Whilst watching the last few minutes of the game against West Ham on Sunday i fully expected Graham Chapman to walk onto the pitch in full army generals uniform to tell us to stop the game as it is all getting a bit silly. And it is too. It was easy to predict what was going to happen in that game and too easy to see us lose it, even from half time. It is remarkable that we are playing so badly and are so vulnerable no matter who we are playing against.
We are entering uncharted territory for Abramovic, every time previously he has felt the need to chop the manager and replace with an interim manager results have improved, even under Avram Grant we managed to have a steady season. But now we have an interim manager who in 3 games has yet to win a game and it is hard to see what he is going to do to improve things. A bigger question and one that there is no precedent for is what does Roman do if we continue down this path of poor results? Does he ditch Rafa and bring in another interim manager? Who knows, but it just goes to highlight what an awful decision it was in the first place to bring in Benitez.
Changes have to be made and fast! Benitez is just carrying on with the same formation and changing a player here and there just hoping that things will improve. Something has to be tried, anything. 4-3-3, 4-diamond-2, 4-4-2!! Just try something and see what happens and not just carry on hoping things will magically improve. But will he? It does not look likely, if reports today are to be believed then he is going to ditch playing all 3 of Mata, Hazard and Oscar and play Moses (didn't he already do this against West Ham) and apparently he doesn't fancy Ramires and will drop him for Romeu i would assume. Considering Ramires has been one of our best players this season that would be pretty stupid. But again, one player for another is not going to change anything.
Tomorrow will see our fate in Europe decided, and it is pretty likely that we will be out of the Champions League. But more important than that in the scheme of things is to win the game, we must get back to winning ways and find a way of playing that suits the players we have.
It is testing times at Chelsea for sure and it is hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel at the moment but surely it will come?
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Youth Cup starts with a win
Whilst the first team were faltering at West Ham on Saturday afternoon we looked to the U18's to provide us with something to be cheerful about in the first game of this years FA Youth Cup. Even though they made it harder for themselves than necessary they did give us something to be cheerful about and won the game 3 - 2 against Colchester United.
The team selection was always going to be interesting with this group and it is a strong team even though there were a couple of players out with injury which i will get to. The new faces in the Youth Cup team were Mitchell Beeney in goal, Fankaty Dabo at right back, Jordan Houghton at centre back, Ruben Loftus-Cheek in midfield and Reece Mitchell on the right wing. The returning players were Alex Davey, Adam Nditi, Nathan Ake playing the holding role in midfield, John Swift, Lewis Baker and Islam Feruz.
The game certainly started with a flourish with 3 goals scored within 6 minutes of kick off. Islam Feruz scored the first of the day after being put through one on one and placed a tidy finish in the bottom corner. Next up was some poor defending from a corner which saw the ball pinball about in the box before falling to a Colchester player to slot it home. Lewis Baker took Chelsea back in the lead though with some fine work down the left flank beating a couple of players and driving the ball home.The next goal was again some good work by Feruz who upon trying to beat his defender was brought down in the box and the penalty was awarded, Lewis Baker stepped up and put it away comfortably.
Chelsea for the majority of the game were very comfortable and playing within themselves, they should have put away a number of chances that game their way to totally bury the game but didn't. The football that was being played was of a very high standard and they were very pleasing to watch. However as the game dragged on Colchester caught us on the break and a delightful ball played right across the defense caught everyone out and Colchester got one back. Immediately after Chelsea should have scored the exact same goal, the ball in from Nditi met by Feruz but the striker put it just wide. After that things were a little uncomfortable and Cochester who looked dead and buried earlier suddenly had a new lease of life. But we was able to hold on and progress to the next round.
Lessons will be learned from this game and no doubt performances will improve but we are going to be a very difficult team to beat. Looking at the players missing i would think that Alex Kiwomya and Jeremie Boga when fit will be in the starting 11 and will add another level of quality but this team is very good. Lewis Baker looked a class above and was my man of the match, Islam Feruz is going to cause any defenders nightmares and Nathan Ake wherever he plays is top drawer.
So now we await the drawer for the next round, but like i said we are a top team and no one is going to want to drawer us.
Friday, 30 November 2012
U21's Highlights
This week the U21's were playing at home to Fulham under the watchful eye of Benitez, Zenden, Ambramovic and Shevchenko and they managed to turn on the style and come away with a 3 - 0 win. With Bamford, Kane and Clifford going out on loan it was opportunities for Tika Musonda at right back, Rohan Ince at centre back and Adam Coombes in attack. Nathan Ake moved into the middle of the pitch and played the defensive midfield role and looked very good too even managing to score a very nice goal which i am sure will find itself on the goal of the season reel. Islam Feruz again playing the center forward role and again bagging himself a goal.
