Monday 14 May
Fulham broke their duck in play-off games and will contest the final after turning around a 0-1 deficit at a rocking Cottage. Tomas Kalas came on toward the end and Kasey Palmer made a substitute appearance for Derby as the home side won 2-0. Lucas Piazon stayed on the bench.
Note to Fulham fans: you need to change to the Circle for Baker’s Street. Wembley is half an hour up the Metropolitan Railway from there.
Fulham have not been to Wembley since 1975.
We try so hard not to be patronising but we don’t, always, succeed.
Tuesday 15 May
Bristol City 0:2 Chelsea
The women needed a point but sealed it with all three on a pleasant evening down in Bath. We have just clinched the league and cup double for the second time. It is a shame for Emma Hayes that she wasn’t there to celebrate but pregnancy comes first and her doctors advised against.
Bristol put up a decent fist of things and could have scored a couple themselves but, as in so many games, we took our chances well. The goals came from a belting header from Drew Spence and a late clincher from Jonna Andersson.
We can go the whole season unbeaten if we fail to lose at Liverpool on Sunday.
Aston Villa and John Terry will be back at Wembley to play Fulham after they overcame Middlesbrough. The only goal of the tie feels like weeks ago. Expect the Villans to grind out another stalemate at Wembley.
Mason Mount continued his rise and rise by scoring the opener for Vitesse as they won their first-leg against Utrecht. Second match is on Saturday.
Wednesday 16 May
Emma Hayes has won the League Managers Association & Manager-of-the-Year Award.
Eni Aluko, meanwhile, has called time on her Chelsea career a week too late for a home send off. She does have a chance to add to her tally of 46 goals for the club in her two spells, at Liverpool at the weekend.
Eni brought a huge presence on the pitch during her time with us and immense dignity to her role exposing racism and management incompetence at the FA.
Gareth Southgate named his squad for the coming embarrassment, um, sorry, World Cup. He made a bold selection of younger players but avoided picking anyone who can pass the ball.
Gary Cahill and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have both made the party, which is really swift progress for Ruben who has graduated from the Milk Cup in 2010 to the senior England World Cup squad in just eight years.
Gary is the senior member of the squad and the only player with more than 50 caps.
West Ham United have just proved that gratitude is in short supply by hiring David Moyes to keep the club in the Premier League and then sacking him almost as soon as he has fulfilled his side of the bargain.
Everton trumped them by sacking Sam Allardyce despite having awarded him a contract until June next year.
Both Everton and West Ham must imagine themselves very attractive catches to fling themselves on the managerial tinder (adult manager finder, perhaps) at the same time and with the same ruthlessly short-sighted attitude to managerial stability.
Europa League
Final tie
Marseille 0:3 Atletico Madrid
With the final held in Lyon, Marseille had a huge following in the 55,768 capacity Stade de Lyon. Unfortunately the French crowd grew steadily quieter as Antoine Griezmann scored two and Gabi slotted the other. Marseille lost the game and their captain, Dimitri Payet, to injury. Still old boys Diego Costa, Filipe Luis and Fernando Torres all received winners medals.
Finally today, Ray Wilson, left-back in 1966, died at the age of 83. Ray played for Everton and Huddersfield Town and was possibly the quietest and most unassuming of our World Cup winners. He will be missed.
Thursday 17 May
Emma Hayes delivered a healthy baby boy to go with the league and cup double she served up earlier in the week. It has been quite a memorable time for the new mum. She was originally with twins but one of them did not make it past the third trimester. Sad stuff happens but she does have the compensation of a new boy and being a mum.
Exeter City will be at Wembley for the League Two play-off final. They beat Lincoln City 3-1. The Grecians have been on a good run in recent years making the most of scant resources under Paul Tisdale since 2006.
Lincoln have had a very good first season back in the football league, beating our U23s in the Checkatrade trophy they went on to win and pressing for a second promotion in two seasons.
England U17 paid the price of only selecting one Chelsea player as they slumped out of the U17 Euros they are hosting on penalties to the Netherlands. Tino Anjorin represented us in a squad that didn’t seem gelled as a team especially in attack. Crowds for the tournament and the organisation have been good but, after winning the World Cup in India last year, big things were expected from a new generation of U17 players and they will feel bad about the way it ended.
