Month: May 2016

It seems as if we have the same conversation year after year on the Under-21 front. Questions about the quality and effectiveness of the Premier League structure abound relentlessly with prognostication from all-comers as to the direction things should be taken, whilst frustration sets in for Blues fans, players and staff alike at a perceived lack of opportunities to progress into the first team at Stamford Bridge. So, whilst it…

By any stretch of the imagination, by any definition and by any standard you wish to apply, the feats achieved by Chelsea at Under-19 and Under-18 levels over the past three years have been historic. The younger group became the first side in more than sixty years, and only the second ever, to win three FA Youth Cups in a row, whilst the Under-19s became the first team of any…

Chelsea’s penultimate Under-21 match of 2015-16 saw a young side travel north to Manchester City and come away from the Etihad Stadium with a hard-earned 1-0 victory. Despite giving up plenty to their opponents on paper, they proved more than a match on the mitch in a game that was wide open for long stretches before tightening up late on, but substitute Charlie Colkett pounced for an opportunity winner five…

Chelsea’s wonderful Under-18 season came to a disappointing close on Saturday morning as a young team fell to a 3-0 defeat away to Blackburn. Daniel Butterworth’s first-half hat-trick proved their downfall as the demands of a hectic schedule took its toll on the group as a whole, but with many of the next generation earning important minutes and valuable experience, a number of positives can be taken away from the…

Chelsea finished up their home slate of fixtures for the Barclays Under-21 Premier League season with a narrow 1-0 defeat against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. The depleted Blues side looked, perhaps understandably, on their last legs at the end not just of a busy season but in the immediate aftermath of UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup successes, and struggled to get into what is their second match…

Chelsea and Everton shared the spoils in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League on Monday as they fought to a goalless draw at Aldershot’s EBB Stadium. A relatively sleepy affair throughout, neither side truly got going and despite a handful of half-chances, there was a lack of conviction throughout and a stalemate was an appropriate outcome. The Blues’ campaign will end with four matches in the space of ten days and,…