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There is a moment when you realise that you are a fan of something. Sometimes it’s a creeping gradualisation of feeling. Sometimes it can be triggered by a single event or personality. That match you saw on the TV when you were little. Or that player who had a profound influence on you. I started supporting Chelsea when I was 17, and it was mainly because of Pat Nevin. I…
Everything you used to know has changed. The landscape for 2012-13 as far as youth development competition goes has changed dramatically, and for the better. There is no more Premier Academy League. There is no more Premier Reserve League. Instead, Chelsea’s youngsters will take part in Under-18 and Under-21 competition in the new Professional Development League. In addition to their new domestic schedule, Chelsea will also be taking part in…
One of the more contentious and well-discussed subjects of the last year or more in football is the Elite Player Performance Plan. The proposals designed at overhauling youth development in England has certainly been controversial and is not to everyone’s tastes, but as we approach the start of the 2012-13 season, it’s at the forefront of our attentions as radical change is upon us. A new competition structure is in…
With less than a week left until the Professional Development League kicks off, Chelsea’s Under-21 team continued their good form with a 1-0 win at Kingstonian on Saturday. A quite sublime 30-yard strike from Billy Clifford with seven minutes left on the clock secured a deserved win for Dermot Drummy’s side, who played well within themselves in the first match of a busy week. To that end, the squad was…
Chelsea will send their Under-21 team to Kingstonian on Saturday afternoon for their fifth pre-season friendly of the summer. Dermot Drummy’s side will line up at the Cherry Red Records Fans’ Stadium with less than a week to go until the big kick-off in the new Professional Development League. Wins over Northampton Town and St Albans City in the past two outings have given the youngsters some momentum and they’ll…
The second season of the NextGen Series officially launched today, with further information about Chelsea’s involvement revealed. Earlier this summer, details of the draw were released as Chelsea were placed in Group C alongside last season’s runners-up Ajax, Norwegian outfit Molde, and CSKA Moscow of Russia. Provisional dates and details have been released today, particularly the details of the away games. Moscow beckons on October 3rd as the Blues face…
A busy youth team Monday saw 16 year-old midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek reveal that he is set to sign professional terms at Chelsea, whilst the Under-18 team continued their winning ways in pre-season. Loftus-Cheek, an England Under-16 captain who has spent the entire summer with Dermot Drummy’s Under-21 squad, posted on his Twitter account that he has signed a pre-contract agreement to turn professional on his 17th birthday in January of…
Chelsea continued their positive pre-season form at Under-21 level on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 win away to St Albans City of the Southern League Premier Division. Early strikes from Patrick Bamford and Adam Coombes put the Blues firmly in control and after substitute goalkeeper Sam Walker kept out a second-half penalty from former Watford man Micah Hyde, John Swift capped a fine day’s work for Dermot Drummy’s side. Jamal…
Chelsea’s Irish Under-21 international midfielder Conor Clifford is set to join League One outfit Portsmouth on loan after appearing for the club on trial today. The 20 year-old played 45 minutes for Michael Appleton’s cash-strapped side against Bolton Wanderers and has firmly attracted interest ahead of the new campaign. Portsmouth are still under a transfer embargo and must shed three further first-team squad players – including former Chelsea defender Tal…
One of the biggest changes in football over the past 20 years, since the post-Italia 90 “gentrification” of the working man’s ballet, is how young fans become involved. Time was you were either taken by a (usually male) parent to watch the team they supported, or selected your team, gathered your like-minded mates together or set off on your own for the turnstiles, where you could pay on the day….