Friday 18 May
Chelsea 1:4 Internazionale
Roberto Di Matteo opened the scoring but the elderly Blues were stuffed in front of a healthy 28,155. The match was dedicated to Ray Wilkins and despite the pasting, there was a happy atmosphere the day before the Cup Final.
More allegations of racism and dysfunction in Chelsea’s youth team back in the 1980s and 90s. Gwyn Williams and Graham Rix have been accused by eight different young players of using abusive language and bullying. The case of the black lads concerned has been bolstered by the testimony of two of the white trainees who have spoken out about what they saw.
Chelsea are looking at how they can support victims of abuse better and have asked Barnardo’s to oversee the investigations of the allegations of abuse which Rix and Williams deny.
Former Uefa president and France midfielder Michel Platini has admitted that the draw for the 1998 World Cup in France was rigged to engineer a France Brazil final. Those who have had suspicions over the success of the United States in 94 or South Korea in 2002 will be sharpening their conspiracies for years on this revelation.
Carlos Carvahal and Paul Lambert have been sacked by Swansea and Stoke City respectively. It is going to be a busy summer on the merry-go-round.
Tammy Abraham, Jay Dasilva, Fikayo Tomori and Jake Clarke-Salter have all been called up for the England U21 squad for the Toulon tournament.
QPHa think Steve McClaren is the answer to their struggles and have appointed to replace Ian Holloway.
Saturday 19 May
FA Cup
Final tie
Chelsea 1:0 Manchester United
Jose looked really pissed off as he shook everyone’s hand at the final whistle. The truth, he tried to cover up with talk of the better side losing, was that they created two meaningful chances in the match and missed a free header that could have taken us to extra-time.
As it was Eden Hazard won and converted the penalty that won our eighth FA Cup, a total that takes us clear in third place in overall winners of the cup. No history, apparently.
It was difficult to watch the first-half, not because the football was all that bad but because the sun slanted straight into the faces of the Chelsea fans. Despite the glare it was clear that Phil Jones clattered Eden Hazard to concede the penalty, he denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity but only received yellow. The bleating Chelsea haters employed by the BBC agreed that Jones was making a genuine attempt to get the ball and that yellow was enough. But if you look at it clearly, as the VAR is duty bound to do, it is clear that Jones has been beaten as is struggling more to bring down the man.
The genuine attempt clause will be used to let off Manchester United players and send off Chelsea players, just you wait and see.
It was fitting that Jackie Wilkins presented the cup at the end to a delighted Gary Cahill. He has lifted a few with John Terry before now but this was the first after Terry left last summer.
The party for our first FA Cup in 27-years back in 1997 was the longest in living memory. Beating Mourinho at his own game was almost as satisfying but when you have so many winner’s medals perhaps just one extra beer before an early night.
Antonio Conte looked a beaten man still at the final whistle. He has managed two trophies in consecutive years but will probably be sacked before this reaches the newsstands.
Mason Mount and goal-scorer Matt Miazga both starred for Vitesse against as they beat Utrecht 1-2 to progress to the Uefa Cup next season 5-3 on aggregate.
Yes, we call it the Uefa Cup when Chelsea are in the competition and give it the plastic marketing name “Europa League” when we are not. It is childish, we know.
Sunday 20 May
Liverpool 2:3 Chelsea
The women are invincible as they finished a season without defeat. Although at 2-0 down it looked shaky only for Ji So-Yun and Eni Aluko to prod in the goals we needed to finish unbeaten champions and scorers of 100 goals in all competitions.
It was Eni’s 47th goal and her last for Chelsea as she, Claire Rafferty and Katie Chapman all bowed out after this match.
Dejan Redan skippered the Netherlands to a penalty shootout victory over Italy in the U17 Euros. The Dutch won three shootouts on their way to the crown, including knocking out hosts England, but Italy really played their part and at 2-1 up with moments to play looked to have won the tournament with two really well hit goals… Sadly for them though the Netherlands haven’t missed from the spot this week and it told at the end.
