EskWeston

Ancellotti deserves so much credit, not just for taking us to the brink of a historic double but 100% record against the big four - fantastic.

F**king yes!!!!!!!!!! Thought we should have upped the tempo first half, but good performance from the lads and a massive massive win!!!!!

Anelka definately does, not to sure about renewing that yet, need to bring the ages down. If ivan is on his last year then a deal needs to be sorted out for him this summer.

Ancelotti said that all contract discussions are on hold till the end of the season.

Worst thing to happen to us was to play Inter this season. On the verge of of winning the first League and FA cup double in our history and too many fans are pining for the days of Mourinho.............. His team has just made the Champions League final and the fans mobbed him at the airport, what do you expect him to say exactly??

EskWeston's Player Reviews: Sam Walker: Sam maybe could be a little at fault for the Villa goal but could also be a little harsh. He didn't have too many saves to make and wasn't in the game much but when called upon he dealt with what he was given very well. 6 Billy Clifford: Not used as attacking as he had been in previous games but when he did get forward he was dangerous. Defensively he was good too, would like to more of him in an attacking sense in the return game and to keep the Villa winger under wraps. 7 Aziz Deen-Conteh: Not one of Aziz's better games at times he was found a little bit wanting defensively but he still put in a solid game and was very rarely caught out. Got forward very well through the game and especially in the first half linked up very well with Gokhan Tore. Jeffrey Bruma Another impressive game from Jeffrey, solid as we would expect him to be. Won all the headers and led the team very well indeed. His goal was another very neatly taken free kick that he is starting to stick away with some regularity. 8 Rohan Ince: I was very dissapointed to see that Danny Pappoe hadn't made the game. He has been a real rock and i have never felt as comfortable with Rohan, i had always felt there was a tendency for sloppyness. Fair enough he has been out for a very long time with injury but the difference between Rohan and Danny was clear, would like to see Rohan a bit more solid for the return leg. 6 Connor Clifford: Connor had a decent enough game but i would like to be seeing more from him. Was probably carrying a little knock which came back near the end of the game which may have hindered him but Connor needs to be driving the team a lot more than he did in this game. Still some very good work from him at times but Connor can offer more to us. 6 Kaby Djalo: A typical Kaby performance. Tenacious with lots of ability, he is becomming a very tidy little player and is making a good role for himself in this youth team. Since working his way into the team he has been a vital part of it and hopefully we will see him continue this into the next tie, Kaby is playing at a good level at the moment. 7 Josh McEachran: Very very high quality from Josh, maybe not as often on the ball as we would like but when he is on the ball he is very much of the highest quality, his ball skills are second to none and it is so hard for the opposition to get the ball off him. At times he maybe is a little too casual but hopefully with age that will improve. 8 Jacopo Sala: Sala was a little dissapointing to be honest and should have been offering more. I still think he is best deployed in the middle of the park and when he moved there he did well. Missing for a lot of the game and wasn't invovled no way near enough. Need a big improvement from him for the second leg. 6 Gokhan Tore: Im afraid Gokhan was guilty of overdoing things last night. Way too many step overs and not enough cut and thrust from him. At times we saw what Gokhan was capable of but not enough and he never did as much as what we have come to expect of him and what we should be seeing. Much more needed from Gokhan. 6 Marko Mitrovic: Did OK and had some good chances, unlucky with a couple of headers and with 1 goal cleared off the line too, maybe could have had more from him and was a little hindered from winning headers when the ref pulled him up for fouls when there was none while jumping for headers. 7 Highlights:

