A number of Chelsea’s reserve team were expected to find pastures new this summer, and on the first day of the summer transfer window, Nana Ofori-Twumasi has led the way in being the first to find a new club. The Ghanaian-born England Under-20 international has signed a three-year deal with Peterborough United, who were relegated to League One in 2009/10. It’s an interesting move for the versatile defender, who has…
News On Premier Reserve League 2010-11 Revamp
For a number of years, there have been more than a few murmurings of discontent with the Premier League’s reserve structure, with the highest profile managers in the country speaking out against it. After a number of teams withdrew from participation in the league over the last twelve months, the Premier League has acted upon change, with effect from the 2010/11 season. The previous North/South split, of a simple home…
Anelka On Way Home
All together now – Coming home, he’s coming home… Nic’s been chucked out of the French squad and sent home in disgrace. Pardon me if I don’t weep into my baguette. Excusez-moi if I don’t join the general hue and cry about his foul-mouthed tirade. While I am sorry for the man on a personal level that he has missed out on some World Cup appearances, this has been tempered…
New Fixtures, New Season
With the release of the coming seasons fixtures announced this morning, it seems the good old fixture computer has given us a nice start to the season, and a none to friendly finish, on paper at least. Now we’re old enough and wise enough to know full well that football is played on grass, and not paper, yet our opening run of games looks straightforward enough, starts with West Brom,…
Taylor First Up In Summer of Loan Deals
Dario Gradi announced Monday that Crewe Alexandra were taking a Chelsea reserve team goalkeeper on loan over the summer with the view to an extended loan move. That player turned out to be Welsh Under-21 stopper Rhys Taylor, and as he prepares to join the Railwaymen for pre-season, he kicks off what is sure to be another busy campaign of temporary moves. Last season saw nineteen different players involved in…
Chelsea At The World Cup
Chelsea Football Club have thirteen representatives at the imminent FIFA World Cup in South Africa, this despite having another three miss the showpiece through injury and the fourth under an injury cloud. It is England, appropriately, who has the highest number of Chelsea representatives. They are Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Chelsea captain John Terry and Joe Cole, who will be released at the end of June. England is in Group…
Miroslav Stoch Joins Fenerbahçe
It had been expected, but it still came as a disappointment when it was confirmed. Miroslav Stoch confirmed on his official website this afternoon that he has agreed a four-year deal with Turkish giants Fenerbahçe and will join the club after the World Cup. The Turkish league runners-up had announced the contract news earlier in the day. The news is a particularly bitter pill to swallow for followers of the…
A Look At Joe Cole
Joe Cole arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2003 for a £6.6 Million fee from West Ham Utd. Signed by Claudio Ranieri as part of what was then, a dramatic change in the playing staff, after the arrival of new owner Roman Abramovich earlier that summer. When Jose Mourinho took over in 2004 and implemented an attacking 4-3-3 system that saw his wide men run riot – Joe was…
Happy Birthday Carlo Ancelotti
The current manager of Chelsea, having been appointed on 1 June 2009, during his first season in charge he led the club to the League & FA Cup Double, becoming the first Chelsea manager to achieve the feat, and the first Italian manager to win the Premier League title. Carlo opened the season with a penalty shoot-out win over Man Utd in the Community Shield, ending a hoodoo of several…
A Look At Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack scored 17 goals from 105 league games whilst at Chelsea and scored 27 in 167 games in all competitions since joining in 2006 on a free transfer from Bayern Munich. On the 27 August 2006, Ballack earned his English League début for Chelsea against Blackburn Rovers. In making his UEFA Champions League début for Chelsea against Werder Bremen on the 12 September 2007, Ballack scored his first goal…