So we have an extra game for pre-season. Thoughts? 

 

Abramovich instructed #Chelsea to play CSKA Moscow as favour to president Yevgeny Giner. #CFC also have 2 games in Austria, 3 in USA.

 

I wonder if the players will even get a rest from football post euros/copa america. a lot of football is having to be played after an already tough season. I know they're being paid obscene money to play football, but they're not machines and deserve at least a couple weeks rest. 

 

I like to think they have elite sports medicine staff, strength and conditioning staff, physios and more to manage and monitor these players, but when you look at their schedule it does look jam packed. You wonder if they really are doing what's best for the players.

I'd also expect that as they are fit and healthy young professional athletes who have access to all the very best health and medical support, they will not be affected by this. And I don't suppose many will play a lot over the 6 fixtures listed as there will be the legions of youth and loan players sharing the 90 minutes with the regular squad at this time. If anything, better they start the season at 95% rested rather than 100% rested and complete with a beer belly as appeared to be the case with a few players last season.

Few extra games for Conte to get a feel of the players and implement his tactics as well. Always a silver lining. 

Bit of extra work, whip them into shape! They dont deserve an easy pre-season.

fair enough, but they at least deserve some time to rest their bodies and spend time with family. 

fair enough, but they at least deserve some time to rest their bodies and spend time with family. 

They can accrue leave like the rest of us 

There'll be a bigger squad for friendlies than what we go into the season with. I wouldn't be shocked to see a fair bit of youth playing in the early games.

Bit of extra work, whip them into shape! They dont deserve an easy pre-season.

 

I agree, the players were in pre-season mode throughout all of last season anyway so they can't use tiredness as an excuse.

fair enough, but they at least deserve some time to rest their bodies and spend time with family. 

Have not they done enough of that this season on the pitch (resting of bodies)?

Oh dear, I'm still trying to get over last season, and next pre-season is already round the corner.

Everybody practicing their "Don't worry about those losses, it's only the pre-season"? :-)

This new account is quite the combination of brevity and sarcasm.

Just hope we take it more serious than last season. Looked like a lot of players were way off the pace last September.

Will be a disrupted start to pre season with players coming back at different times depending when they went out of either the Euros or Copa America. Will probably get 10-14 days break once they are released from their countries. I hope this isn't too much of a problem. Remember 2004 after the Euros in Portugal, in America the team that played Celtic was nothing to the team that started against United and we went on to win the league.

When do we start preparation for next season?

 

I know that first game is on 16th July but when is the official gathering and first training? 

When do we start preparation for next season?

 

I know that first game is on 16th July but when is the official gathering and first training? 

 

Well the final of the Euro's isn't until the 10th July so then at the earliest i would have thought as it looks a possibility our new manager might make it that far. 

 

I would assume the younger players who aren't on international duty and maybe some of the older ones such as Terry have already started with their fitness for the new season.

They'll be a fair amount of rotation, I hope we make a couple more signings before the sixteenth, it's not ideal introducing new players days in to the new season, I'm starting to worry about our transfer activities though if I'm honest, Witsel?

Anyone attending any of the games in the US?

 

I'm trying to arrange a work trip that could take me to Minneapolis the same time as we are set to play AC Milan there. 

 

Hope it works out.

The Real Madrid game has sold 100,000 tickets! Not bad for pre season!!

The Real Madrid game has sold 100,000 tickets! Not bad for pre season!!

 

Couple of years back, Chelsea player the Seattle Sounders at Century Link Field.  For home games the Sounders usually only open up the bottom tier of the stadium.  It sold out so quickly they had to open the top tier.  Can't remember the number but I think it was approx 65k that came to watch that game. Sturridge and Lampard the scorers.  Sounders had Freddie Ljundberg playing for them too...think I posted pics on this site somewhere.

 

http://www.soundersfc.com/matchday/2009/2009-07-18-SEA-v-Chelsea

100,000 tickets?! is that how much the stadium holds? 

I was trying to work out a trip to California to see them play Liverpool but sadly it's not gonna work out this year.

I really enjoyed seeing them play PSG last summer.

100,000 tickets?! is that how much the stadium holds? 

The stadium currently holds 107,601.

The U/21 game at cobham Jul 16 will be interesting as it will be used to watch all the loan players that haven't been sent back out on loan. This game could shape what happens for the coming season for a few players. 90 minutes to impress the new manager.