Chelsea secured back-to-back Under-18 league wins to start the new season as a Charlie Wakefield goal shortly before the hour mark proved enough to defeat Aston Villa 1-0 at Cobham on Saturday morning. The Blues had racked up 23 goals in three meetings with their Midlands foes last season, including 12-2 and 8-3 triumphs, but the latest contest was a much tougher affair in which Villa had their chances to…
Chelsea’s first home match of the Barclays Under-21 Premier League season ended in disappointment as they were defeated 3-1 by Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Friday night. In a performance blighted by inconsistency and no little amount of bad luck, the Blues found themselves two goals behind midway through the first half as Saints winger Sam McQueen grabbed a quick-fire double. Chances came and went and Jay Dasilva struck the…
It’s time to begin another season of the Loan Report. With twenty-two developmental players already having been borrowed from other clubs there’s plenty to report upon already in what promises to be the busiest #CFC #loanwatch season yet. England Of those twenty-two, three are in the Premier League, and whilst neither Christian Atsu (Bournemouth) nor Patrick Bamford (Crystal Palace) saw opening day playing time, Marco van Ginkel did as he…
Chelsea opened their Barclays Under-21 Premier League campaign with a 1-0 win away to Liverpool courtesy of a stoppage-time winner from Tammy Abraham. In a tight contest played with a high level of tactical and technical proficiency throughout both sides were made to work hard for clear-cut chances but it was the younger Blues team that were able to clinch victory with a goal that owed much to a sensational…
Chelsea kicked off the new Under-18 season in style with a 4-1 win away to Norwich City on Saturday morning. Swedish centre-back Ali Suljic opened the scoring in the first half before Iké Ugbo took over, building on an impressive return of eleven goals as a schoolboy last term with a second-hand hat-trick. Harley Black notched a consolation for the hosts but they were rarely able to assert themselves on…
In the final part of our Academy Season Preview here at TheChels.net, it’s time to take a more detailed look at a Chelsea team set to compete for honours on every front yet again. It promises to be something of a transitional season at each age group but there is undoubtedly sufficient talent for silverware to once again be not just a standard target but a realistic proposition. Adi Viveash’s…
As part of our build-up to the new season of youth football here at TheChels.net, we traditionally take a look at the teams Chelsea will go up against at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-18 levels. The UEFA Youth League draw is still a few weeks away, leaving us squarely focused on domestic affairs for the time being. The Blues will face a handful of sides across both age groups, with the…
The pathways into meaningful first-team opportunities might still be out of reach but, as we get set to embark upon another season of academy football at Chelsea Football Club, the many young hopefuls in the club’s developmental ranks are still doing everything in their power (and then some) to force the issue. A year after winning another FA Youth Cup and being crowned Barclays Under-21 Premier League champions, the Blues…
The vast majority of Chelsea’s loan army returned to Cobham this week to report for pre-season training under the tutelage of Eddie Newton. Yes, such is the scale of the club’s operation in this arm of development, they have an entirely separate squad training and working together under Newton and his new assistant Paulo Ferreira. Some will join the first team squad when they return next week and a lucky…
With pre-season now well underway at Cobham, it’s that time of year where we welcome a host of new faces into the academy setup officially with the 2014-15 first year scholars officially beginning their full time work at Chelsea Football Club. In reality, almost all of them have been involved on a daily basis for the last year or two anyway with Chelsea leading the way in making provisions for…