TheChels.net – Features
Frank Lampard will be announced as Chelsea’s new manager this week. The decision to hire the 41 year-old is as radical as any made by Roman Abramovich since his purchase of the club in 2003, and has already caused quite some consternation in an already divided fan base in the short-term as to the appropriateness of the move, while also creating an intriguing dynamic for the months and hopefully years…
The Chelsea Pitch Owners 2017 Annual General Meeting took place in the Drake Suite at Stamford Bridge stadium today, with a significant turnout of shareholders attending in person. This is perhaps unsurprising given the agenda included a crucial item of business at Resolution 9 which, if voted through, would enable the Directors to approach the owner and propose an extension of the current lease. Chairman Charles Rose declared the meeting…
There seems to be a growing trend for players returning to their old clubs recently. This could be down to mistakes, or even lack of worry about the financial losses it takes to enable them, but either way Chelsea are re-joining the trend they started with Matic. Romelu Lukaku who was once lauded as the next Didier Drogba, and could be coming back to the bridge, but is such a…
Every season, up to thirty Chelsea youngsters go on the loan trail, looking for first team experience, carrying with them the feint hope that one day Chelsea and Jose Mourinho will deem them good enough for the first team. As ever, some loan moves are more successful than others. Some of Chelsea’s best young prospects have gone to clubs and failed to enhance their reputation. Chalobah had one to forget…
For most of the Stamford Bridge faithful, the real start of the season will come at the weekend, when Chelsea play Leicester in their first home Premier League game. For 4,000 lucky (and hardy) souls, the trip to Burnley on Monday night was made well worth their while by a sparkling 3-1 win, with the Master of Cesc winning plaudits from pundits and fans alike, and the big beast Costa…
Well, that wasn’t too bad. Thanks to the World Cup and an early pre-season opportunity to watch the boys in blue, compared to other years the close season has positively fled. And that can only mean one thing. TheChels.Net’s resident Old Crone, Gypsy Rose Baby, looks into her crystal ball to predict the future and also looks back to last year’s predictions. Arsenal The spreadsheetists and latteistas have been bigging…
The FA Chairman’s England Commission Report was published in May amidst publicity and controversy. It had been a difficult birth. When it was set up, the Commission was accused of not being “diverse” enough, as it did not include any black players (Rio Ferdinand was subsequently invited to join the Commission), or women. The Premier League declined to participate completely. Copies of the report were provided to delegates at last…
We’re now heading towards the 2014/2015 football season with all the speed of Usain Bolt trying to get away from Glasgow. The summer’s main sporting occasions are behind us, and pre-season friendlies are beginning to dominate the sport pages. And at TheChels.Net, we’ve been keeping up with not just pre-season matches, but supporter-orientated events taking place. Pre-season Travels With The Chels There was a rare opportunity for supporters to attend…
One of the biggest issues in football in recent years has been the emergence of the “brand”. Whether this applies to an individual, as in “Brand Beckham” (arguably the first brand of its kind), or a club, the brand, and potential damage thereto, is often cited at the first hint of trouble. When Luis Suarez was sent off for this third snack on an opponent, he was immediately dubbed “toxic”…
I was doing the ironing last Sunday afternoon. No, don’t laugh. And whilst doing the ironing I was listening to Test Match Special, the perfect accompaniment. During the tea-break, there was a segment called Ask Swanny, in which the former England spin bowler Graeme Swann answered questions submitted by listeners, many of which came via Twitter. The session was such a success that it carried on into the evening session, and one…