With the World Cup hurtling towards its conclusion more and more days of the week have become freed up with no live football to watch. Attentions have duly turned towards the return of club football for 2014-15 and whilst Chelsea’s first team aren’t set to return until Monday, the younger generation are already back and raring to go. At this time of year the potential stars of the future can…
Modern Sport Is Rubbish
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…
The Loan Report: Spanish Promotion Special
Late June during a World Cup summer might seem an unusual time to be catching up on Chelsea loanees but the 2013-14 club season in Spain extended well into the summer as two Blues youngsters went in search of promotion. The playoffs in both the Segunda Division and the remarkably unforgiving Segunda B structure called for a long and tiring schedule, but one which ultimately successful in both cases. For…
Out Of The Blue
A quiet Tuesday evening in June. The nation awaits the next instalment of World Cup games later that night and the publication of the fixture list for next season the following day. Then, out of the blue, a statement is published on the Chelsea FC website announcing that Roman Abramovich has commissioned a “study of the area from Fulham Broadway town centre to Stamford Bridge and beyond … This study will…
No More Heroes
The last few years have seen an interesting shift in how footballers and managers are prepared to be openly critical in their feelings for certain clubs. There was a time when you’d never see a footballer criticise another club in print, with the result that the press would magnify what was simply a polite answer such as “Barcelona are a fantastic club and have great players” into “PLAYER X SET…
Results of the Safe Standing Survey for Chelsea Supporters
As you may or may not have seen from other media sources, the results of the Safe Standing Survey, carried out by a number of websites, fanzines and supporters’ groups, have now been published. You can read the full report here, together with the thoughts of CST Chairman Tim Rolls, but the headlines are:- Over 96% of Chelsea supporters surveyed are in favour of implementing Safe Standing at Stamford Bridge 90% stated…
Trust In The Future
The football season may be over, but over the summer there’ll be a trickle of events that will keep the denizens of SW6 in touch with each other. The Chelsea Supporters Tournament will be held in early July, some low-key pre-season friendlies at Wycombe Wanderers and AFC Wimbledon will provide relief to those desperate for a footy fix, and, even more importantly, the Fans Summit, organised jointly by the Football…
The Loan Report: Season in Review – Spain
With the 2013-14 season now pretty much over, it’s time to take a look back over a record-breaking campaign on the loan front. Today, we look at the Chelsea’s prospects in Spain. Who? [table class=”table table-striped”] Player,Club,Apps,Goals,Assists Thibaut Courtois,Atlético Madrid,55,0,0 Marko Marin,Sevilla,31,2,6 Oriol Romeu,Valencia,18,0,0 Ulises Dávila,Córdoba,31,5,n/a Jhon Pirez,Leganés,17,1,0 [/table] The Story? Courtois pieced together what would almost go down as the storybook year. Already a Copa del Rey, UEFA Europa…
The Loan Report: Season in Review – England
With the 2013-14 season now pretty much over, it’s time to take a look back over a record-breaking campaign on the loan front. Today, we look at the Chelsea’s prospects in England. Who? [table class=”table table-striped”] Player,Club,Apps,Goals,Assists Ryan Bertrand,Aston Villa,16,0,0 Romelu Lukaku,Everton,33,16,6 Victor Moses,Liverpool,22,2,0 Patrick Bamford,MK Dons/Derby,52,25,5 Billy Clifford,Yeovil,1,0,0 Nathaniel Chalobah,Nottm Forest/Middlesbrough,24,3,0 Sam Hutchinson,Sheff Wed,10,1,1 Todd Kane,Blackburn,28,2,3 Josh McEachran, Watford/Wigan,19,0,1 Kenneth Omeruo,Middlesbrough,14,0,1 Milan Lalkovic,Walsall,42,6,4 Daniel Pappoe, Colchester/Kingstonian,14,0,0 George Saville,Brentford,44,3,4 Sam…
The Loan Report: All 123 Goals
More than thirty Chelsea players combined for upwards of forty different loan moves during the 2013-14 season. Naturally, they combined to register a series of landmarks that are unlikely to be surpassed in the near future if at all. At least one of them scored for 37 consecutive weeks of the club campaign, falling short of an unbroken streak at the final hurdle. Twenty-one of them found the back of…