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…
This week’s report is a bumper fortnightly look at not only the young Blues out on loan, but also at those who represented their countries at junior youth levels over the recent international break. We’ll kick off with the national team action, which was headlined by England’s Under-21 team qualifying for next summer’s European Championships in Denmark after coming through a tough two-legged tie against Romania. Michael Mancienne captained the…
For Philipp Prosenik and Jeffrey Bruma, the 2010/11 season started with much promise. Recent news on the injury front has, however, threatened to de-rail their plans for the campaign, one more seriously than the other. With John Terry and Alex both already battling problems which could keep them out of the weekend trip to Aston Villa, Dutch international Bruma may have been in line to partner Branislav Ivanovic for his…
Chelsea’s sluggish start to the Under-18 season continued into the month of October with a 3-0 home defeat against Arsenal on Saturday morning. Second half goals from Kyle Ebecilio, Alban Bunjaku and Josh Rees put a gloss on a scoreline not wholly deserved by the Gunners, who had goalkeeper Damian Martinez to thank for keeping them in the game in spells. After using such a settled team for much of…
In this week’s instalment of the Loan Report, a ten-goal thriller at Chesterfield for Rhys Taylor takes centre stage as we check up on Chelsea’s young loanees. Crewe’s Welsh goalkeeper has been in fine form so far this season and has been one of the reasons for the club’s impressive unbeaten run, which continued on Saturday despite dropping a three-goal lead to end up drawing 5-5 in what was an…
Outings in previous seasons away to Ipswich meant those expecting an entertaining morning’s academy action were left disappointed. Dermot Drummy’s boys secured a third clean sheet of the season in a goalless draw which was unremarkable for almost the entireity of the match. Anton Rodgers’ second half dismissal was a rare talking point, and a disappointing one to boot. Chelsea started with Jamal Blackman in goal behind a backline of…
As we reach the closing days of September, Chelsea’s loanees will be settled in at their homes for the 2010/11 season, and are preparing for the long winter stretch. Many are firmly established in the starting line-up, but for others, the challenge remains to work their way into regular consideration. Michael Mancienne is facing exactly that after a week in which he failed to appear in Wolverhampton old gold and…
Sometimes you just need to hold your hands up and accept that you’re second best. That will certainly be the case for Chelsea this afternoon after Southampton came away from Cobham with a 4-2 victory achieved with a first class performance in which they dominated every aspect of the game. The Blues improved in the second half and a brace from Bobby Devyne threatened to give them hope, but in…
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. It might be a cliche, and it might not be clear which one applies just yet, but for Josh McEachran, you can certainly make the case after Wednesday night’s Carling Cup action. Whilst it’s important not to get carried away, it’s equally proper to give credit where credit is due, and for 35 minutes under the…
For many, myself included, tonight’s Carling Cup game will be one of the most anticipated Chelsea matches in some time. For whilst it’s not a title six-pointer, or a European knockout tie, it may represent the future of the club. 2010-11 is the season where the Blues will apparently use the Carling Cup to showcase some of the younger talents at Stamford Bridge. Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that Jeffrey Bruma, Gael…