A classy free-kick goal from Jeffrey Bruma gave Chelsea Under 18s a draw they more than deserved from this opening 90 minutes of the two-legged tie. The Dutch centre-back, the one player in the Blues side with first-team experience, equalised with his third goal of the cup run to set up what should be a thrilling second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, a game that will be exclusively live of Chelsea TV. Our Academy players were clearly the better side at drizzly Villa Park, knocking the ball about well across the damp turf in front of a crowd of 3,359. They hit the Villa woodwork no less than three times in the course of the game and saw a shot cleared off the line. Yet it was the home team who took a first-half lead and could have had another before the interval but for a Sam Walker save. However Chelsea always looked likely to break through given the pressure they mounted and the equaliser came midway through the second half. The away-goals rule is not in operation in this competition. It had been a settled side throughout the previous rounds with an outstanding defence but an injury for Danny Mills Pappoe in training this week meant the schoolboy centre-back, previously ever-present in the run to the Final, missed out. His place was taken by Rohan Ince, a natural replacement having returned from a knee injury that kept him out of the first half of the season. Ince was Bruma's partner in central defence in the Youth Cup last season when he was still a schoolboy. At 6ft 3ins tall, he ensured Pappoe's injury didn't mean Chelsea were losing out on height at the back. The young Blues enjoyed plenty of early possession before the first shot. Conor Clifford, who is never afraid to try his luck from distance, struck one straight at the keeper. The game then shifted up a gear when Josh McEachran sprayed a great pass under pressure out to Gokhan Tore (pictured below) who feed and took a return from Aziz Deen-Conteh. The Turkish Under 21 international used his close control to beat a man before shooting low. The ball was deflected behind for a corner. It was from the deadball delivery that Marko Mitrovic struck the bar with a flicked near-post header. There were eight minutes played. Ten minutes later came Villa's goal, scored completely against the run of play. A corner, given away cheaply by Ince, was punched clear by Walker but when it was clipped back in by Richard Blythe, Villa centre-back Daniel Devine rose high above Mitrovic to loop a header over the stranded Chelsea keeper. It was only the second goal the team had conceded in seven cup games. Chelsea were instantly back up the pitch hitting woodwork for a second time. Mitrovic had bustled through a challenge in the box and when the ball came McEachran's way on the edge of the area, his curled effort slammed onto the bar and away to safety. Deen-Conteh, bursting forward from left-back again, worked the keeper from a tight angle after a flowing Chelsea move started again by midfield string-puller McEachran. It was Dermot Drummy's side continuing to play all the football but it took Walker with his legs to prevent a second Villa goal when Kofi Posner escaped the two centre-backs in a crowded spot. Mitrovic was booked when the Chelsea centre-forward caught Blythe with his arm as he challenged for a high ball, Villa keeper Benjamin Siegrist then repelled a threat from Mitrovic and McEachran after Billy Clifford's teasting ball towards his near post. Bruma asked more questions with an excellent curling cross before half time but at the interval Chelsea were still behind. Drummy would surely have told his players to keep calm and just do what they had been doing - the occasion not hindering their natural game. The second half began in similar vein to the first - Chelsea on top and probing for a genuine sight on goal. Ince did well to block off one Villa attack before captain Conor Clifford drifted a 54th minute shot wide at the other end. Samir Carruthers made it one booking apiece with a bodycheck on the same Chelsea player moments later, before a stretching Mitrovic just failed to make contact with a Kaby cross. Chelsea were cursing their luck again on 63 minutes when Derrick Williams slipped in the Villa area and McEachran pounced to tee up Mitrovic, but Williams made it back to head a stinging shot off the line. The Blues only had to wait another two minutes for their just desserts. The home side conceded a free-kick 20 yards out in a central position that meant a chance for Bruma. The curl on the shot from the Dutch Under 21 international was just enough to clear the wall and the dive of Siegrist. On 71 minutes Chelsea made the first substitution of the game. Conor Clifford, who had injury concerns in the weeks building up to this game, was replaced by Lalkovic. The Slovakian sub played wide with Jacopo Sala moving infield. There could have been danger from the home team after Kaby (pictured below) conceded a free-kick as Carruthers broke dangerously following a Bruma mistake, but Carruthers wasted the set-piece shooting chance spectacularly. Then Villa sub Ansenio Halfhuid didn't make the most of another counter-attack as Chelsea wobbled briefly inside the final 10 minutes. The third time the away team hit the woodwork came with a minute of the 90 left, Sala this time the player denied. Villa had cleared a Tore free-kick but only as far as McEachran who calmly laid off to the Italian for a sweet strike from the edge of the area against the outside of the post. There was a late injury for Deen-Conteh who had been excellent in defence and as an attacking full-back. He limped away with a minute remaining having fallen into advertising boards. The final score was the same as the first leg of the Final in 2008 when Chelsea eventually lost out to Manchester City. Unlike two years ago, the second leg is at the Bridge and hopefully with a good crowd backing them, a performance of similar quality to tonight will see the Under 18s lift this trophy for the first time since 1961. Chelsea (4-3-3): Sam Walker; Billy Clifford, Rohan Ince, Jeffrey Bruma, Aziz-Deen Conteh (Ben Sampayo 90+3); Aliu 'Kaby' Djalo, Josh McEachran, Conor Clifford © (Milan Lalkovic 71); Jacopo Sala, Marko Mitrovic, Gokhan Tore. Villa (4-4-2): Benjamin Siegrist; Durrell Berry, Daniel Devine, Derrick Williams, Ellis Deeney; Ebby Nelson-Addy, Richard Blythe, Samir Carruthers, Tomos Roberts; Ryan Simmonds (Ansenio Halfhuid 82), Kofi Poyser (Darius Darkin 79). Source: Chelsea FC

