Stories > CM Schoolboys > Part One

The curtain raiser for the new season - the Community Shield - also proved to be an eyebrow raiser for me as manager of Chelsea. Despite my young team putting in a reasonable account of themselves, they were defensively weak against the stars of Manchester United, who ran out with a comfortable 2-0 victory.

Determined not to be too downbeat ahead of the new season, good news followed with the arrival of the talented Bojan from Barcelona for 7.7 million pounds. Whilst he is quite the talent, he’s not fully match fit and will not be in the starting line up for our daunting trip to St. James’ Park.

The match itself was a rollercoaster of emotions. Having been in the lead through Armand Traore, we then had Javi Martinez sent off for two bookable offences and then proceeded to concede two goals in the final fifteen minutes - losing the game 2-1.

However, we didn’t have to wait too long for our first victory of the season, which came in the following game. A 2-1 home victory over Bolton, which saw 16 year old Victor Moses score a goal and put in a man on the match display.

September:

As the month begins, there is a knock at my office door. Sukuta-Pasu is feeling homesick and would like some guidance from his manager. He seems less than happy when I tell him to buckle down and that he’ll get over it. But my tough love act seemed to have the desired affect, as he bags a brace in a 3-2 victory over Fulham.

A decent start to the month came to an abrupt holt with losses against both West Ham and league leaders, Manchester City. This was followed by a home Champions League defeat to Dinamo and being knocked out of the League Cup by Manchester United.

The team has struggled for consistency, which is to be expected when we have such young players in the squad. However, I’m doubtful the board will feel the same. The month ended with Craig Lindfield putting in a man of the match display and grabbing two goals in a 2-0 home victory over Reading.

October:

It was always going to be a test of character for my young players, an away game against Olympiakos in the hostile Karaiskaki Stadium. However, they passed the test, earning a credible 1-1 draw and were unlucky not to come away with all three points.

A potentially tricky away match against Everton was turned on it’s head, as Craig Lindfield bags four goals, helping us to a 4-2 victory.

The players stayed up in Merseyside after the victory, knowing that we had Liverpool to play three days later. The match saw us well and truly banish our away day blues as we run riot, winning 3-0.

Champions League qualification also now appears to be back on the agenda, following a 3-0 home victory over Sevilla, with Bojan bagging a brace. What should have been a great month, turned a little sour towards the end, with a disappointing 0-0 draw with Birmingham, followed by a 1-0 defeat away at Portsmouth.

Craig Lindfield is already looking like a quality striker and has firmly established himself as the first choice up front. He is currently the top goal scorer in the division, with nine goals in eight games.

November:

The London derby against Spurs at White Hart Lane was a typically fiery encounter - a mixed bag for us, but we got the right result. Despite having Traore and Rajkovic sent off, we held on to win a thrilling game 3-2, to the delight of the on looking Ambramovich.



The euphoria surrounding this win was short lived, due to the news that Martinez had picked up a hamstring strain and would be out for two weeks. Things got even worse with a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Sevilla in Spain, denting our Champions League qualification hopes.

The following league games saw Patrick van Aanholt and Jeffrey Bruma make their debuts, due to suspensions. A convincing 1-0 victory against Middlesbrough was followed by a disappointing 0-0 draw with Derby. Which saw us end the month in fifth place.

Discontent amongst the reserve players is growing by the week, leading to a bad atmosphere around the club. Mr. Abramovich’s solution has been to transfer list the man he considers to be the main trouble causer, Drogba.

Champions League qualification was hanging by a thread and the match against Dinamo was a must win. It was a match in which my boys became men as they thumped the Romanian outfit 3-0, to give us a good chance of progressing through to the knock out rounds.

December:

December started promisingly, as we completed a resounding 2-1 victory at home to Blackburn. A result that perhaps flattered the visitors. This result was tempered though, by the horrific injury suffered by Rodney Sneijder in training the following day. Physio Dave Hancock reports that he could be out for up to a year, after fracturing his tibia and fibula.

We suffered our first home league defeat of the season to bitter rivals Arsenal. An undeserved 2-0 defeat, where my players were made to pay for their inability to convert chances. It made a lot of the youngsters in the team realise that they still have a long way to go before they can compete with the best in the division

Following this defeat it was imperative that we bounced back in our make or break Champions League match at home to Olympiakos. Having gone from loosing 1-0, to leading 2-1, we were left heartbroken as an injury time goal from Kovacevic sealed a 2-2 draw. Some of the players were close to tears as the Olympiakos players celebrated wildly with their fans after condemning us to UEFA Cup football.

Three days after this shattering defeat, the last thing we wanted was to be playing the reigning champions, Manchester United. My players put up a spirited resistance, but eventually went down 2-1, courtesy of a dubious Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.

Despite goals form Vela and Moses, a 2-2 draw away at Wigan saw us slip to eighth in the table. Our baron run of five games without a win came to an end as Craig Lindfield bagged a hat trick in a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa.

It proved to be a good end to the year, but my inexperienced squad had struggled during the busy Christmas period and lost a lot of ground on the leading pack.


 

Part Two >>