an unprecedented five times and lead Argentina to World Cup glory. Not to mention win successive Champions League titles for Chelsea (Still Pele argues that he scored 600 more goals in his career). Claims that he was the greatest ever, mooted by Spanish reports that he couldn’t pull off such performances “On a sunny day in Malaga…”

Investment in the youth has gone a long way and history has been rewritten.

This piece originally aired on Mowing Meadows.

The reports were brief, and there were none of the personal paragraphs, garrulous items, and more or less sensational news which are now part not only of weekly periodicals, but of morning and evening newspapers.” In 1886 James A. Catton began to write for the weekly “The Athletic News” under the pen-name “Ubique”, later calling himself “Tityrus”. He subsequently became editor of The Athletic News and was acknowledged as the most important football writer in Britain.

As interest in Association Football increased, so did the coverage. One of the most important sources of information for supporters were the Saturday evening “pinks”, with their emphasis on local teams. Sadly now a dying breed, these were often the only way of finding out how other teams got on and were usually printed within minutes of the final whistle being blown at games.

A technological revolution was born in January 1927 when BBC radio broadcast its maiden commentary, featuring a game between Arsenal and Sheffield United, with the FA Cup Final being broadcast for the first time that same year. By 1931 the BBC was broadcasting over 100 games per season. Radio ownership was in its infancy at this time, with only approximately 30% of households owning a “wireless”. The Alan Green of that era was George Allison. He devised a system to help listeners understand what was going on, consisting of a diagram with a football pitch divided into squares which was published in the Radio Times.

Allison’s broadcast assistant would call out the number of the square where the ball was being played, and when the ball was deliberately passed back to the goalkeeper (a legal if time wasting tactic up until 1992, for the benefit of younger readers), Allison would announce “and it’s back to square one”, thus originating a phrase which would become part of the English language.

The horrendous economic conditions and poverty of the late 1920s and early 1930s led to a fall in match going, and radio coverage of league games was blamed. As a result, the Football League banned live commentary of their games, a dictat which continued until after the Second World War. However, the FA Cup Final continued to be broadcast throughout the 1930s, with the fixture becoming part of the fabric of the nation, due in part to increased ownership of radios, with over 70% of households owning a radio by 1939. Football broadcasting resumed after the Second World War, with the BBC showing the first non-Final FA Cup game between Blackpool and Bolton in the 1947 5th round.

The early 1950′s saw British audiences treated to their first taste of overseas football at the 1954 World Cup, and in 1955 the fledgling Independent Television broadcast games from the first season of the European Cup, which might have featured Chelsea, had it not been for the club caving into the FA over their participation. In the same year, BBC started showing highlights from First Division games for the first time in Soccer Special.

It was however in 1964 that a seismic shift took place with the birth of a national institution – Match of the Day on BBC2. Originally broadcast in black and white, colour transmissions of football hightlights started in 1969 and by the time Chelsea faced Leeds in the 1970 FA Cup final, the game was played out before a record audience of 20 million. By the early 1980s the Football League had signed a contract for regular live games on TV, but the broadcasters weren’t to know that the decade would see an unparalled era of crowd trouble, and that poorly maintained grounds all over the country would eventually claim the lives of scores of fans.

By the middle of the decade, football fans were generally perceived as scum, especially by the Government. The Minister for Sport, former Olympic rower, Colin Moynihan, and originator of a proposal to bring in compulsory ID cards for supporters, described fans as “the effluent society”, and a leader in The Times of 18 June 1985 described the game as “…a slum sport, watched by slum people”.

It was around this time, inspired by the culture of music fanzines which had sprung up in the 1970s and early 80s, the first football fanzines emerged. “When Saturday Comes” was launched in 1986 and is still going strong over 25 years later, with the same editor. Suddenly, if you had opinions and had access to a photocopier, you could start a fanzine yourself. All you needed was a few mates to help distribute it. And some of the titles were, and remain glorious – WSC used to list those available such as Gillingham’s legendary Brian Moore’s Head Looks Uncannily Like London Planetarium, which is still going, albeit online these days. There used to be a wonderful shop in the Charing Cross Road called Sportspages, where you could buy fanzines, and whenever I was in London in the late 80s, I’d go there simply to read.

And as befits a club which has long had a creative, imaginative, talented fanbase, Chelsea fans were swift to embrace the concept of the fanzine. “The Chelsea Independent” was launched in 1987 and was a fixture on the Fulham Road until 1999, being replaced in 2000, in the very early days of the internet, by CFCNet. However, after the print version of The Chelsea Independent ceased, help was at hand for those seeking a physical fix for the tube or the train with the launch of Matthew Harding’s Blue & White Army, which subsequently became the legendary and much loved CFCUK (which is, as everyone knows, is still available on match days for only a pound. Urry up).