Very hard to say. This group certainly work better as a team. But there were some fantastic individuals in that team that have gone on to do very well, Kakuta, Stoch, Mellis, Van Aanholt, Rhys Taylor. But this group has massive massive potential, this group could very well prove to be better...

Without doubt, this is an exceptional group of players. Should have won the game and still didn't play anywhere near the level that they can. Josh McEachran - sensational player, unbelievable skill. Definately a name to look out for in the future. MHL - sold out, West Stand Lower - sold out, Shed Lower - almost sold. Going to be a big crowd which will be terrific.

Yes, set squad of 25 players and then as many under 21's as you want on top of that 25.

Deserved to win that game really. Not a good enough performance though, Connor, Sala, Tore all underperformed, needed bigger games from them and hope we get it in the return leg. We have a few gears we can still go up, whereas i think that was villa's top level....... will do a full match report when i get the time.

That is obviously the reason why they do it, but would wearing it before the end of the reason really make any difference whatsoever to sales?? I doubt it..

Yes it is, and it is a very good thing if you ask me. Although they could have gone further like UEFA and said that some have to be generated through your own academy,

I guess this means that Kaby is available for tonights game? Must mean the suspention carried in the league games...

Of all the success stories in this season's on the way to this season's FA Youth Cup Final, one that stands out is the presence of Aliu 'Kaby' Djalo. After a year spent adapting to the demands of English football, the diminutive Portugal youth international has firmly established himself in the youth team's line-up this season. A second-half substitute in the third round at Charlton, Kaby impressed enough to force his way into the line-up in the next round at Nottingham Forest, and but for a red card at Blackburn in the semi-finals, he has been a fine representative ever since. 'I didn't start in the first game but I came on in the second half and I played well and that's given me chance to play starting from the second game - I think I'm doing well and I'm happy with myself as well,' said the 18-year-old. 'I have been enjoying it, last year I didn't have so many chances to play but this year I am playing more in the youth team.' The stats back him up - he has played in 25 of 31 youth team games this season, contributing three goals and also captaining the side in the absence of others, notably Conor Clifford. 'I have captained the team a couple of times because I am now one of the more experienced players,' he reasoned. 'That's why I have been given the responsibility and it brings more out of you because you have to show an example to the team, so I think that's good for me and I feel important to my team-mates, which has been great. 'Before I came to England I didn't know about the Youth Cup, but I know now it is important for Chelsea. 'If you do well you never know what can happen and you can move towards the first team, or go on loan because there are lots of scouts watching. This is a big tournament, and now I know it!' Source: Chelsea FC

The manager has issued a message of support for the Academy side, who face Aston Villa in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup Final tonight. I would like to say good luck to the youth team in the Final tonight against Aston Villa. It is a big challenge for the young players of Chelsea, and I know it is a long time since Chelsea won this competition - I was still only a small child - but they are a good group with a strong mentality and I like to pay attention to their games, I watch a lot of them and will watch on Chelsea TV. I hope that they can win. They are young but there is a lot of quality in the team too, already Jeffrey Bruma has played in the first team and it is the club's philosophy to give more young players this opportunity. The coaches in the Academy are doing a fantastic job and deserve the Cup. Source: Chelsea FC

