Youth & Reserves

It’s September 2014. A tallish, gangly and occasionally awkward looking boy wearing the number 13 shirt collects possession, fakes inside before shifting back onto his preferred right foot, and scampers off into the space behind the full-back. His cross is headed well wide by a team-mate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLC03jNYWBE The match peters out into a goalless draw, and few of the hardy souls in attendance, let alone the player himself, would likely…

Chelsea’s five-year grip on the FA Youth Cup is over after they lost a barnstorming Third Round tie at Manchester United on Monday night. Facing the sternest early-round test of their credentials at any point during their reign of dominance, they were up against it from the start, handing Mason Greenwood an early goal after goalkeeper Karlo Ziger slipped when receiving a backpass. That sent the tone for an absolute…

It’s not yet Christmas and the stakes are already high. Chelsea have won five FA Youth Cups in a row. They’ve beaten the best the country has to offer without exception, and they have been thoroughly dominant, winning 40 of 44 matches in that run while losing just twice. Each of those defeats came in the first legs of Semi Final ties; they responded by scoring five in both second…

They had to wait until the last chance in 2018 but Chelsea’s Development Squad finally recorded their first home league win of the season against West Ham on Friday night, and they did it in dramatic style. It hasn’t been a bad season by any measure, thanks in large part to their tremendous away record, but they’ve found the going much tougher at Aldershot’s EBB Stadium and had failed to…

Controversial though it may be, Chelsea’s involvement in the Checkatrade Trophy continues to yield positive results both on and off the pitch, as they beat Wimbledon 2-1 on Tuesday night to reach the last sixteen of the competition for the second successive season. The merits of allowing Under-21 teams to compete alongside fully-fledged professional outfits have long been discussed, with heated arguments almost always developing, but the Blues will have…

There will be tougher challenges ahead for sure but, for the time being, Chelsea have dealt with their UEFA Youth League schedule with the minimum of fuss. In all honesty they have no business being involved in the Domestic Champions path of the competition, yet that was the hand they were dealt by Antonio Conte’s disappointing 2017-18 first-team squad, and they’ve handled their business accordingly. Certainly, they’ve faced inferior opposition…