At the dawn of the digital era, one of the single biggest changes in how football fans interact was created by the BBC. In 2003, they put together a collection of internet forums for each club in the Premier League, togethe with forums for the lower divisions and Scottish football via the BBC website under their “606″ banner. This provided a first opportunity for many football fans, including myself, to publicly put forward their views, not only on their club, but on other clubs too. It is fair to say that 606 changed my own life as I started writing about football for the first time since my early teens, when I used to sit down at my Corona typewriter on a Saturday evening and write my own slant on the day’s scorelines.

However, due to the BBC’s strict moderation rules, and the fact the boards closed at 10pm, just minutes after midweek games, dissatisfaction set in quite early, and as a result those fans with the necessary technical know-how began to drift away to start their own forums, where membership could be denied to those perceived as “numpties” (numpties of course being the forerunners of trolls). With relatively low running costs, independent forums, run for fans by fans, sprang up all over the place. CFCUK launched their own website, as well as remaining in print. CFCNet remains the behemoth of Chelsea forums, with membership running into thousands. The After Hours Football Club was one of the first descendants of 606, started by an enlightened Gooner, but with sections for individual clubs.

This site hosted a particularly lively Chelsea forum, many of whose members congregated in the So Bar on matchdays, at the end housing the toilets, dubbing themselves “Bog Enders”. The BBC 606 forums sadly closed their doors for the last time on 31st May 2011, at a time when blogging has become increasingly popular. Organisations such as “Word Press” have made it possible to produce highly-professional websites at minimal costs, and “TheChels.Net” is one such blog that’s benefited. The beautifully-titled “Plains of Almeria” is the home of the cerebral blogger, attracting some of the highest calibre Chelsea writers around, and the fledgling “Mowing Meadows” has in a short space of time become a hugely-respected part of the blogging scene.

And of course, it’s not just the written word that’s available to Chelsea fans. Regular readers will recall that I spent a memorable evening in Putney recently with the Chelsea Football FanCast team (other pods are also available), and coupled with the club’s own in-house TV channel and media outlets, you have to ask yourself where the future lies for traditional media.

If you’re a Chelsea fan, with all the above options open to you, why should you waste your time on old media? Why listen to the bile on TalkSport when you can listen to your fellow-fans talk about the action on a podcast?

Why should you read what are still known, even online, as “the papers”? Why subject yourself to the bile of, say, Patrick Barclay, when you can read Joe Tweeds or Tim Rolls? The latter gentlemen are as informed about the club as Barclay, and what’s more, they care. And they’ll have paid for their own match tickets.

Why is Martin Lipton more relevant than Dan Levene of the Fulham Chronicle? Dan is a paid journalist, but at least he genuinely cares about the club and is the only professional worth following on Twitter.

Basically the difference between a journalist and a blogger is money. A journalist gets paid. A blogger does it for love and enjoyment, in their spare time.

The problem with the self-appointed righteous brothers of the former Fleet Street is that they believe they are still running the game. Hence the witch-hunts against those they perceive as sinners (certain players, certain club) and the paeans of praise for their favourites (again, certain players, certain clubs).The sole remaining area in which the hacks still have any kind of real influence is the England team, simply because there’s fewer new media resources dedicated to the national teams. The traditional journalists are dinosaurs, and extinction is coming. Another 50 years, and like the Saturday evening “pinks”, they’ll be consigned to history.

Acknowledgements
Contrary to popular belief, I do occasionally research these articles and I’m grateful to the following resources:

Spartacus Educational for background on the early history of football journalism and broacasting

The next web.com for a potted history of the now-sadly defunct 606

Soccerlens.com for Hugo Steckelmacher’s excellent article on the evolution of the fanzine on March 27th, 2008

Recommended Links

There’s a lot of good reading out there:-

 plainsofalmeria.co.uk

mowingmeadows.wordpress.com

www.cfcnet.co.uk

transparentsport.com/cfcuk

Recommended Forums

ahfcchat.com

chelseafancast.com/forum

Social Media

AHFC and ChelseaFancast are both on Facebook. ChelseaFancast are also on Twitter, where you can find bloggers referred to above (@mowingmeadows @JoeTweeds @tim_rolls ) and many more, together with Dan Levene’s account, @BluesChronicle.

You can also follow me @BlueBaby67