TheChels.net – Chelsea FC Youth & Reserves
For eighty minutes, it was business as usual at Cobham. Chelsea’s Under-18s led Arsenal 2-0 and were comfortably on their way to a third win over the Gunners, extending their lead at the top of the league in the process. Then things got weird. Sam Greenwood and Matthew Dennis struck with the only two shots the visitors got on target all day, stealing a point, and while a defeat for…
There is no argument about it; Chelsea have been the most successful club in England at academy level over the past decade. Seven FA Youth Cups, two UEFA Youth League titles, domestic league wins at Under-18 and Under-21 level and a remarkable domination of just about every junior age-group tournament you care to name. With thirty first-team graduates on top of the cake, it’s been an historic ten years and,…
The final Loan Report of 2019 is an abridged one, due to much of Europe still being on a winter hiatus, but there’s still stuff to check up on. England Premier League Danny Drinkwater’s time at Burnley likely came to an end with a pair of matches spent on the substitutes’ bench. His loan at Turf Moor is unlikely to be extended, so the hunt is on for a new…
You can’t keep Mario Pašalić down, as he ably demonstrated again this week, with a goal and an assist to take the Loan Army into Christmas. Headliners Pašalić has arguably been the player of the Loan Army season to date, considering his level of performance for a genuinely good Atalanta team. Having booked their place in the Champions League knockout rounds last week, they were back on top in Serie…
Chelsea returned to FA Youth Cup action on Wednesday evening with a resounding 4-0 win over Huddersfield Town that, while it might not necessarily have undoubtedly affirmed their title credentials, at the very least served notice that the Blues are back. A year after seeing their five-year reign as Youth Cup holders ended by Manchester United in a premature Third Round exit, a new crop of youngsters took centre stage…
A record-breaking run is only properly committed to the history books when it ends and so, a year on from Chelsea’s FA Youth Cup Third Round exit at the hands of Manchester United, their historic five-year reign as winners of the country’s most prestigious youth-age competition, there has been plenty of time to reflect on just how incredible a streak it was. It equaled United’s own five-year campaign of excellence…
UEFA competition came up big for the Loan Army this week, as both Mario Pašalić and Kenedy found the back of the net. Headliners Pašalić has been especially impressive this season for an Atalanta team that are fast becoming many people’s darlings. Their 3-0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, a match in which he scored the second goal, saw them make Champions League history in becoming the first team…
The past week had no goals, but there’s still plenty to catch up on from the Loan Army, so let’s get started. England Premier League Danny Drinkwater made his long-awaited(?) Burnley debut in the Clarets’ midweek defeat at home to Manchester City. It was his first senior competitive league start since March 2018, and just his second in any competition, so when manager Sean Dyche explained his absence at the…
It was a successful Saturday on the academy front as the Development Squad and Under-18s each secured results that put them top of the table approaching the winter break. Ed Brand’s youth team got things started in style with an 8-0 win away to bottom-of-the-table Swansea City in South Wales, extending their season-long unbeaten run, and leapfrogging Fulham to go top outright and on their own for the first time…
Izzy Brown, Mario Pašalić and Jake Clarke-Salter added to the steady flow of Loan Army goals this season, so they’re the Headliners in this week’s edition of the Loan Report. Headliners Pašalić is a well-known commodity now; a versatile attacking midfielder who’s good for a few goals every season and plays at a high enough level to be of interest to Chelsea in the future. After logging ninety minutes for…