It must be about a month ago that I had a notification on Facebook (or “The Face” as Old Mother Baby refers to it); “Ross Mooring has invited you to an event”. The event in question was marked “KTBFFH pre-climb drinks” in Balham, and not having any previous engagement for the evening concerned, I accepted. The event in question was a send-off for two fine, brave, Chelsea fans, Clive Osgood…
Injury-Hit Youngsters Look To Make Up For Lost Time
Injuries are part and parcel of the game. They happen, although the causes and reasons for them are heavily debated. However, what is undeniable is that when a budding young footballer is sidelined for a considerable period of time during his development, his career prospects take a big hit. The medical staff at the Cobham academy have been kept busy in recent years with an unfortunately high number of players…
The Chelsea Coaching Fraternity
On August 4th, Roberto Di Matteo and Gus Poyet will line up in opposing dugouts for a pre-season friendly between Brighton and Chelsea. The match will precede a Premier League campaign that will feature Steve Clarke as manager of West Bromwich Albion and Mark Hughes at QPR, as well as former Blues coach Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. The number of former Chelsea players – particularly from teams around the turn…
Former Blues Watch: Volume Two
In March’s Volume One of this irregular series, Fabio Borini headlined a wealth of former Blues making waves elsewhere in the 2011-12 season. Volume Two starts with the young Italian as we take a look at the state of play with the summer transfer market in mind. Borini had been the subject of a speculated move to Liverpool to once again link up with Brendan Rodgers, but the likelihood of…
Contract Years
The final year of a player’s contract is always an uncertain time. If they’ve not been extended before the beginning of the final year of their terms, it’s usually an indication that they may well be on their way come the end of the campaign. That was the case with Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Jose Bosingwa at the end of the 2011-12 season and as we embark upon another…
Looking Forward To The 12/13 Youth Season
The 2012-13 season at youth and reserve level will be considerably different for Chelsea on a number of levels. As part of the EPPP reforms, playing formats across both teams are set to change whilst the club are also set to take part in the expanded NextGen Series competition, pitting them against many of Europe’s finest. Dermot Drummy’s reserve team is to be rebranded as the ‘Under-21 squad’ and they…
Under-21 & Youth Pre-Season Plans Taking Shape
It’s only mid-June and players are still away on holiday, but it’s not too early to look forward to July and the return of domestic football in the form of pre-season friendlies. Whilst the Chelsea first team will embark upon another tour of the United States, fans back in the UK looking for their fix of live action can take in one of a number of fixtures lined up for…
Hello, Hello, It’s The Musonda Boys
OK, so Thursday night’s breaking news that Chelsea were closing in on the signing of 15 year-old Anderlecht midfielder Charly Musonda Jr proved to be spot on. However, few reckoned on him being joined by his two older brothers, but both 20 year-old Lamisha and 18 year-old Tyka are also set to make the move to England after father Charly Sr demanded that the family be kept together if the…
ANOTHER Belgian Set For Chelsea?
It’s not a senior player this time but nonetheless, the Belgian contingent at Chelsea is set to increase by one this week with the reported arrival of Anderlecht’s Charly Musonda. The 15 year-old son of a former Zambian international father also named Charly has attracted attention from all of England’s biggest clubs but is apparently close to a move to West London. Belgian junior international team-mate Mathias Bossaerts, a recent…
Kakuta on Dijon, Chelsea, France and The Future
Gael Kakuta sat down this week with Thomas Siniecki of Sports.fr – read the original interview at this link to discuss the end of the 2011-12 season at Dijon, where he spent four months on loan, and also his future as a Chelsea player. The interview has been translated into English below. Apologies for any minor inaccuracies, the content is generally as published in French. Gael, is it not annoying…