Youth & Reserves

So the 2010/11 loan exodus begins. After seventeen different players embarked on nineteen separate loan spells last season, Daniel Philliskirk became the second of an expected many (following Rhys Taylor) to find a new temporary home for the new campaign. The midfielder will join up with Oxford United this week and spend a month on loan at the Kassam Stadium; a deal which will likely be extended should he impress….

It’s been a good twelve months for the Chelsea academy. Age groups from 12 upwards have taken part in various tournaments, both in the UK and abroad, and have come away with four trophies, headlined by April’s FA Youth Cup at Under-18 level. On Friday, the Under-15 team added a fifth cup to the cabinet as they sealed the Junior section of the 2010 Milk Cup. The prestigious tournament, now…

Chelsea’s second reserve outing of the summer finished the same way as the first, with another defeat, this time inflicted by Wycombe Wanderers. A late hat-trick from Jon-Paul Pittman put a heavy dent in the scoreline which didn’t truly reflect the way the match had gone for the most part. Steve Holland’s side stepped up their level of competition after meeting Conference Premier side Crawley Town last weekend, and the…

We started with five, and we’re now down to one. Gael Kakuta will be Chelsea’s sole representative in Friday’s UEFA European Under-19 Championships Final against Spain after another dazzling display against Croatia. The 19 year-old scored the equaliser, beating future team-mate Matej Delač in the process, and sending him packing along with Jacob Mellis, who, like England, exited the competition in a rather meek fashion earlier in the day. Mellis…

A selection of pictures from Saturday’s reserve friendly, which finished Crawley Town 3-0 Chelsea. The scene of today’s game, Broadfield Stadium     The team go through their warm-up     A full substitute’s bench     Lining up pre-match     Kaby     Ready to kick off     Gokhan Tore     Josh McEachran     Kaby battles away for possession     Pablo Mills fouls Josh…

For some, it was a second outing in less than twenty-four hours. For others, it was a return to action after a summer break. For everyone, however, it was the start of another reserve campaign at Chelsea. In hot, dry conditions at the smart Broadfield Stadium, Steve Holland’s young charges impressed in spells but fell to a 3-0 defeat to Conference Premier hopefuls Crawley Town. The hosts have spent big…

The second round of group fixtures in the European Under-19 Championships saw Gael Kakuta’s France all but progress to the Semi Finals. It also left everything up in the air for the four remaining Chelsea players ahead of Saturday’s deciding pool matches. For the hosts, things couldn’t be much better right now. A 4-1 mauling of Holland on Sunday was followed up yesterday by a five-star showing against Austria, as…

Pre-season got underway for Chelsea on Saturday with almost every available player featuring for either Carlo Ancelotti’s first team or Dermot Drummy’s Under-18s. Five of those who were registered as absent are in Northern France as the UEFA European Under-19 Championships got underway for 2010 on Sunday, with each of the quintet in action. Matej Delač kicked things off for Croatia against one of the tournament favourites in Spain. The…

The World Cup is all well and good, but normal service has resumed. Domestic football is back, not only at first team level, but in the Under-18 team. Whilst Carlo Ancelotti’s boys were stretching their legs at Crystal Palace, Dermot Drummy’s youth team opened their pre-season with a closely-fought defeat at the hands of a talented Plymouth Argyle outfit. Drummy chose to operate with a squad of 22 players, who…

Going on loan has become almost a rite of passage for the developing footballer. He makes his way through the youth team ranks, impresses in his late teens, and then looks to bridge the gap to the first team by taking in a temporary spell at a professional team, pitting his wits against fully grown adults. A cursory glance at the England World Cup squad reveals that eleven of them…