See how they got on here:
See how they got on here:
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Righting Wrongs
So another game and another snooze fest was served up at Stamford Bridge. Again emotions were running high and feelings were made very clear by the crowd at Stamford Bridge. There are many different views and people feel more strongly about different things when it comes to the recent events.
Firstly Roberto Di Matteo, last night there were many calls for him to come back and that things would be better if we had him as manager still. This I struggle to understand. Before I carry on I want to make it clear that I think the club were wrong to give him the push so quickly and he should have been given more time to try put right what was going wrong. That being said lets not look back with blue tinted glasses and think everything was going well. The performances were very poor and we were getting slaughtered at the back. The Juventus, West Brom, Liverpool and Swansea games were not good and it was looking difficult to see a way back. People are saying that the results would have been different with Di Matteo in charge, yes they may have been better but they could also have been worse looking at the form of the team. Benitez was criticized (rightly) for playing Bertrand in one of the attacking midfield spots and that this would not have happened under Di Matteo, well it did happen and plenty of times. Lets not forget in his last game against Juventus he played Azpilicueta in one of those spots.
The point I am making on Di Matteo is that it is fine to be upset that he was sacked when he was but lets look back honestly not think that Di Matteo was getting everything right just because Benitez is now in charge.
This leads on to Benitez himself who really does seem to want to make things as difficult for himself as possible. He passed up another oppertunity to draw a line under the past and continues to go down the line of saying that the supporters will back him when he starts winning. Well Rafa you are not winning games, and so far he is not improving a thing. Playing Bertrand in attacking midfield is just madness, how many other top clubs in Europe play defenders in advanced positions unless injuries dictate otherwise. What it just underlines for me is that this formation is just not working for us at all. His persistence that Torres is fine and just needs more help from his team mates is frankly laughable, Torres is a totally spent force and we persist with him past the January transfer window then madness truly does reign at Stamford Bridge.
The body language of Torres is not right at all and 95% of the time when we will attack will take up a position where he is unable to collect the ball and will not make the right runs to enable his team mates to put him through. It is past crazy now that we are persisting. Yes Sturridge is injured and we have no other options but with the contribution Torres is making we would do no worse playing a youngster.
I find it hard to understand how the club thought that Benitez was a better option for the rest of the season than Di Matteo. Lets be honest it is perfectly clear that in the summer we will see either Guardiola or Mourinho as manager but what could Roman and the board seen in Benitez that made them think he would be able to do a better job? Maybe he will turn things around, who knows, but it will take more than a few minor changes and personnel changes to do that.
As I have already said the formation for us is busted. It just does not work with the players we have. We should be looking to change our formation and do it quickly, for me there is only one way to go and that is back to our tried and tested 4-3-3, ironically we have players better suited to that now than we have had for a long while. In my opinion we should be playing a midfield with Mikel holding, Oscar playing the box to box role and Mata playing the more advanced role of the midfield three. The balance works, we know Mikel plays the holding role with no problems, Oscar is very comfortable coming deep and then moving forward and Mata is of course ideal of the 10 role.
Ahead of that we should be wingers Hazard who out of our three attacking players is better suited out wide and then either Marin or Moses on the other wing with of course Torres or Sturridge as the lone striker. To me the balance just works with this team and it gives us a more solid base and we even manage to keep our three golden boys on the pitch. More than that it will give us some much needed width. Rotation and changes will also be much easier, Ramires can come in and play the box to box role or the holding role, Lampard can play the box to box role of course and either Oscar or Hazard can play the 10 role.
For me this is the only way forward and the change needs to be made pretty quickly otherwise we could seriously run the risk of falling out of the top 4 again. West Ham are the opponents for Saturday and 3 points is an absolute must, but more than that is a need for improvement.
Firstly Roberto Di Matteo, last night there were many calls for him to come back and that things would be better if we had him as manager still. This I struggle to understand. Before I carry on I want to make it clear that I think the club were wrong to give him the push so quickly and he should have been given more time to try put right what was going wrong. That being said lets not look back with blue tinted glasses and think everything was going well. The performances were very poor and we were getting slaughtered at the back. The Juventus, West Brom, Liverpool and Swansea games were not good and it was looking difficult to see a way back. People are saying that the results would have been different with Di Matteo in charge, yes they may have been better but they could also have been worse looking at the form of the team. Benitez was criticized (rightly) for playing Bertrand in one of the attacking midfield spots and that this would not have happened under Di Matteo, well it did happen and plenty of times. Lets not forget in his last game against Juventus he played Azpilicueta in one of those spots.
The point I am making on Di Matteo is that it is fine to be upset that he was sacked when he was but lets look back honestly not think that Di Matteo was getting everything right just because Benitez is now in charge.
