Youth & Reserves

Chelsea’s Barclays Under-21 Premier League campaign got off to a less than auspicious start on Friday evening as they lost 4-2 to Tottenham Hotspur at Aldershot’s EBB Stadium. Despite having taken the lead through a Josh McEachran penalty, the young Blues were at times overwhelmed by an older and more determined Tottenham side, who scored three before half time and saw the game out in the second half with professionalism…

With six competitions and what is likely to be a packed schedule for 2013-14, pre-season preparations have seen two very distinct squads formed between the Under-21 and Under-18 teams. They’re both deep in terms of talent and depth, and whilst we’ll doubtless see a few players overlap between the two over the course of the campaign, the core of each team is easily identifiable as the big kick-off approaches. Dermot…

The relationship between Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem has taken considerable steps this summer, and shows no sign of slowing down as news emerged late Thursday evening of Lucas Piazon’s loan move to the Dutch club. Piazon’s public relations manager, Fabiano De Souza, confirmed in a statement on his Twitter feed (@fabianodesouza) that the young Brazilian forward would be featuring in the Eredivisie during the forthcoming season:     “As part…

In the second of our three-part academy season preview, we take a look at the 21 other clubs who have achieved Category One status under the Elite Player Performance Plan and are therefore set to face Chelsea at Under-21 and Under-18 levels this year. Arsenal A welcome return to the fixture list after a season without a game against the Gunners, it’s been an interesting couple of years at the…

A regular criticism of youth football in England is that teams simply don’t play enough games in order to develop sufficiently. In 2013-14, Chelsea will not be able to call upon that excuse as their Under-21s and Under-19s will take part in a combined six domestic and European competitions; an almost unprecedented tally in modern times. Dermot Drummy will lead his boys in the Barclays Under-21 League as well as…

Chelsea’s stars of tomorrow will once again be playing regular football at Aldershot’s Recreation Ground after the troubled non-league club announced a two-year agreement on Thursday morning. A statement on the Shots’ official website regarding a change of ownership included details of their new affiliation with the Blues: The club also confirms a two-year agreement with Chelsea Football Club whereby a significant number of Chelsea’s academy and reserve matches will…

Both Chelsea’s Under-21 and Under-18 teams were in action on Saturday, and both squads continued their excellent pre-season plans to date by remaining unbeaten and picking up a pair of wins. The Under-21s made the long trip to North Wales to take on Colwyn Bay, who are managed by former Chelsea defender and current Chelsea TV analyst Frank Sinclair and his team. Dermot Drummy made a handful of changes to…

It’s not unusual to see talented young footballers play above their age group at academy level. Chelsea have done it for years – most clubs do – in a bid to challenge the player by exposing him to a higher level of competition, rather than allow him to potentially stagnate against those he’s already proven himself better than. You typically see it up to and including Under-18 level, where a…

Chelsea’s Under-18 schedule for the 2013-14 season was confirmed on Wednesday morning, with a new-look 31-game fixture list ahead for Adi Viveash’s group. In the latest reshuffle by the Premier League, the nation’s 22 Category One academies have been split North and South into two equal divisions of eleven. Teams will play everyone in their group both home and away, and then play each of the other teams in the…