Chelsea have been linked with a move for fifteen year-old Colombian striker Joao Rodriguez according to reports in South America this week. The forward, who will turn 16 in May, is amongst the most prolific goalscorers in his age group in the entire continent and particularly caught the eye of Blues scouts last November, when he scored four times in the Campeonato Sudamericano Sub-15. That was the latest in a…
The Loan Report: February 20-26
The recent hive of activity on the loan front cooled somewhat in the last seven days and the latest instalment of The Loan Report is, as a consequence, a much lower key affair. Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had the highest profile week of anyone temporarily away from Stamford Bridge as he first kept a clean sheet for Atlético Madrid against Lazio to see Los Colchoneros into the last sixteen of…
Under-18s: Arsenal 2-3 Chelsea
After coming back to win from three goals down on Wednesday night at Nottingham Forest, Chelsea played the role of comeback kids once again on Saturday morning as a brace from Amin Affane and a late winner from Patrick Bamford saw them twice come from behind to win 3-2 at Arsenal. First half strikes from Josh Rees and Anthony Jeffrey had Steve Bould’s side in the ascendancy but the Blues…
Married To Torres?
Oh Fernando. You were, and quite possibly still are, one of the most talented strikers in football. The performances shown for Atlítico Madrid, the Spanish national team and, to the greatest annoyance of all Chelsea supporters, Liverpool, have proven this point. But then why do you fail to replicate these performances for our beloved Chelsea? Is it just a dramatic loss of confidence? Failing to settle in a new town?…
FA Youth Cup: Nottingham Forest 3-4 Chelsea
Chelsea’s remarkable FA Youth Cup run continued in the most unlikely of circumstances as they turned a 3-0 half time deficit into a dramatic, late, 4-3 victory. First half strikes from David Morgan and Jordan Palmer-Samuels sandwiched a Nathan Aké own goal to leave Eoin Jess’ boys 3-0 up and firmly in control of affairs, but an astonishing second half saw Lucas Piazon get a foothold in the game before…
Power and Responsibility
An inevitable consequence of a spell of poor form or a season where expectations are not being met is the media’s take on the cause of the maladies. Typically, the woes will be attributed to dressing room discontent and the notion that the manager has ‘lost’ his players, no longer commanding their respect. True to form, this is currently the case with Andre Villas-Boas and Chelsea. The club’s worst season…
A Question Of Philosophy?
The next few months may well prove to be the most important of the Roman era. There are grave concerns from the terraces that this may be the season where the continual mismanagement of the club finally backfires spectacularly. The squad is bereft of the quality needed to truly challenge for the title. The robust presence of the old guard has all but faded with the likes of Cech, Terry,…
Spotlight On: Napoli
So, Chelsea supporters, you’ve had a tough time of it recently. And now you’re off to meet Napoli in the Champions League, hoping against hope that this will be what brings your club back from the brink. Well, in case you’ve been hiding under a rock, I’m here to tell you — this tie just might not be the simple one you’re wishing for. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll…
Reserves: Chelsea 3-2 Fulham
A much-changed and much younger Chelsea Reserve team won a hard-fought local derby against West London rivals Fulham on Monday afternoon as goals from Romelu Lukaku, Ismail Seremba and Patrick Bamford secured a 3-2 victory. Fulham twice responded from behind with strikes courtesy of first-teamers Kerim Frei and Pajtim Kasami but were undone late in the game by Bamford, who won a disputed penalty kick which he converted to mark…
The Loan Report: February 13-19
A highly productive week on the loan front, perhaps the most impressive of the season, saw Gael Kakuta’s finest hour in the professional game and a goal for Kevin de Bruyne amongst a number of positive events over the past seven days. After sitting on the bench away to Carlo Ancelotti’s PSG in midweek French Cup action, Kakuta was restored to the Dijon starting line-up for the weekend home match…