This leads on to Benitez himself who really does seem to want to make things as difficult for himself as possible. He passed up another oppertunity to draw a line under the past and continues to go down the line of saying that the supporters will back him when he starts winning. Well Rafa you are not winning games, and so far he is not improving a thing. Playing Bertrand in attacking midfield is just madness, how many other top clubs in Europe play defenders in advanced positions unless injuries dictate otherwise. What it just underlines for me is that this formation is just not working for us at all. His persistence that Torres is fine and just needs more help from his team mates is frankly laughable, Torres is a totally spent force and we persist with him past the January transfer window then madness truly does reign at Stamford Bridge.
The body language of Torres is not right at all and 95% of the time when we will attack will take up a position where he is unable to collect the ball and will not make the right runs to enable his team mates to put him through. It is past crazy now that we are persisting. Yes Sturridge is injured and we have no other options but with the contribution Torres is making we would do no worse playing a youngster.
I find it hard to understand how the club thought that Benitez was a better option for the rest of the season than Di Matteo. Lets be honest it is perfectly clear that in the summer we will see either Guardiola or Mourinho as manager but what could Roman and the board seen in Benitez that made them think he would be able to do a better job? Maybe he will turn things around, who knows, but it will take more than a few minor changes and personnel changes to do that.
As I have already said the formation for us is busted. It just does not work with the players we have. We should be looking to change our formation and do it quickly, for me there is only one way to go and that is back to our tried and tested 4-3-3, ironically we have players better suited to that now than we have had for a long while. In my opinion we should be playing a midfield with Mikel holding, Oscar playing the box to box role and Mata playing the more advanced role of the midfield three. The balance works, we know Mikel plays the holding role with no problems, Oscar is very comfortable coming deep and then moving forward and Mata is of course ideal of the 10 role.
Ahead of that we should be wingers Hazard who out of our three attacking players is better suited out wide and then either Marin or Moses on the other wing with of course Torres or Sturridge as the lone striker. To me the balance just works with this team and it gives us a more solid base and we even manage to keep our three golden boys on the pitch. More than that it will give us some much needed width. Rotation and changes will also be much easier, Ramires can come in and play the box to box role or the holding role, Lampard can play the box to box role of course and either Oscar or Hazard can play the 10 role.
For me this is the only way forward and the change needs to be made pretty quickly otherwise we could seriously run the risk of falling out of the top 4 again. West Ham are the opponents for Saturday and 3 points is an absolute must, but more than that is a need for improvement.
To loan or not to loan
Over the years sending our young players out on loan has very rarely worked out for us. I have been critical of sending players out on loan as it has seen the end of so many promising players. But is it more of a case that the players have just been good enough?
For the first time we have seen a young player break through at Chelsea after spells out on loan. From the 2006/07 season through to 2010/11 season Ryan Bertrand had been out on loan of 5 different clubs playing nearly 150 games and none of those were at Premier League level. But the experience was invaluable and he finished those loans ready to make his step into the Chelsea first team, and this he is doing very well getting plenty of game time.
This is something that the club have now clearly looked at and see as a good model. We currently have a number of players carrying out successful loan spells.
Romelu Lukaku is having a decent spell at West Brom gaining Premier League experience and having made 12 appearances scoring 5 goals is doing well. It is easy to forget that Romelu is only 19 years old and being fair to him should have been sent on loan last season also. Certainly he needs to spend the rest of the season getting as many games as possible and i would like to see him spend another season on loan after to come back to Chelsea a better player.
Kevin De Bruyne is excelling at Werder Bremen, coming from the Belgian league to the Premier League is a big step for a young player so i think it was the right choice to loan him out and he is getting regular game and is a big influence on the pitch for Bremem.
Josh McEachran is a player who suffered from trying too much too soon with a Premier League loan to Swansea. He made a dissapointing 4 appearances for Swansea last season whilst this season he has already made 17 for Middlesbrough and thriving on the game time and developing his game which is the whole point of loan moves.
Nathaniel Chalobah who is yet to turn 18 is also excelling on loan at Championship club Watford under Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola. Nathaniel has become a big hit at Watford and i now a key player for them. Again this experience in so valuable for him in his development and in a year or 2 with regular games i am certain will be a good player for our first team.
We have just sent out Todd Kane and Patrick Bamford to league 1 and initial responses have been very positive, especially on Patrick Bamford. The club need to find the right level to start these players with, if they are able to get the games they will show their quality and earn the right to play higher levels at Bertrand has done.
But are we also seeing the result of the quality of players being higher? Obviously players like Lukaku and De Bruyne already come with bundles of experience but it is very pleasing to see McEachran and Chalobah impress on a regular basis. Are the club finally starting to judge loan moves better or are our players going out better quality? I think it is a mix of both but it is certainly pleasing to see this improvement and hopefully it will enable us to bring through more Ryan Bertrands.
