General Chelsea Stuff

[Vesper 27,317]

4 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Chelsea has 5th TV revenues.

 

 

Facility fees kept us from being a clear third, as we had less live matches

Edited September 22, 2022 by Vesper

[ZAPHOD2319 3,873]

Eva sighting

 

[ZAPHOD2319 3,873]

Team photo

 

[ZAPHOD2319 3,873]

Dear God NOOOO, it is a curse!

 

 

[Blue Armour 4,165]

9 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Dear God NOOOO, it is a curse!

 

 

Not a big fan of these. Why would any manager want their secrets and pep talks laid out in the open. 

Didn't seem to harm Pep or Arteta though. So who knows.

[Vesper 27,317]

Chelsea’s youth cup exit means men’s trophy hunt is over before January ends

https://theathletic.com/4129388/2023/01/27/Chelsea-cups-youth-team/

You have to go back to the 1989-90 season for the last time Chelsea found themselves in such a predicament.

For more than 30 years, at least one of the male senior or under-18s teams have made it through to February in the FA Cup, League Cup or FA Youth Cup. But when referee Abigail Byrne blew the final whistle at Cambridge United’s Abbey Stadium on Thursday night, that streak was over.

Shock and despair. That was the clear emotion Chelsea Under-18s felt as the FA Youth Cup tie came to an end. Some of the players collapsed to the turf, others made their way towards the tunnel with stunned looks on their faces. They had no idea about the club losing such a record, it was bad enough for them to be going out of the competition.

The FA Youth Cup was Chelsea’s last hope of lifting a trophy in one of the three male domestic cup competitions this season.

Graham Potter’s senior side were knocked out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup at the first hurdle, both by Manchester City, in November and on January 8 respectively. Neither defeat came as much of a surprise because both matches came at the home of the back-to-back Premier League champions and Chelsea went into each one in poor form.

But losing to Cambridge in the FA Youth Cup fourth round? Not many saw this coming, including the 1,051 people packed into the main stand of the Abbey Stadium.

Cambridge’s first team are in a battle to avoid relegation from League One, the third tier of English football. The club’s academy setup is rated Category 3 — which is some achievement for a club of their size, and the finances and coaching resources available are dwarfed by those of visitors Chelsea, who are Category 1 and have a rich history in the tournament.

Chelsea have won the FA Youth Cup on nine occasions, including seven times since 2010 and a run of five in a row starting in 2014. They have not claimed it for five successive years now but did reach the final in 2020 and the semis last year.

There was hope, rather than expectation, among the Cambridge contingent before kick-off last night. The home side had set a club record by getting to the fifth round — the last 16, only losing to eventual runners-up Nottingham Forest on penalties — last season, but emulating that feat by defeating Chelsea? Surely too much to ask.

Sitting in the stand was former Cambridge goalkeeper Chris Bryant, who played against Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup twice in the early 1960s. He proudly brought out a copy of the matchday programme from the time he was on the receiving end of a 3-0 loss against the west Londoners in 1962. In the Chelsea side that day were two lads named Ron Harris and John Hollins.

The former went on to set the record for most appearances in the Chelsea senior team (795), while the latter represented Chelsea 592 times over two spells lasting a combined 13 years and then was manager between 1985-88. Both were in the Chelsea sides that won the League Cup (1965), FA Cup (1970) and European Cup Winners’ Cup (1971).

“It’s really special to be here to see this,” Bryant told The Athletic. “It brings back memories for me. I’ve kept this programme all these years. We couldn’t get near Chelsea when we played them. They were too good. It’s a different story tonight, though!”

And he walked off with a satisfied look on his face.

No doubt Bryant would have approved at seeing Cambridge goalkeeper Tom Finch tipping a Tudor Mendel-Idowu shot wide inside the first minute of action. Chelsea started confidently, ignoring the cheeky chanting sung by a group of players from Cambridge’s younger age groups in the left corner of the stand. “Who are ya?!”, they jeered every time a pass from the visitors went astray.

Chelsea’s under-18s coach Ed Brand looked tense on the sidelines as his players struggled to keep possession. There were five 16-year-olds in his line-up and as the pressure mounted, they looked raw.

The more experienced Lewis Hall, who has started the past three Premier League games for Potter but at 18 is eligible for this competition, wasn’t included because he is now considered to be a first-team player. He would have made a difference, but obviously, Chelsea prefer for him to carry on his development at the highest level as they look to produce another talent for the future.

One of those is their captain for the night, Leo Castledine. A chance to give Chelsea the lead came his way after Finch palmed out a dangerous cross by Donnell McNeilly, but he shot wide.

Cambridge grew in self-belief the longer it stayed goalless and in the 32nd minute, they took the lead. Their captain, Jaydyn Lott, climbed superbly at a corner to power a header home. Ronan Ismaili was then denied a second by the post.

The second half brought more frustration for the visitors.

One of Brand’s assistants is Chelsea academy graduate Jimmy Smith, and at one point he shouted at skipper Castledine in anguish. Finch made a couple of fine stops and was relieved when Castledine and Mendel-Idowu got in each other’s way when a cross found both of them unmarked in the area.

Tottenham great and former Chelsea and England player and manager Glenn Hoddle was in the crowd, proudly watching nephew George making life difficult for Chelsea’s youngsters. Arsenal Under-18s coach Jack Wilshere was here, too, ahead of their trip to Cobham next month.

Brand was more concerned with what was going on out on the pitch rather than who was sitting in the stand behind him.

As the clock wound down and he saw a pass go straight out of play, he put a hand to his head in disbelief, then quickly applauded some encouragement.

