Ewood Park has never been an easy place to go, with Blackburn renowned for their physical approach, and more so since Sam ‘Bolton’ Allardyce became their manager. It was no surprise then that we were in for a tough match, what was a surprise was the style of football played by Blackburn, rough yes, but more football than fight. Chelsea lined up exactly as I’d predicted, with Ivanovic replacing Ferreira at…
Under-18s: Chelsea 2-2 Crystal Palace
A stunning strike from Todd Kane in the closing stages secured a share of the points for a youthful Chelsea Under-18 team on Saturday morning in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Cobham. Dermot Drummy found starting berths for five schoolboys in his starting eleven – including Arsenal trialist Lewis Kinsella – and introduced three more as second half substitutes. George Saville – the only second year scholar involved…
Let’s Get Ready To Rumble
Today our lads make their annual pilgrimage to the land of grim, ready for physical fight in the now common battle ground of Ewood Park. Chelsea welcome back Alex from injury, with the Brazilian likely to partner Terry in the centre of defence, which will likely see Ivanovic moved to right back. Neither Lampard nor Ramires are yet fit, with the former expected to return for the Liverpool match and…
Malouda The Man Of The Moment
Having watched Florent Malouda for the past four years, I have seen first hand his rise from a second half substitute to a first team regular. This is Flo’s story. Having arrived from Lyon in the summer of 2007, great things were expected of World Cup finalist Florent Malouda. However his first season didn’t exactly go to plan and was seen by many Chelsea fans as a ‘flop’, he struggled…
Now You’re Gonna Believe Us
We’ve been a bit quiet this week here at TheChels, behind the scenes though we’ve been slaving away in order to upgrade and improve our offering to you. We’ve been running for ten or so months now, and we’re all very happy with what we’ve achieved so far, however not ones to rest on our laurels we think we’ve made things a that little bit better. First up is TheChels.org…
Where Are They Now? Barry Bridges
A schools’ sprint champion who was the complete striker and a key player for the club during the Docherty era. Dropped to allow a young Peter Osgood to play regularly but was reinstated following a fans’ petition. His Stamford Bridge career came to end a year later however when he was sent home from the airport prior to the first leg of a Fairs Cup tie with Barcelona. After hanging…
The Loan Report: October 18-24
Chelsea’s loan ranks swelled by one more this past week, and an immediate impression was made. Conor Clifford signed an initial one-month youth loan at League One side Plymouth Argyle and just 24 hours after joining up with his new colleagues at Home Park, he put in a performance worthy of Man of the Match in a 2-1 home win over Huddersfield Town. Wearing the number 7 shirt and replacing…
Blues Tame Big Bad Wolves
They huffed and they puffed, but Carlo Ancelotti’s table-topping Chelsea eventually blew down a rather stout house built by a tough Wolverhampton Wanderers side on Saturday. That’ll do for the fairy tale references, but as far as starts to the season go, the Blues will be pretty happy with the way the script has gone. Goals in each half from Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou respectively ensured that Manchester City…
Wolves To The Slaughter
There’s no such thing as a forgone conclusion in football, so we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves, however tomorrows match appears on paper as one sided as you can get. With our 100% home record and 14 goals scored, with none yet conceded, and Wolves having only taken one point away from home, form would suggest that another three points is in the offing. Didier Drogba will…
Raise A Glass To Matthew
Has it really been fourteen years since the Carling Cup defeat to Bolton that carried so much significance for Chelsea Football Club? As dawn broke on 22nd October 1996, and as many supporters woke to read the newspaper and teletext reports of the previous nights match, far more striking headlines were being reported across the media. News of a helicopter crash were initially thought to be of little relevance to…