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Youth Cup Returns
This Saturday will see the return of FA Youth Cup football to Chelsea Football Club. We are of course reigning Champions having won last year in a thrilling campaign of top class matches and some memorable football not least the comeback against Nottingham Forest having been three down at half time to come back and win 4 - 3 was just incredible.
This years campaign starts at the Weston Homes Community Stadium (no relation) and Colchester United are the opponents. The game is unfortunately being played at the same time as the first team are playing West Ham. Having said that the Youth Cup will be live on Chelsea TV given the game is the same time as the West Ham game makes that very unlikely and at the moment the schedule is showing the live commentary for the West Ham game as you would expect. This is very disappointing as Chelsea TV has been incredibly poor with it's live game coverage.
Last year's team was a very talented bunch but arguably this year's will be even better and there is an incredible pool of players to choose from, some of whom have moved onto the U21's and some who are having an amazing unbeaten season with the U18's. The competition is open to all players born between 1st September 1994 and 1st September 1997, this gives us a list of players like this:
Mitchell Beeney
Ben Killip
Sam Bangura
Alistair Gordon
Nortei Nortey
Fankaty Dabo
Nathan Ake
Alex Davey
Andreas Christensen
Jonathan Muleba
Adam Nditi
Ambrose Gnahore
Kevin Wright
Jordan Houghton
John Swift
Tom Howard
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Jesse Starkey
Dion Conroy
Isak Ssewankambo
Lewis Baker
George Cole
Reece Mitchell
Chike Kandi
Alex Kiwomya
Islam Feruz
Jeremie Boga
Connor Hunte
Charlie Colkett
There are probably some names I have missed also but looking at that list there are plenty of names left over from last year's winning team: Ake, Davey, Nditi, Swift, Baker, Feruz, Kiwomya. Plus there are players who have been doing well this season the likes of Boga, Loftus-Cheek, Christensen all making appearances for the U21's.
With such a talented group of players there is a good chance of a decent run in the cup again and it would be amazing to retain the trophy. Ade Viveash will have a tough choice picking the starting 11 for this competition but that can only be a good thing. I am sure we will be entertained again this season and hopefully we can lift the cup again.
This years campaign starts at the Weston Homes Community Stadium (no relation) and Colchester United are the opponents. The game is unfortunately being played at the same time as the first team are playing West Ham. Having said that the Youth Cup will be live on Chelsea TV given the game is the same time as the West Ham game makes that very unlikely and at the moment the schedule is showing the live commentary for the West Ham game as you would expect. This is very disappointing as Chelsea TV has been incredibly poor with it's live game coverage.
Last year's team was a very talented bunch but arguably this year's will be even better and there is an incredible pool of players to choose from, some of whom have moved onto the U21's and some who are having an amazing unbeaten season with the U18's. The competition is open to all players born between 1st September 1994 and 1st September 1997, this gives us a list of players like this:
Mitchell Beeney
Ben Killip
Sam Bangura
Alistair Gordon
Nortei Nortey
Fankaty Dabo
Nathan Ake
Alex Davey
Andreas Christensen
Jonathan Muleba
Adam Nditi
Ambrose Gnahore
Kevin Wright
Jordan Houghton
John Swift
Tom Howard
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Jesse Starkey
Dion Conroy
Isak Ssewankambo
Lewis Baker
George Cole
Reece Mitchell
Chike Kandi
Alex Kiwomya
Islam Feruz
Jeremie Boga
Connor Hunte
Charlie Colkett
There are probably some names I have missed also but looking at that list there are plenty of names left over from last year's winning team: Ake, Davey, Nditi, Swift, Baker, Feruz, Kiwomya. Plus there are players who have been doing well this season the likes of Boga, Loftus-Cheek, Christensen all making appearances for the U21's.
With such a talented group of players there is a good chance of a decent run in the cup again and it would be amazing to retain the trophy. Ade Viveash will have a tough choice picking the starting 11 for this competition but that can only be a good thing. I am sure we will be entertained again this season and hopefully we can lift the cup again.
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
In Defense
Unsurprisingly Chelsea, and more to the point, us the fans have come under criticism from the media. The club and Abramovich initially came under fire for once again sacking another manager but even that was not really done with any heart as even the most staunch Chelsea hating journo would have to admit that even though managers have been sacked in large numbers trophies have arrived in even larger numbers, that you cannot deny.
So it was that the focus of the media ritual of digging us out turned to the fans. When Benitez was appointed it was clear that the feeling among Chelsea fans was unanimously negative, you would be hard pushed to find a Chelsea fan who thought it would be a good idea to appoint Benitez. Feelings were high and a match was very close, so it was no surprise to see that feeling voiced in the stands on Sunday.
