Posts Tagged ‘pre-season’

Chelsea TV To Show Asia Trophy and Rangers Friendly During Pre-Season

Chelsea finish their pre-season at Ibrox

Pre-season training begins this week as Andre Villas Boas analyses his squad and plans for the new season.

The club’s first official pre-season match will be against Portsmouth FC at Fratton Park on the 16th of July with the club then going on a tour of South East Asia taking part in the Asia Trophy at the end of July.

The final game of the pre-season will be on the 6th of August against Glasgow Rangers.

This will be a tie that both sets of supporters will be looking forward to given the mutual respect and bond that fans have with this club.

 In days gone by these fixtures would have been played with little fanfare with a few thousand hardy spectators seeing the team in action.

Pre-Season On ChelseaTV

However these games have become big business and an opportunity for the club’s global fan base to see the team play from their local stadium as the team tour various continents looking to develop a global appeal.

The coverage on ChelseaTV and advent live internet streaming also mean that even arm chair fans needn’t miss a minute of our pre-season training.

Pre-Season Schedule

Therefore make sure you don’t miss a minute of the action this pre-season

Importance of Local Pre-Season Fixtures Underlined as Fans Revel in Carnival Atmosphere

For the second successive season, Chelsea scheduled at least one pre-season friendly, away from home against Championship opposition.

These games against Reading in 2009 and Crystal Palace this season took place relatively close to Stamford Bridge and attracted thousands of Chelsea fans eager for a return to any football after a summer without domestic football.

These normally low-key affairs have been transformed by the abnormally large turn out from the Chelsea faithful, singing loudly and with a veracity that belies the occasion, these games have taken on a carnival atmosphere.

This is increased by the fact that unlike most games during the season; almost any fan can get a ticket as demand from opposition fans is nowhere near enough to fill the ground.
Also unlike the games held overseas or during the season, these games are priced at under half the price of a normal CFC match ticket, meaning that families and those priced out of Stamford Bridge can afford a Chelsea day out.

Crystal Palaces are one of the teams that have been struggling financially recently, going into administration within the last 12 months this fixture against Chelsea attracted over 21,000 fans in a major cash life raft for the Championship side.

With these factors in mind I hope that next year without the shadow of a World Cup affecting the fixture planning, the club will merge the needs of the commercially driven overseas tour with the gesture of a local pre-season friendly that benefits Chelsea fans and the host club alike.