That’s a shame, was always solid when she played it just obviously wasn’t enough for her. Good signing for Villa!

I saw her farewell post yesterday and was a bit surprised. Good luck to her.

BTW Sam is back.

Have drawn Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Will be at home and the game will be played on 21 or 22 February. Hopefully the 22nd as the men are at home on the 21st.

Chelsea discover FA Cup fifth round opponents

Chelsea have been drawn at home to Manchester United in the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup.

Sonia Bompastor’s side made an impressive start to the defence of the trophy we lifted last May, defeating Crystal Palace 5-0 on Saturday.

Blues skipper Millie Bright opened the scoring before Sam Kerr struck and Guro Reiten converted a penalty during an impressive opening 45 minutes.

Kerr netted again in the second period and a goal from Alyssa Thompson rounded off our win.

That victory ensured our place in the fifth-round draw, which took place this evening, and the Blues will host Women's Super League side Manchester United.

Fifth-round fixtures will be played around the weekend of Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February 2026. Full ticket information will follow in due course.

Hopefully the 22nd because I’ll have to work on the 21st!

Yet another example of fixture overload. All part of the battle over who controls football and f**k all consideration given to fans and players.

BBC Sport

Women's Club World Cup: WSL against potentially 'catastro...

English players and officials are shocked by the current scheduling for the inaugural Women's Club World Cup because of the impact it could have on the WSL.

The scheduling of the proposed Fifa Women's Club World Cup has been called potentially "catastrophic" by the Women's Super League (WSL).

World governing body Fifa has announced the inaugural global competition, designed to echo the revamped men's Club World Cup, will take place from 5 to 30 January 2028.

That would be in the middle of the 2027-28 WSL season, with other European domestic leagues sharing their concerns.

The competition would feature 16 teams from around the world, including up to six European clubs. From England, this would include current Champions League holders Arsenal, and potentially Chelsea based on current co-efficients.

"This is a scheduling issue rather than a strategic one. The timing is what causes us real concerns," a WSL spokesperson said.

"We are not saying we do not want Fifa to bring in new competitions. We are fully on board with a strategy to help the women's game grow globally.

"At best it will cause us real scheduling issues; at worst it is going to be catastrophic for the game in this country, our commercial programme and more importantly the welfare of our players."

It is the second new mid-season women's competition to be introduced by Fifa in recent years.

The inaugural Champions Cup – featuring continental champions from around the world, including Arsenal – will take place next week in London, between 28 January and 1 February.

WSL officials say the planned Club World Cup would result in up to five WSL match weeks being rescheduled, leading to a potential fixture backlog and an impact on player fitness.

They say they have written to Fifa with their concerns and will meet with global officials in London during the Champions Cup to discuss the issue.

BBC Sport has been told the WSL would rather the tournament is played in the summer during a fallow year with no other major global competitions, rather than disrupting the domestic schedule.

The BBC also understands the planned schedule was presented at a WSL meeting with club captains on Monday, with players "shocked" by how busy the calendar could get.

The fact that the Club World Cup is scheduled for between the 2027 Women's World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics is also a concern.

"There are no gaps," a WSL spokesperson said. "If the tournament is in a different time zone, with the rest and recovery needed, it could lead to rearrangement of a lot of fixtures.

"We know Arsenal will participate and Chelsea are likely to participate as well. It would be great for our clubs but their fixtures would probably have to move to midweek slots which are less attractive to fans. It is delicate timing."

The WSL is now considering its options, although asking English teams to boycott the competition is not currently on the table.

One option being considered is moving the WSL winter break – which usually takes place over Christmas and New Year – so it covers the Club World Cup in the 2027-28 season.

Two huge Chelsea Women matches set for Stamford Bridge —...

Stamford Bridge is gearing up for two season-defining fixtures when Chelsea Women return to SW6 for a blockbuster WSL showdown and a crucial UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final. Fans will have their first chance to secure seats when tickets go on sale at 10 am on Friday (23 January), and will be able to access early-bird pricing for a limited time.

In the Champions League, Chelsea will face either London rivals Arsenal or Belgian-based OH Leuven on the 31 March/2 April*. The confirmed opponent will be announced once the play-off round concludes on 18 February.

In the second major clash, Chelsea take on Manchester United in the final WSL match of the season on 16 May*. The Blues, aiming to become champions for a seventh consecutive year, currently sit in second place in the league table and history tells us the WSL title race frequently goes down to the wire.

*Date and time to be confirmed

Sales phases and pricing

Supporters can take advantage of early-bird pricing until Friday 30 January at 9am, with adult tickets starting from £15 during the first week of sales.