The question is, why are we being criticized for that feeling and opinion? Even when you think you have seen it all from the media it was still amazing to see Chelsea fans branded as bullies and cowards by The Times! Apparently when other clubs rally against their club or manager (see any number of examples: Man Utd, Liverpool, Blackburn) their fans are passionate about their club and voicing their opinion in the only way the club will take notice but when it is Chelsea fans it is bullying and cowardice. I have said before and I will say it again about the so called football journalists that they could not analyse a game of football if their life depended on it so they have to resort to these sort of stories.
Basically what we are being told is that as Chelsea fans we have two options either act against Abramovich and make it clear he is not wanted here or accept quietly every decision he makes. Why? Why can't we be perfectly happy with Abramovich but let him and the board know when we are not happy with a choice that has been made? Benitez has in the past directly been critical of us Chelsea fans, of course we are not going to take kindly to that and of course we are not going to be happy if that person takes charge of our club. So another chapter in the ongoing media campaign of negativity about Chelsea rolls on and I am sure this one will last probably for the whole of the season. But one thing is for sure Chelsea fans should not feel bad in any way for defending what their feel about the club they love.
The first game of the Benitez reign was pretty unremarkable, another game where we manage little in the way of attempts on goal, however on this occasion we did manage to keep a clean sheet. Trying to identify any changes in the way we played compared to under Di Matteo it was hard to notice anything. The only real difference was that the full backs and Ramires were slightly less adventurous than they had been. Having said that a draw to the unbeaten champions is not a result to turn your nose up at but the next few games will be more interesting. Games against Fulham and West Ham even though they are fierce competitive games should be games we pick up 3 points. So once again we sit back and wait to see what is served up by the man dubbed a "fat Spanish waiter".
Continuing with the theme of defense the U18's and U21's both kept clean sheets over the weekend. The U18's picking up a 1 - 0 win over Middlesbrough in the fog with John Swift getting the goal. With FA Youth cup coming up this Saturday there will be some concerns over some injuries picked up in that game. The U21's who are now picking up some decent results recorded a 3 - 0 win at Cobham last night, goals coming from Nathan Ake, Islam Feruz and a return to action and goals for Adam Coombes. The U21's are unlikely to qualify for the elite group at U21's level now but will look for more consistant performances in the next stage of the competition.
So it was that the focus of the media ritual of digging us out turned to the fans. When Benitez was appointed it was clear that the feeling among Chelsea fans was unanimously negative, you would be hard pushed to find a Chelsea fan who thought it would be a good idea to appoint Benitez. Feelings were high and a match was very close, so it was no surprise to see that feeling voiced in the stands on Sunday.
The question is, why are we being criticized for that feeling and opinion? Even when you think you have seen it all from the media it was still amazing to see Chelsea fans branded as bullies and cowards by The Times! Apparently when other clubs rally against their club or manager (see any number of examples: Man Utd, Liverpool, Blackburn) their fans are passionate about their club and voicing their opinion in the only way the club will take notice but when it is Chelsea fans it is bullying and cowardice. I have said before and I will say it again about the so called football journalists that they could not analyse a game of football if their life depended on it so they have to resort to these sort of stories.
Basically what we are being told is that as Chelsea fans we have two options either act against Abramovich and make it clear he is not wanted here or accept quietly every decision he makes. Why? Why can't we be perfectly happy with Abramovich but let him and the board know when we are not happy with a choice that has been made? Benitez has in the past directly been critical of us Chelsea fans, of course we are not going to take kindly to that and of course we are not going to be happy if that person takes charge of our club. So another chapter in the ongoing media campaign of negativity about Chelsea rolls on and I am sure this one will last probably for the whole of the season. But one thing is for sure Chelsea fans should not feel bad in any way for defending what their feel about the club they love.
The first game of the Benitez reign was pretty unremarkable, another game where we manage little in the way of attempts on goal, however on this occasion we did manage to keep a clean sheet. Trying to identify any changes in the way we played compared to under Di Matteo it was hard to notice anything. The only real difference was that the full backs and Ramires were slightly less adventurous than they had been. Having said that a draw to the unbeaten champions is not a result to turn your nose up at but the next few games will be more interesting. Games against Fulham and West Ham even though they are fierce competitive games should be games we pick up 3 points. So once again we sit back and wait to see what is served up by the man dubbed a "fat Spanish waiter".
Continuing with the theme of defense the U18's and U21's both kept clean sheets over the weekend. The U18's picking up a 1 - 0 win over Middlesbrough in the fog with John Swift getting the goal. With FA Youth cup coming up this Saturday there will be some concerns over some injuries picked up in that game. The U21's who are now picking up some decent results recorded a 3 - 0 win at Cobham last night, goals coming from Nathan Ake, Islam Feruz and a return to action and goals for Adam Coombes. The U21's are unlikely to qualify for the elite group at U21's level now but will look for more consistant performances in the next stage of the competition.
