Youth & Reserves

For one club, it’s business as usual. For the other, it’s a return to the biggest stage in English academy football for the first time in decade. For Chelsea, it’s about history. It’s about the opportunity to emulate the Busby Babes of Manchester United in the 1950s, and it’s about the chance to win a fifth successive FA Youth Cup. For Arsenal, it’s about re-establishing their credentials as one of…

It wasn’t to be in the end. Chelsea’s bid for a third UEFA Youth League title fell short at the last as they were summarily beaten 3-0 by an impressive Barcelona in Monday’s Final in Nyon, Switzerland. In truth the Blues had looked a pale shadow of their usual selves in Friday’s Semi Final against Porto, one they only came through after a dramatic penalty shootout, and the malaise carried…

Here we go again then. For the third time in four seasons – and for their third successive participation in the competition – Chelsea are preparing to take part in the UEFA Youth League Final. The Blues were victorious in 2015 and 2016, against Shakhtar Donetsk and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, but were then denied the opportunity to defend their title in 2017 due to a combination of the club’s first…

Chelsea will take their place in Monday’s UEFA Youth League Final after a nerve-wracking Semi Final against FC Porto at Nyon’s Stade Colovray was decided on penalties. The Blues, who led through Daishawn Redan’s first-half goal, found themselves starting at elimination with ten minutes remaining, as substitute Joao Mario added to Diogo Quierós’ equaliser to give the Portuguese the ascendancy. Josh Grant produced a captain’s goal to equalise at the…

Chelsea’s imperious unbeaten Under-18 home record, stretching back more than three years, finally came to an end on Wednesday afternoon as a young Blues side succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. With the South league title already in the bag and the UEFA Youth League Finals weekend ahead in Switzerland this Friday and Monday, almost no risks were taken with players likely to take part…

Chelsea are champions of the Under-18 Premier League South for a fourth year in a row after defeating West Ham United 5-1 at Little Heath on Saturday morning. The Blues also surpassed last season’s total of 52 points – with two games to spare – with a resounding win that owed much to a devastating first half in which the majority of the damage was done. Charlie Brown scored a…

A brace of free kicks from Keanan Bennetts consigned Chelsea’s Development Squad to defeat in their final home fixture of the season against Tottenham Hotspur on Friday night. The Blues were disappointing in front of almost 3,000 fans at Stamford Bridge, struggling to break down a Spurs team that had been reduced to ten men before half time when Christian Maghoma was dismissed for a pair of fouls on Daishawn…

To the casual observer it might have become predictable a long time ago. The FA Youth Cup starts in August of every season, invites more than 700 clubs from across the lands to enter, and in the end Chelsea reach the Final. Yet to discredit the work done by each crop with every passing year would be doing them a disservice. Jody Morris’ latest vintage will take their place in…