It started with a routine event on the pitch, during our first home game of the season against Reading; a player picks up an injury and the medical team, including Dr Eva Carneiro run on to attend the wounded hero. Treatment completed, Dr Carneiro made her way to the West Stand side of the pitch, and from there, to get back to the dug-out, walked past the Matthew Harding Stand….
Friendly Action For Under-21s and Under-18s
It may well be an international weekend, but both Chelsea’s Under-21 and Under-18 teams were in action over the weekend as the club attempts to keep them playing a minimum of one game per week. The Under-21 squad hosted Charlton on Friday afternoon in a match which featured a few more experienced faces in need of match fitness. To that end, Ross Turnbull and Paulo Ferreira started the match, as…
The Loan Report: August 27 – September 2
Transfer deadline day saw the number of loan departures from Chelsea rise to 23. Michael Essien and Yossi Benayoun are unlikely to feature in the weekly Loan Report here at TheChels because they’re senior pros moved on because they don’t fit into the first team squad, whilst our focus is, of course, primarily on the younger generation of footballers at Stamford Bridge. There’s still plenty of those though, and where…
Under-21s: Chelsea 5-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Chelsea’s first junior foray into Stamford Bridge this season was a memorable one as a superb second half display saw them run out 5-0 winners over Wolves. Lucas Piazon’s early opener put the Blues in the ascendancy and whilst Wolves had their moments, they didn’t take them and were made to pay by further strikes from Jeremie Boga, Aziz Deen-Conteh and Lewis Baker in a 10 minute spell of wonderful…
Under-18s: Chelsea 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Chelsea’s Under-18s returned to league action after a week off and retained their 100% start with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Cobham. Second half goals from captain John Swift and forward Islam Feruz secured a deserved three points against a solid Wolves team determined to bounce back from a 7-1 hiding at Fulham last weekend. Such is the depth available to coach Adi Viveash, only Jon Muleba, Kevin Wright,…
Loans Confirmed for Affane and Hazard
Two of Chelsea’s Under-21 attacking midfielders have secured loan moves for the coming season today, with Amin Affane joining Roda JC and Thorgan Hazard moving to Zulte-Waregem. Swedish Under-18 international Affane, who is in the last year of his contract, has spent a week training in the Netherlands with Roda, who today have finalised a loan deal for him and secured the rights to negotiate with him first as a…
Is Kakuta Vitesse-bound?
Gael Kakuta has been angling for a move away from Stamford Bridge all summer. The recently-turned 21 year-old playmaker finished last season on loan at Dijon in the French league and spoke of his desire to have a concrete future going into the 2012-13 season. He spent pre-season with the Chelsea first team but with a number of high-profile attacking players signed by Roberto Di Matteo, it’s obvious that he…
NextGen Series: Chelsea 1-2 CSKA Moscow
Chelsea’s debut in the NextGenSeries didn’t quite go according to plan as although they dominated large parts of their Group C opener against CSKA Moscow, they went down by the odd goal in three. Patrick Bamford’s early goal had promised much but after a quickfire double salvo from the visitors, the young Blues faced a hard task to get themselves back into the game, and despite recording a number of…
The Loan Report: August 20-26
Archange Nkumu this week joined Yeovil Town on a month-long loan to become Chelsea’s eighteen player out on a temporary deal in 2012-13. The weekly Loan Report is therefore liable to a long and detailed one, and whilst Nkumu didn’t manage to debut away to Scunthorpe United this weekend, he and fellow Blues defender Rohan Ince should have a decent role to play for the Glovers, who sit top of…
We Need To Talk About Romelu
There’s scarcely been a better or more appropriate time to discuss Romelu Lukaku. Following a frustrating first season at Chelsea, the Belgian returned for the new campaign determined to prove himself and, following some rather terse words towards his permanent employers after departing on loan to West Bromwich Albion, he’s started pretty well, with a goal for his country against Holland and another for the Baggies against Liverpool. To suggest…