Chelsea’s Under-21s recorded consecutive wins for the first time this season as they comfortably dispatched of Crystal Palace 4-1 at Griffin Park on Monday night. A flurry of first half goals saw Todd Kane, Marko Marin and Patrick Bamford find the back of the net, whilst Lewis Baker added sheen to the scoreline in the second half. Marin’s inclusion was the eye-catching item on a team sheet missing Nathan Aké,…
It was an unusual week on the loan front, as none of Chelsea’s numerous youngsters playing elsewhere this season managed to find the scoresheet; just the second time this season that that has happened. So, in search of the focus of our attentions this week, we turn to Josh McEachran. The spotlight has been on the young midfielder more than usual in the last seven days, beginning with a 90…
Chelsea’s Under-18s twice fought back from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-3 draw away to Crystal Palace on Saturday morning. Adi Viveash’s young side found themselves 2-0 down inside the opening twenty minutes before restoring parity by half time, but were forced into another comeback late in the second half to make it nine consecutive games without defeat; the longest such streak for the…
It’s been a highly productive week for Chelsea’s youngsters as a series of excellent performances have led to some strong results both at home and on the road. A weekend trip to Manchester to face City in Under-18 and Under-21 league action was sandwiched by a double helping of NextGen Series action against Norwegian champions Molde. Twelve goals later, the Blues have emerged with three wins and a draw from…
His brother is one of the most famous faces in world football and a veritable world-class talent, but for this week at least, Thorgan Hazard takes centre stage in the Loan Report after scoring his first two goals for Zulte Waregem. ‘Esseevee’ have been enjoying their best ever season in the Belgian Jupiler League and it’s certainly due in part to the second eldest of the four Hazard brothers. Thorgan…
Pride of place atop the Loan Report here on TheChels typically goes to those who make a notable impact in their performances. If someone scores a goal, they’re typically guaranteed to feature prominently, no matter their reputation or level of ability. So, for the second time this season our first focus is squarely on Ulises Dávila. The Mexican netted for Spanish Second Division outfit Sabadell on Saturday night to help…
Six of Chelsea’s budding young footballers have spent much of the last week on England duty at Under-17 and Under-18 levels, and return home with positive results and performances in the bag. Ola Aina, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Charlie Colkett and Alex Kiwomya were all part of John Peacock’s Under-17 team playing in the initial round of the European Championship Qualifiers. The draw pitted them against home nation rivals Wales and Northern…
In returning to action after the recent international break, it was a weekend of struggles for Chelsea’s youth teams as both the Under-21s and Under-18s came away from trips to Wolverhampton without a win. Adi Viveash’s Under-18s were the first to try their luck on Saturday morning as they sought to extend their six-game winning streak – the country’s only 100% record – in their first away fixture of the…
Each week of the 2012-13 campaign up to this point has seen at least one Chelsea loanee find the back of the net, giving us a guaranteed headline act to focus upon in the weekly Loan Report. For the first time this season though, there was no goalscoring action to speak of, although it was hardly for the lack of trying. Therefore this week acted more as an affirmation of…
Since we’ve reached the halfway marker in the first half of the youth and development season (I guess that makes it the quarter pole overall?), it’s time for some reflections and musings on what we’ve seen so far in 2012-13. It’s a campaign which ushered in a ballyhooed new era, with the old reserve team structure making way for a new Under-21 league under the auspices of the Elite Player…