Having seen that the new "Homegrown" rule that the premier league plan to introduce for next season has been discussed in another thread so i thought i would set up a thread to discuss this new rule on it's own. What the new rule means is that from next season all clubs must submit a squad of 25 players. Of those 25 players 8 have to be "Homegrown". A homegrown player is classed as a player that was registered with the FA or the Welsh FA for 3 entire seasons before their 21st Birthday. This is the difference between the Premier League and the UEFA homegrown rule because the UEFA homegrown rule states that half of the homegrown quota must be from the club itself. Clubs are also able to beef up their squads with unlimited players who are under the age of 21 before the 1st of January of that season, so for next season that is 1st January 2011. So what does it mean for our squad? Lets have a look (HG is where we have to have a homegrown player): 1.(HG): John Terry 2.(HG): Ashley Cole 3.(HG): Frank Lampard 4.(HG): Joe Cole 5.(HG): Ross Turnbull 6.(HG): Daniel Sturridge 7.(HG): Sam Hutchinson/Michael Mancienne 8.(HG): Miroslav Stoch/Ryan Bertrand 9. Petr Cech 10. Branislav Ivanovic 11. Michael Essien 12. Ricardo Carvalho 13. Didier Drogba 14. Mikel 15. Michael Ballack 16. Florent Malouda 17. Jose Bosingwa 18. Yuri Zhirkov 19. Paulo Fereira 20. Deco 21. Salomon Kalou 22. Nemaja Matic 23. Alex 24. Juliano Belletti 25. Nicolas Anelka No room for Hilario on that list and we are short 2 Homegrown players. Now Sam Hutchinson could be included in the Homegrown if he is intended to be part of the squad as he won't qualify to be in the unlimited U21 list as he is 21 this August. Other names mentioned are Gael Kakuta, Fabio Borini, Jeffrey Bruma and Patrick Van Aanholt, all of whom would be eligable for the unlimited list. Of those on loan with a chance, Miroslav Stoch won't be eligable for the unlimited list put he would class as homegrown as would Michael Mancienne and Sam Hutchinson. So what it comes down to is that even if we kept the squad exactly the same, 1 person would have to go. If we want to bring in any outside transfers people will have to go to be replaced in the squad. So what it comes down to is that there is great problems caused by this but it will impact on the way we deal with Transfers..

Yeah i am sure it was said somewhere it would be the Wigan game. Not too sure about wearing new kits at the end of the season, like Morpheus said, wear the kit that gets you there..

Dermot Drummy is expecting no easy ride this evening when we travel to Aston Villa for the first leg of the FA Youth Cup Final. The Chelsea Academy coach has seen plenty of tonight's opposition and is able to draw parallels between the Villa youth side and their senior team that is competing for the Champions League places in the Premier League. 'I think it will be a really tough game, they are very well organised and like their first team have two very good wingers, are resolute in defence and have a very good work ethic,' Drummy told the Chelsea website. 'I'm really looking forward to two great games. 'We've watched them three times, against Fulham and twice against Newcastle in the semi-final. Villa have a good Academy, they've been at the top for a number of years with Tony McAndrew and Gordan Cowans, who I know quite well.' En route to the finale, Villa have already beaten two London clubs, Fulham after a penalty shootout in the quarter-final and Millwall in the fifth round, following victories over West Bromwich Albion in the fourth and Rochdale in the third. Fourteen goals in six games suggest a side who will attack, though Drummy believes Chelsea can give as good as they get in that department - having scored 16 goals ourselves in as many matches as we despatched Charlton Athletic, Nottingham Forest, Portsmouth, Watford and Blackburn Rovers on the way. 'I think our strengths are the way we move the ball and the way we attack,' Drummy said. 'We attack with creativity and looking back on all the games during the Cup run our mentality has been spot on. For the Final the build-up has been good, we're pleased with the way it has gone and we want to give two good performances, we're desperate to win and we'll play the way we play. 'We've had a good defence and we work hard. Everyone in the team works for each other and there is no one there in the squad who thinks they are bigger than the team. They are a good bunch of lads and that's what the philosophy of the club is - they work hard and it comes to fruition.' Drummy, a former Arsenal youth coach, explained the preparations for the first leg as we look to gain an advantage back to Stamford Bridge, where we reconvene on Tuesday evening for the decider. 'We played the reserves in a 40-minute game on Tuesday morning, Wednesday we had light training and we travel up on the morning of the game,' he said. 'We'll have lunch and then go to a hotel and rest. We'll have a team meeting at about 4.30 and then get to the ground. 'If we were going to Newcastle we would have to travel up early, but Birmingham is only a couple of hours, so if we went up early we would then then have the whole day in a hotel, and I just think the lads will be better with a training day on Wednesday and then going home back to their digs as normal.' Coverage is live on Chelsea TV from 6.30pm with exclusive interviews and build-up from Villa Park. England youth coach and former Chelsea and Villa player Kenny Swain is a special guest. Supporters who cannot view our in-house channel can watch the game live online at Chelsea TV's 'Inside the Academy' will continue to focus on the tie ahead of the deciding second leg with reaction, preview and all the latest news. Tuesday's return leg at Stamford Bridge is live and exclusive on Chelsea TV, with admission to Stamford Bridge priced at £3 for adults and £1 for concessions. Kick-off 7.45pm. Tickets must be bought in advance and can be booked online until midday Friday. Tickets will be sold at the box office until 5pm on Tuesday. Source: Chelsea FC