Friday, 23 November 2012
Loans for Clifford, Kane and Bamford
Today has seen the departure of 2 more young blues on loan moves. Both will be looking to emulate the success that both Josh McEachran and Nathanial Chalobah are having in the lower leagues of English football.
Connor Clifford is now embarking on his fifth loan spell having had previous spells and Plymouth, Notts County, Yeovil and Portsmouth. However it has been very hard for Connor since showing such promise in Chelsea's 2010 FA Youth Cup triumph. In all those loan spells he has only managed to accumulate 25 appearances and has not been able yet to cement a regular starting place. He will hope to put that right with this new loan spell at Crawley Town, this current loan spell taking him up to the 5th January 2013. It will take something to get him on the radar of the Chelsea first team and it may be now a case of finding a club for him elsewhere for the future as at 21 years of age he needs to be have been playing more regular football and that has not happened for him. Here is a look at Connor Clifford at his best at Chelsea.
A player that is going on his first loan spell is Todd Kane. Kane has impressed at Chelsea's U18's and U21's levels and the time was most certainly right for him to go on loan. His first spell is at league one club Preston. Kane is a combative right back who is not afraid to get forward and has a leathal shot on him too, regular viewers of Chelsea's academy football will have seen some spectacular long distance goals from him as you can see in my video below. He is not afraid to get stuck in and the physical nature of league one football will not phase him. A route similar to that of Ryan Bertrand will be his goal, to step up a level with every loan move so we hope Todd will do well at Preston.
Lastly we have another first loan move for Patrick Bamford. Bamford is pretty new at Chelsea having only joined in January of 2012, since then he has been knocking the goals in at Reserve/U21 level with 9 goals since joining. Bamford will be joining MK Dons who are also playing league one football. League football is not new for him however as he did make 2 senior appearances for Nottingham Forest before joining Chelsea. Patrick Bamford is a striker with a keen eye for goal but with also very good ability on the ball which has been evident on the few times he has been deployed on the wing for our Reserves side.
Good luck to all 3 boys on their loan moves and a keen eye will kept on them while they are away from the club.
Connor Clifford is now embarking on his fifth loan spell having had previous spells and Plymouth, Notts County, Yeovil and Portsmouth. However it has been very hard for Connor since showing such promise in Chelsea's 2010 FA Youth Cup triumph. In all those loan spells he has only managed to accumulate 25 appearances and has not been able yet to cement a regular starting place. He will hope to put that right with this new loan spell at Crawley Town, this current loan spell taking him up to the 5th January 2013. It will take something to get him on the radar of the Chelsea first team and it may be now a case of finding a club for him elsewhere for the future as at 21 years of age he needs to be have been playing more regular football and that has not happened for him. Here is a look at Connor Clifford at his best at Chelsea.
A player that is going on his first loan spell is Todd Kane. Kane has impressed at Chelsea's U18's and U21's levels and the time was most certainly right for him to go on loan. His first spell is at league one club Preston. Kane is a combative right back who is not afraid to get forward and has a leathal shot on him too, regular viewers of Chelsea's academy football will have seen some spectacular long distance goals from him as you can see in my video below. He is not afraid to get stuck in and the physical nature of league one football will not phase him. A route similar to that of Ryan Bertrand will be his goal, to step up a level with every loan move so we hope Todd will do well at Preston.
Lastly we have another first loan move for Patrick Bamford. Bamford is pretty new at Chelsea having only joined in January of 2012, since then he has been knocking the goals in at Reserve/U21 level with 9 goals since joining. Bamford will be joining MK Dons who are also playing league one football. League football is not new for him however as he did make 2 senior appearances for Nottingham Forest before joining Chelsea. Patrick Bamford is a striker with a keen eye for goal but with also very good ability on the ball which has been evident on the few times he has been deployed on the wing for our Reserves side.
Good luck to all 3 boys on their loan moves and a keen eye will kept on them while they are away from the club.
Weekly Academy Highlights
This weeks games at academy level were played away from home to Liverpool. First up was the U18's who managed to continue their excellent unbeaten record with a 2 - 1 win. Both goals scored by Alex Kiwomya and very well taken goals they were too. Here are the highlights for that game.
On Sunday it was the turn of the U21's. Things did not go well for them for the majority of the game. The passing was poor and we never got a hold of the game in any way and Liverpool took advantage of that and took a 3 goal lead. At half time Drummy brought on Jeremie Boga who turned things around for Chelsea with 1 outstanding solo effort and a brilliant piece of skill for the second following some good interplay. Things were brought level when Patrick Bamford rounded the Liverpool keeper and was brought down for a penalty, Lewis Baker putting the kick away. The U21's will be looking for much better overall performances and with Clifford, Kane and Bamford out on loan there will be chances for younger players to come in and make an impact.