Each supporter will be able to purchase up to 20 tickets for the match.

Full ticket pricing can be found here, please note the Champions League quarter-final game will be classified as Category B.

Hospitality

For fans looking to elevate their matchday experience, Club Chelsea hospitality packages will be available to purchase from 10am on Friday 23. From premium seating to a bottomless food and drink experience, you can make your trip to the Bridge extra-special and enjoy an unforgettable matchday.

In-seat drinking

As at other WSL games at Stamford Bridge this season and as part of the WSL Fan Choice Pilot, at the Manchester United game alcoholic beverages can consumed responsibly in all areas of the stadium except our dedicated East Lower Family Stand.

Application process for supporters with access needs

Supporters who require accessible tickets can submit an application form found here during the selling period. Alternatively, supporters if they are able to do so, can call our Access Team on 0371 811 2012 or 0044 207 915 1950 (international callers) to reserve tickets and request further information. Personal assistant tickets can only be allocated using this process.

Interesting. Paul has done a lot of the years to develop the women's team. Will the board install their yes men as sporting directors?

Club statement: Paul Green leaves Chelsea

Chelsea Women can confirm that Paul Green has left his role as Head of Women’s Football.

Paul has spent 13 years at the club, having joined in 2013 during the formative stages of Chelsea Women.

During that time, he played a significant role in the development and growth of the women’s programme, contributing to the establishment of strong foundations and the evolution of Chelsea Women into one of the leading teams in the domestic and European game.

His commitment, experience and professionalism have been valued across the club, and his work has helped support a sustained period of success and progress for Chelsea Women during which we won 19 trophies.

The Club would like to thank Paul for his dedication and service over more than a decade and wishes him well for the future.

Bang on there @Boyne I’m quite surprised Paul lasted there under those lot for this long! Honestly feel he was a big part of the recent success over the years and was hoping he wouldn’t be going when Emma did!

I knew it wouldn’t be long until the clowns started tinkering with the women’s side of it too!

Apparently there is an article coming soon in The Athletic telling more about this story.

And it sounds like the SD's are at the heart of this departure.

Another one of the old regime seemingly pushed out the door.

The worst part about it is confirming BlueCo's overarching interference with the women's team. I had naively hoped that, having sold the Womens' to other investors, it would be spared the BlueCo treatment.

Winstanley and Stewart are barely competent when it comes to the men's game, they should not be allowed anywhere near the womens.

Madness. Paul is very highly thought of amongst the fan base so this isn’t going to go down well at all. Probably goes some way to explaining the downfall of the women’s team in the league this year - the blueco virus is spreading.

50 minutes ago, Munkunku said:

Madness. Paul is very highly thought of amongst the fan base so this isn’t going to go down well at all. Probably goes some way to explaining the downfall of the women’s team in the league this year - the blueco virus is spreading.

I would imagine some of players ain’t too chuffed either.

Noticed this the other day on the Chelsea Women's X page. Can't see anything about it on the Club's website or on its Facebook page. I wonder if it was a factor in Paul Green leaving the club. I have no idea about who the person is. Probably because I know f**k all about basketball.

BBC Sport

Giannis Antetokounmpo: NBA star buys stake in Chelsea Women

NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo says he has become part of Chelsea Women's ownership group.

2 hours ago, Munkunku said:

Madness. Paul is very highly thought of amongst the fan base so this isn’t going to go down well at all. Probably goes some way to explaining the downfall of the women’s team in the league this year - the blueco virus is spreading.

I'll be at Kingsmeadow on Sunday for the game against Liverpool. Will ask those me what they think. I'll have a look on the Chelsea Women's Supporters Group Facebook later and look at some of the comments there and post a few later. I suspect that like on here Paul's leaving won't have gone down too well.

Another example of Blueco ripping the soul out of the club.

So am reading Mr Green has left the Chelsea women and sources in the women's camp have issues with how to womens side is being run.

Anyone who follthem closely know anyhow about this?

5 hours ago, axman2526 said:

So am reading Mr Green has left the Chelsea women and sources in the women's camp have issues with how to womens side is being run.

Anyone who follthem closely know anyhow about this?

