Chelsea’s Reserve team tasted defeat for the first time since being crowed national champions last May as they went down by a single goal away to an impressive Aston Villa side. Callum Robinson’s first half opener came after an error of judgement by Rhys Taylor and despite some hard graft in midfield, Chelsea were unable to get back on terms. With international call-ups depriving coach Dermot Drummy of some key…
After last week’s goalscoring antics on the loan front, things took a more serene turn in the past seven days with fewer incidents of note, but with many of the young Blues building solid reputations, things remain largely positive. Gael Kakuta was ineligible to take part for Bolton in their Sunday mauling by Chelsea because of Premier League loan rules, but Patrick van Aanholt continued at left-back for Wigan Athletic,…
Reserve team right-back Todd Kane has finally earned the right to call himself an England youth international after being called up to the Under-19 squad this weekend. The 18 year-old first-year pro missed out on initial selection but has been given the nod by Noel Blake as an injury replacement and will join team-mates Nathaniel Chalobah and Jamal Blackman in the Three Lions’ team for the Limoges Tournament in mid…
News reached us here at TheChels late last week of a friendly between Arsenal and Chelsea at Under-18 level to be played at the Emirates Stadium. We can now reveal that the match will take place on Sunday 23rd October, immediately after Arsenal’s first team take on Stoke in Premier League action. For Chelsea fans, that unfortunately clashes with the Blues’ much-anticipated trip to Loftus Road to play QPR, but…
The keener youth and reserve team followers amongst you may have noticed that Portuguese midfielder Mesca (Buomesca Tué Na Bangna) has been absent from Chelsea’s junior selections so far this season. Having featured at Crawley Town in pre-season, the 18 year-old has not been seen nor heard of since. It has emerged that the injury-troubled second-year scholar has signed professional terms with Fulham and is now their player. Mesca, who…
After a slow start to the season, Chelsea’s young loanees exploded into action this past week, providing goals, assists and top performances for the first time in 2011-12. Gael Kakuta and Jeffrey Bruma both notched maiden efforts for their new sides whilst Milan Lalkovic, Tomas Kalas and Thibaut Courtois have been in fine form as well. We’ll start with the goalscorers and with Kakuta, who marked his first appearance in…
If it’s entertainment and goals you’re after, following Chelsea’s Under-18 team so far this season will have been well worth your time. The Blues had been involved in five games totalling twenty-six successful efforts at goal prior to today and served up another six this morning as they shared the spoils with Ipswich Town. Defensive frailties have thus far stopped Adie Viveash’s boys from picking up points as despite plenty…
Late September invariably means a new England Under-16 generation is presented to the world for the first time as Kenny Swain and his group gear up for the annual Sky Sports Victory Shield during the closing months of the year. In recent years Chelsea have had an excellent presence in the schoolboy squad and this year is no exception, with four Blues youngsters making the cut for the first squad…
Chelsea progressed to the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup on Wednesday night following a 4-3 penalty shootout win over West London neighbours Fulham. Martin Jol’s team failed to take advantage of a 49th minute red card for Blues defender Alex, and after Pajtim Kasami missed the resulting spot kick, Chelsea put in what manager Andre Villas-Boas described as a “super human performance” to stay on terms for over an…
Speaking to the media ahead of tomorrow night’s Carling Cup Third Round clash with Fulham, Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas indicated that he would be using the tie and indeed the competition to hand opportunities to the club’s younger generation. Villas-Boas confirmed that Josh McEachran, Ryan Bertrand, Oriol Romeu and Romelu Lukaku would all be part of the starting eleven, whilst Didier Drogba is also expected to make a return to…