On Sunday it was the turn of the U21's. Things did not go well for them for the majority of the game. The passing was poor and we never got a hold of the game in any way and Liverpool took advantage of that and took a 3 goal lead. At half time Drummy brought on Jeremie Boga who turned things around for Chelsea with 1 outstanding solo effort and a brilliant piece of skill for the second following some good interplay. Things were brought level when Patrick Bamford rounded the Liverpool keeper and was brought down for a penalty, Lewis Baker putting the kick away. The U21's will be looking for much better overall performances and with Clifford, Kane and Bamford out on loan there will be chances for younger players to come in and make an impact.
Reviewing Rafa - Previewing City
The question I was asking myself before sitting down to watch Benitez's press conference was will I learn anything from this? Surprisingly the answer was yes. The most obvious point from the conference was that Benitez is still unable to pronounce the word "club" and insisted on calling Chelsea a "massive cloob", I am still trying to work out if that is another insult or not. Many Chelsea fans like myself watching that press conference were no doubt feeling very uncomfortable watching Benitez holding up a Chelsea shirt and will find it very difficult to come around to the idea of him being with us.
Obviously the press were going to ask the direct questions. How does he feel about joining a club where he is not wanted by the fans? Remember those comments you made about Chelsea and their fans years ago? Neither question was answered in any real way other than to turn it in another direction but then again what else could he say? But the most important thing that came across to me from his press conference was that he does truly believe that he will only be here for the remainder of this season and not beyond. There was absolutely no talk of looking beyond the season. Why would he take the job then? Well this is a man who is looking to prove that he can still cut it at a big club. THAT he made perfectly clear, he wants to manage a big club and after being sacked from first Liverpool and then Inter his reputation was somewhat dented. For him this is an opportunity to show he can still manage at the top end and put himself in the window for the summer. But for me it was clear that he does not see himself here beyond his 7 month contract and that in itself is something of a relief.
Honestly I don't think Benitez has managed to endear himself to Chelsea fans on his first press conference but that was always going to be a tough, virtually impossible ask, made even harder by the rather unpopular move of appointing Boudewijn Zenden to his coaching staff. Benitez needs to win games if he is to calm the waters among the Chelsea fans and he has a big chance to that already this Sunday.
Manchester City come to the bridge this weekend, neither team playing at their best for sure at the moment but one thing is very clear to me and that is if we continue to play as we have been we will get beaten easily by City. City have the strike force to hurt us and if we give the space we have been giving teams lately it will be all too easy for them. So how does Benitez get us playing again? He said he has been able to identify areas that we need to improve and make small tweaks, unfortunately he did not say in any way what those changes are and the esteemed members of the English media seem to struggle when it comes to actual football discussion so not one of them pressed him on this point.
What I would like to see is us pressing City all over the park, denying them space and then when we get the ball we need to get at them and make their somewhat fragile defense work and make chances on goal. Of course we have the ability to beat city but it will need to see everyone working hard together to get that result. But now it all comes down to what Benitez will do.
What I would like to see is us pressing City all over the park, denying them space and then when we get the ball we need to get at them and make their somewhat fragile defense work and make chances on goal. Of course we have the ability to beat city but it will need to see everyone working hard together to get that result. But now it all comes down to what Benitez will do.
So we will have to see. What formation will Benitez play with this squad? How will he utilize our attacking players while keeping us strong at the back? One thing is for sure the tempo of our play needs to increase, but how will the players respond to Benitez? So many questions asked on such a big game for us, we need to win to keep us close to the two Manchester Clubs. What will also be interesting is the reaction of the fans at the bridge, there have been mentions of protests including a concourse walkout on 16 minutes but as much as feelings will still be running high over what has happened this week the fans will be wanting our team to do well on the pitch.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Rafa Benitez...... Really????
Has this been the most unbelievable 24 hours for Chelsea? Given everything that has happened over the years it is crazy to say it really could be.
Having woken up in the morning still feeling a bit grumpy over the defeat to Juventus and a likely exit from the Champions League it was hard to believe things could get worse! They did however and in spectacular fashion.
Still struggling to get over the sacking of Di Matteo thoughts immediately turn to who would take charge. Immediately everyone thought Pep Guardiola. Roman's liking for Pep is well known and him not being in charge of a club currently the link was obvious. However, it did not take long for the name Rafa Benitez to pop up. I like many people I am sure laughed off the thought of Benitez coming to Chelsea, but the story did not go away and it only intensified throughout the day. Even as the story was confirmed on the Chelsea website my only reaction was one of shock.
I don't think I would be over reacting to say there is virtually no Chelsea fan that would say they want Benitez at Chelsea. It was not too long ago that the idea of Benitez at Chelsea was very vocally put across to the club in the stands. However, this time there has been no chance for the fans to vocalize their displeasure at the thought of Benitez.