Tonight after a very long wait since the Semi Final victory over Blackburn Rovers the Chelsea youth team finally take to the pitch for the first leg of the FA Youth Cup semi Final. The cup run has definately been very special. First we came up against Charlton Athletic a game which we dominated but couldn't put to bed and which we conceeded the only goal we have conceeded in the run. Next up was Nottingham Forest and this game was completely different and our dominance told with a 4 - 0 victory. After the big win over Forest we had a frustrating game against Portsmouth in which we only won 1 - 0 but it was amazing that we didn't score a lot more. Next up was another big 4 - 0 win, this time against Watford. Watford couldn't cope with a Chelsea team that had grown together and was working as a strong unit and playing wonderful football. Then came the tough Semi Final against Blackburn, even though again we had the dominance during the game we could only manage a 1 - 0 win to make the second leg in our hands but tight, however come the second leg at the bridge there was no problems and the best display of the run saw us score another 4 goals and progress into the final. The team has changed very little through the cup run and barring injuries we should see the following team, missing Kaby due to suspention: .............................................Walker............................................ B.Clifford..............Bruma.....................Pappoe........Deen-Conteh ......................C.Clifford.............................Sala............................ ..........................................McEachran......................................... ....Lalkovic............................Mitrovic................................Tore..... Although i am not 100% sure if Kaby is available or not, if he is then the team selection will be interesting, on past form i would imagine that Lalkovic would drop to the bench. This team is very very strong indeed, the back four are supberb and it will take a lot to break them down especially with the experience of Bruma there which is invaluable, playing first team, Reserve team and youth team Bruma is definately working hard for Chelsea this season. Aziz Deen-Conteh has been someone that has stuck out this season, one who has really made a name for himself and looks to be another quality left back. The midfield will be slightly different in the absense of Kaby, Jacopo Sala more than capable of doing a very good job in there and at times has looked more comfortable in the middle of the park. Connor Clifford is a midfield engine and will work his backside off for the 90 minutes. Josh McEachran has grown through the competition and has become an invaluable player, playing behind the forwards he will be pulling the strings, incredibaly hard to shake of the ball his quick feet are great, we need a big game from Josh tonight. The forward line is enough to worry any defence. Lalkovic's speed and skill can have defenders tied in knots, Marko Mitrovic has worked very hard to perfect the lone striker role and will hold the ball up and be a big threat from many positions to score. And finally the human speedy tank that is Gokhan Tore will be the one that Villa will have earmarked to watch very closely indeed. Again a big game from Gokhan can make the difference. The unusual 2 legged final means that tonight we are woking to get ourselves in a good position to bring them back to the bridge and close the tie. To come back with a lead would be incredible and it isw more than possible. Reports on the Villa team are that they are hard working and will work for the 90 minutes to make things very hard for us. Like us they have quick wingers but hopefully we can have them more occupied by chasing back to stop our wingers from playing. The football that has been played by this team has been exceptional and i hope they get what they deserve and do go on to win the final and lift the trophy. Once again i think that if we McEachrean and Tore on top of their game then it will be very hard to Villa to stop us. So many things to look forward to and for me just watching this group of lads play is exciting. I am confident going into the game and i hope that my prediction of a 2 - 0 victory at Villa park will come true and a comfortable return leg can be played out at the bridge.

