DENNIS KUTRIEB

➜ From the manager • 29.07.2023

Our last pre-season comes at last so welcome back to the fourth and final home friendly here at the Kuflink Stadium.

After entertaining West Ham United on Tuesday night, it’s a similar challenge with the visit of Chelsea’s U21s this afternoon. They have enjoyed a number of games against National League opposition this summer and I welcome Mark Robinson and all his backroom staff and squad today.

I was very pleased once again with the progress of our preparation and while we always say the final result does not matter so much in pre-season, you certainly can’t underestimate how much a win in any game benefits you as a player. So it was really good that the players found a way to win again on Tuesday after letting West Ham back into the game for their equaliser. We created good chances and we scored the winner right in the middle of that flurry of chances – always a good time to score when you’re on top to make the pressure count.

It was a high-quality game and a real exercise in possession football. They had long spells on the ball and made us chase, we had long periods and did the same to them so that is always really important for us as we go into the National League season next week.

West Ham will have many young players capable of going out on loan anywhere from League Two to Championship level so that combined with the collective performance and the high-intensity nature of the game was a good reward for all our work this month.

So on to today’s game. Pre-season has its place in our plans, it is vitally important to prepare but of course everyone wants to begin the real action by the time you get to the end of a month of warm-up games. We will be at that point on the final whistle this afternoon but before that we have more preparation and football to play.

Chelsea’s players are perhaps one or two years younger in many cases than West Ham’s but they finished third in their Premier League 2 campaign last season so I expect a similar type of game. They will know what National League opposition is about as well because of their pre-season games throughout this month.

Enjoy the game this afternoon and get behind us for the opener at Rochdale next week. It is always great to feature on TV and to showcase our club – so whether you are supporting from behind the screen on Saturday or in person with us, be proud of your club and your players because now we start a long campaign ahead and we will give you everything.

Club Links

There are a few links already in the Fleet squad with both Billy Clifford and Jack Wakely having played at youth level for Chelsea. Clifford spent 11 years in the Stamford Bridge youth ranks and was loaned out to Colchester United, Yeovil Town and Royal Antwerp in his time there. And despite only being 22, Wakely’s time with Chelsea numbered 12 years as he joined them at U9 level and spent three yars as a professional before signing for Wycombe Wanderers. Our two most famous Chelsea alumni, however, are Tommy Baldwin and Andy Wilson. Baldwin (below) won the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup with the Blues in the early Seventies before playing for the Fleet in 1976/77. And our first ever manager Wilson played 250 times between 1923 and 1931 for Chelsea, costing the Blues a then princely sum of £6,500.