It is clear that the club are out of touch with the fans. Most people would recognize that fact anyway but this is just another thing to prove that. In my opinion the appointment of Benitez and the sacking of Di Matteo is desperation, desperate to not miss out on Champions League football next season and Benitez was quite likely the only manager who would accept being in charge until the end of the season.
Whatever the reason for the appointment it is not a popular one (and that is an understatement). I doubt there will much vocalizing of that displeasure in the stands because people want to be behind their club. But for sure the feelings on this are running high and there are not many happy Chelsea fans at the moment.
If I could say one thing to the club it would be, please do not whatever happens let this appointment go beyond the end of the season. Take the time, make the right appointment in the summer to truly take our club forward.
Having woken up in the morning still feeling a bit grumpy over the defeat to Juventus and a likely exit from the Champions League it was hard to believe things could get worse! They did however and in spectacular fashion.
Still struggling to get over the sacking of Di Matteo thoughts immediately turn to who would take charge. Immediately everyone thought Pep Guardiola. Roman's liking for Pep is well known and him not being in charge of a club currently the link was obvious. However, it did not take long for the name Rafa Benitez to pop up. I like many people I am sure laughed off the thought of Benitez coming to Chelsea, but the story did not go away and it only intensified throughout the day. Even as the story was confirmed on the Chelsea website my only reaction was one of shock.
I don't think I would be over reacting to say there is virtually no Chelsea fan that would say they want Benitez at Chelsea. It was not too long ago that the idea of Benitez at Chelsea was very vocally put across to the club in the stands. However, this time there has been no chance for the fans to vocalize their displeasure at the thought of Benitez.
It is clear that the club are out of touch with the fans. Most people would recognize that fact anyway but this is just another thing to prove that. In my opinion the appointment of Benitez and the sacking of Di Matteo is desperation, desperate to not miss out on Champions League football next season and Benitez was quite likely the only manager who would accept being in charge until the end of the season.
Whatever the reason for the appointment it is not a popular one (and that is an understatement). I doubt there will much vocalizing of that displeasure in the stands because people want to be behind their club. But for sure the feelings on this are running high and there are not many happy Chelsea fans at the moment.
If I could say one thing to the club it would be, please do not whatever happens let this appointment go beyond the end of the season. Take the time, make the right appointment in the summer to truly take our club forward.
Chelsea FC Sack RDM
Chelsea have once again parted company with another manager, and looking closely at it there was a certain amount of inevitability about it. I could not have found a hotter topic to start this blog with but here it is and everyone has a view on this, Chelsea fan or not.
Since Roman Abramovich took over we have seen plenty of managers come and go but I doubt many have come as much of a surprise as what happened this morning with Roberto Di Matteo. That is not to say that things were all good for Di Matteo. The team have been on something of a decline pretty much since the defeat to Manchester United, we have lacked potency in attack and look incredibly frail at the back. That is in stark contrast to the start of the season where we were strong in defense, fluid and potent in attack. Fingers have been pointed in many a direction, mainly at the absence of John Terry, the form of Fernando Torres and the unpredictability of David Luiz.
For me what I saw was a team that was losing it's belief. The pace that we were playing at has dropped off dramatically, we have moved from fast paced quick incisive passing to the type of slow build up passing that we saw last season with lesser creative players. But for me the biggest problem we had was with pressing. The players seem to have been sent out with the instruction to not press and get close to the opposition, this has made us so easy to play against and teams are almost literally able to walk through us to get to goal. How many times have we seen recently crosses coming in totally unchallenged and us concede from it, far too often. Last night was just further evidence of that, we do not put teams under any sort of pressure and that is highlighted by the possession stats, the teams we are playing against have more possession than us because we allow them so much time and space.
I was finding it hard to see how Di Matteo was going to get things turned around but i was not expecting him to be sacked this morning. But should we be surprised Having won the Champions League and FA Cup having taken over from Villas-Boas many said that he should be given the chance to take on a full season as manager to see what he can do. Roman also came to that conclusion but it took him a while and you get the feeling that for him Roberto probably was not the ideal man for the job but also felt he should be given the chance. However, maybe if there had been better options available to Roman things may have been different for Di Matteo in the summer.
I think this is part of the reason we have seen Roman have such an itchy trigger finger, having had doubts in the summer with things now not working out he does not want to see a situation where we are in big trouble as we was under Villas-Boas in the league, we are already teetering on the edge of being out of the Champions League and we need to ensure a top 4 spot in the league.
Was it the right decision to make? Who knows now if Di Matteo could have turned things around, but I was beginning to have my doubts. Time can be healer but it can also break you and I think Roman did not want to take a chance. The Chelsea circus continues....
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