According to two sources, Paul Winstanley has expressed a desire to increase the number of player sales from Chelsea Women’s ranks. In January, Chelsea sold Oriane Jean-François to Aston Villa for a club-record fee of approximately £450,000 ($536,000). Another area of focus for Winstanley, according to sources familiar with the club, is women’s football’s culture of issuing short-term contracts, voicing concerns over financial benefit of doing so. While some of Winstanley’s suggestions have been welcomed, other sources claim a lack of experience and knowledge in women’s football is muddling operations and leading to poor decision-making.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7034334/2026/02/10/chelsea-women-paul-green-crisis/

My guess is there are no loopholes to be exploited in the men’s game, and the authorities are on our case. They are struggling to grow the brand, without a new stadium we are falling behind the top teams, and your Spurs and Newcastle are closing the gap. Their stance on the FOS sponsorship doesn’t help, we miss out on Top 5 and we are royally screwed. PSR has now shifted to squad costs as a % of revenue, 80% for PL and 70% for CL teams I think. Presently our wages are £168m, amortisation has blown past £200m annually and I think revenue is £468m.

20 hours ago, Boyne said:

Noticed this the other day on the Chelsea Women's X page. Can't see anything about it on the Club's website or on its Facebook page. I wonder if it was a factor in Paul Green leaving the club. I have no idea about who the person is. Probably because I know f**k all about basketball.

BBC Sport

Giannis Antetokounmpo: NBA star buys stake in Chelsea Women

NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo says he has become part of Chelsea Women's ownership group.

The women’s game is to an extent the Wild West regulations wise compared to the men’s. They valued it at £200m when they sold it to Blue Co a sister company for PSR reasons, which mind you is a ridiculous valuation which was 20x multiples of revenue. Men’s teams are usually valued at around 5x revenue. They then brought onboard Serena’s husband as an investor, and now Giannis. They reckon in 10yrs the women’s team might be worth £1b. I casually follow the women’s team, and found it odd the high rate of turnover in the team. We went from spending £175k per year on players under Roman to £1.9m under these guys. Looks good on paper because you think they are strengthening the team, but you look at their buys and it’s now mainly 19-21yr olds. Like the Athletic article alluded to, seems they are trying to replicate their men’s model on the ladies team. The big problem is clubs aren’t flushed with cash for transfers. Just waiting on them to buy a sister club in Malmo, but guess they have the Strasbourg Ladies team.

23 hours ago, Boyne said:

I'll be at Kingsmeadow on Sunday for the game against Liverpool. Will ask those me what they think. I'll have a look on the Chelsea Women's Supporters Group Facebook later and look at some of the comments there and post a few later. I suspect that like on here Paul's leaving won't have gone down too well.

Another example of Blueco ripping the soul out of the club.

The players that pre-date BlueCo:

• Millie Bright (2014)

• Niamh Charles (2020)

• Erin Cuthbert (2016)

• Guro Reiten (2019)

• Lauren James (2021)

• Sam Kerr (2019)

• Aggie Beever-Jones (2021)

Let's see how many of them are still here in a couple of years time ... I'm expecting "not many" ...

The following has been posted on the Chelsea Women's Supporters Group Facebook page. I hope to be at Kingsmeadow in time. Will report back. I don't have a lot of green clothes - probably due to my love of Rangers - and the only two green shirts I have are to do with the Gurkhas.

"UNHAPPY WITH THIS WEEKS EVENTS ?

There has been a lot of talk about people objecting to the treatment of Paul Green this week and the general moves by people at the club to fix things that aren't broken or at least haven't been up until now.

If you want to make your feelings known there will be a group of people gathering before the game on Sunday.

11:15 opposite the ticket office at KIngsmeadow (see photo below)

Bring placards if you like but don't expect to be able to bring them into the ground.

There will also be a chant of " There's only one Paul Green " and applause on the 13th minute of the game.

We are encouraging people to wear green instead of blue as well at the game to make a point.

WEAR GREEN AND MAKE OURSELVES SEEN !

KTBFFH"

Then buy something green @Boyne !

1 minute ago, Valerie said:

Then buy something green @Boyne !

I might treat myself to a Celtic shirt. Will be disowned by members of my family though!

20 hours ago, Boyne said:

I might treat myself to a Celtic shirt. Will be disowned by members of my family though!

I noticed yesterday Newcastle's away (or third?) kit is green, you could buy that.

I have the luminous green third kit from decades ago in the loft somewhere. May even have one still in the original packaging! Terrible fan though, I left the country for yesterdays game & agreed to work for my friend the Sunday after!

12 minutes ago, Munkunku said:

I have the luminous green third kit from decades ago in the loft somewhere. May even have one still in the original packaging! Terrible fan though, I left the country for yesterdays game & agreed to work for my friend the Sunday after!

A woman I used to work with and is a Liverpool fan did a sponsored run. I said that I would double my donation if she wore a Chelsea shirt. Fair play to her she did and she borrowed the luminous green from her father. Problem was Mel was about five feet tall and her dad was a lot taller than her and the shirt was down to her knees.