The sign for six minutes of added time was greeted with predictable groans from the Cambridge contingent, but they did not need to worry. Chelsea failed to test Finch again and the home celebrations began.

Bryant headed for home with a big, satisfied smile on his face and one veteran steward was heard saying: “This is the best Cambridge United academy team I’ve seen in all my years watching them.”

As for Chelsea, they still have hopes the Under-21s can bring some silverware by staying top of Premier League 2. Yet they have to now wrestle with the reality that their participation in the three most respected domestic male cup competitions is over before the January transfer window has shut.

It will now be left to Emma Hayes’ team to deliver senior success — they are second in the Women’s Super League as they look to win the title for a fourth successive season, and are still in three cup competitions at home and abroad.

[ZAPHOD2319 3,873]

Wrexham vs Chelsea friendly.

 

[Vesper 27,317]

11 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Wrexham vs Chelsea friendly.

 

Hollywood Poundland Classico

lololol

[Vegetable 788]

I was wondering if any official gesture towards fans given the current situation will be made and I guess this is it. 

I understand this is largely symbolic, but still welcomed gesture.

[Vesper 27,317]

Chelsea to host Open Iftar at Stamford Bridge

https://theathletic.com/4305928/2023/03/14/Chelsea-iftar-stamford-bridge/

Chelsea have announced plans to host an Open Iftar at Stamford Bridge in partnership with the Ramadan Tent project.

Part of Ramadan, an important month of the Islamic calendar where Muslims worldwide engage in fasting, prayer, and reflection, Iftar is when those practising break their fasts during the evening and come together to pray.

Chelsea will host their Open Iftar at the side of their pitch on March 26, during the upcoming international break, in a first for a Premier League stadium.

“Ramadan is not a strict thing, it is open,” Chelsea defender and practising Muslim Kalidou Koulibaly said.

“In the night, everybody is happy to be together and everybody is happy to eat together.

“It can be a big community and this is the beautiful part of Ramadan.”

GO DEEPER

Being a footballer during Ramadan

Wesley Fofana, who joined Chelsea from Leicester City last summer, is also a Muslim and spoke about what the holy month means to him.

He said: “When it is Ramadan, you must be together with your friends.

“I have friends that are not Muslim, but they still come and eat and stay the night with me.

“We stay together and it is beautiful.”

The Ramadan Tent Project is a charity that was set up in 2013, that aims to bring communities together and spread the spirit of Ramadan through various initiatives.

GO DEEPER

Manchester City like Ben Chilwell and need a left-back – Chelsea must keep him

[MoroccanBlue 5,199]

2 hours ago, Vesper said:

Chelsea to host Open Iftar at Stamford Bridge

https://theathletic.com/4305928/2023/03/14/Chelsea-iftar-stamford-bridge/

Chelsea have announced plans to host an Open Iftar at Stamford Bridge in partnership with the Ramadan Tent project.

Part of Ramadan, an important month of the Islamic calendar where Muslims worldwide engage in fasting, prayer, and reflection, Iftar is when those practising break their fasts during the evening and come together to pray.

Chelsea will host their Open Iftar at the side of their pitch on March 26, during the upcoming international break, in a first for a Premier League stadium.

“Ramadan is not a strict thing, it is open,” Chelsea defender and practising Muslim Kalidou Koulibaly said.

“In the night, everybody is happy to be together and everybody is happy to eat together.

“It can be a big community and this is the beautiful part of Ramadan.”

GO DEEPER

Being a footballer during Ramadan

Wesley Fofana, who joined Chelsea from Leicester City last summer, is also a Muslim and spoke about what the holy month means to him.

He said: “When it is Ramadan, you must be together with your friends.

“I have friends that are not Muslim, but they still come and eat and stay the night with me.

“We stay together and it is beautiful.”

The Ramadan Tent Project is a charity that was set up in 2013, that aims to bring communities together and spread the spirit of Ramadan through various initiatives.

GO DEEPER

Manchester City like Ben Chilwell and need a left-back – Chelsea must keep him

That's awesome. 

[TheHulk 1,395]

 

[NikkiCFC 7,582]

We can easily get this money with sales. 

[Gundalf 726]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

We can easily get this money with sales. 

But with no new additions? 

[NikkiCFC 7,582]

8 hours ago, Gundalf said:

But with no new additions? 

Unlikely. I expect us to get around 250m this summer in sales. 

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

22 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

Unlikely. I expect us to get around 250m this summer in sales. 

£250m? I think it will be a lot less.

The prices we want for some of these players are so unrealistic. £70m for Mount with 1 year left on his deal. Between £45-50m for Gallagher apparently.

I have a feeling some clubs will wait until the end of the window and get players for cheaper off us because they will know we have to sell. If it were happening at an another club, that would certainly be my tactic, go late and get them cheaper. Even then clubs also will know we have 30 odd players, we cannot register them all, so yeah I don’t think our position is going to be as strong as people may think. 

I also think anyone expecting another £200-300m spending spree will be shocked. Id be surprised if we spend £100m on top of the Nkunku deal this summer. If we sell a good amount, maybe more but I am skeptical.

[Rick94 2]

What do you think our best formation would be ? I think

4-3-3 formation proven not good for us. 3-4-2-1 formation should be our best. Badiashile Silva Fofana - Chilwell Enzo Kante James - Mudryk Madueke - Havertz... Calobahcan play when James is injured also we can try Datro istead of Havertz at the attack... When Kante goes we can try Chukwu

[Special Juan 27,103]

Season ticket prices frozen for next season, apparently based on the poor season we have just witnessed. 

Should of been fucking free based on that