Youth & Reserves

In youth football, it’s currently the time of year when plans are being finalised for next season’s squads. This, in many cases, can mean securing overseas talent to supplement the home-grown academy products, and news from Sweden this weekend suggests Chelsea have made a deal. Sixteen year-old midfielder Anjur Osmanovic has claimed that he is now a Chelsea player, currently training with the Under-16s ahead of a scholarship in the…

Football’s a funny old game. For much of the 2010-11 season, Chelsea’s Under-18s have played well, but struggled for luck and results. On a remarkably cold Saturday morning at home to Charlton, however, that took a swing in the opposite direction. Having been second best for much of the morning, a strong finish from the Blues saw a last-gasp Walter Figueira goal clinch three points which will bring much warmth….

In moves which had been expected, Gael Kakuta and Patrick van Aanholt both secured loan deals on Wednesday for the remainder of the 2010/11 season. French forward Kakuta will be making the short trip to Fulham, where he will bolster an attack which has been hit by injuries for much of the season to date. Dutch full-back van Aanholt, meanwhile, will return to The Championship for a third time in…

In less celebrated surroundings than last Thursday’s meeting, Arsenal claimed victory in the second of three clashes against Chelsea in the space of thirteen days. A solitary Carlos Vela goal from the penalty spot on the stroke of half time ensured the Gunners took the spoils in FA Premier Reserve League action behind closed doors at London Colney on Tuesday afternoon. In appalling conditions, the match was not one which…

Chelsea’s youth team came back to earth with a bump on Saturday morning, suffering their heaviest defeat of the season. Barely 36 hours since defeating Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the FA Youth Cup, many of that team were back in action at Motspur Park for league fixture with Fulham. However, a Marcello Trotta hat-trick put Dermot Drummy’s team to the sword as the Cottagers ran out 5-1 winners. Drummy…

Last season’s FA Youth Cup run ended with a dramatic late winner in front of a healthy crowd at Stamford Bridge. Some things don’t change. In front of over 7,000 fans at the home of the English Champions and defending Youth Cup holders, a brace from Milan Lalkovic – including a stoppage time winner – ensured that the Blues will continue their defence of the trophy for at least one…

It’s a fixture which is keenly anticipated regardless of the level at which it’s played. Chelsea vs Arsenal conjures up all manner of memories from down the years – we’ll leave you to reminisce about your own – and the coming thirteen days could add fresh moments to savour. Granted, the fixtures come at youth level, where the two clubs will go head to head three times in that spell,…

The current FA Youth Cup holders got their defence of the trophy off to a strong start on Wednesday lunchtime with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Sunderland. Second half goals from Nathaniel Chalobah and George Saville ensured that Chelsea came away from the tie with a place in the fourth round, and a meeting with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. The match, which was originally scheduled for mid-December but repeatedly fell…