Sport.co.uk understands that Chelsea signed an agreement with Atletico Madrid in January which will see the Premier League club have first right of refusal on the signing of Argentine striker Sergio Aguero when the transfer window opens on July 1st. The 21-year-old attacker has been heavily courted across Europe in the last twelve months with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona all tipped to approach the Vicente Calderon hierarchy with lucrative offers. However, despite rival bids being prepared it has been made apparent to sport.co.uk that Chelsea stole a march on their competitors at the end of the last year by entering negotiations when the Premier League side faced off against Atletico in the Champions League. Chelsea have been linked with a host of top talents, but despite apparent interest in Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery and Valencia’s David Villa, it is the former Independiente man who has been pinpointed as the main target. Having seen UEFA imposed transfer sanctions overturned by CAS in January it is understood that Chelsea are ready to spend big this summer to secure their credentials as one of Europe’s top clubs. The son-in-law of national coach and football legend Diego Maradona, it is believed that a fee in excess of €40 million will be handed to Atletico. The figure would represent a €17 million profit for Los Colchoneros on the €23 million paid to Independiente in 2006 to secure the services of Aguero at the age of 17. It is believed that Carlo Ancelotti’s performance in his first season, which sees the Stamford Bridge side on the verge of an historic domestic double, has been enough to persuade Roman Abramovich to loosen the purse strings after a year of comparatively understated spending. The Russian oligarch is believed to have seen his wealth increase by 6 per cent in the last twelve months with his estimated value soaring by £400 million to £7.4 billion; a figure which, according to The Sunday Times sees him lying second in Britain’s Rich List. An insider close to negotiations between the two clubs told sport.co.uk that personal terms between Chelsea and Aguero were a formality and that it was just a case of the Blues matching Atletico’s asking price which they have been ensured will not be affected by the player’s performance at the World Cup this summer. Speaking last week about the potential challenges of life away from the Latin culture of both Spain and Argentina, Aguero told assembled media that he was inspired to test himself alongside Chelsea’s top stars following the success of compatriot Carlos Tevez in England. "Chelsea are a great club. They have become one of the most feared in Europe over recent years. "I look at players like Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard and they have been, and still are, the best players in their positions in the world. "I could really learn from players like that, there is no doubt." "London would be a really amazing city to live in as well, myself and my wife could be really happy there. "Carlos Tevez is doing really well at Manchester City but, for me, it is about joining a club who are ready to challenge for honours. City are not ready yet." "Inter are a great club, but it is agreed that, over the last five years, the Premier League has been the strongest," he concluded. It is expected that should Aguero complete the move to London he will most likely dovetail with current first choice pair Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka as he gets up to speed with life in the Premier League. The Argentine will fly to England this week ahead of Atletico Madrid’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Liverpool having missed the first leg with injury. Source: Sport.co.uk

I don't think he needs to be that pacy, depending on where they play him. His ball skills and intelligence more than make up for any lack of pace, much like Josh McEachran.

Link not working.. If it is as is being discussed above then it is a very clever move by the club, yes they more than likely want to give some good games in the UK to the fringe/young players before the squad fully come back for the pre season tour.

With Ballack, Deco and Belletti all more than likely leaving in the summer that leaves us with a very strong midfield 3 of Mikel, Essien and Lampard but noone else. Yes Matic and hopefully Cork and Kakuta (if Carlo sees Kakuta as a central creator rather than a winger) but i can't see us sticking with that, i would think we will see a central midfielder, probably with creativity, come in.

I think you have to give it to Kalou because he got 3 goals. Don't think he was the best player though, Drogba or Lamps i think for me running the show yesterday. But Kalou was certainly the man of the match.