Chelsea Daft: By the Fans, for the Fans

Chelsea Daft Logo

What is Chelsea Daft? Only one of the most passionate soccer bogs for the Chelsea Football Club, of course! Coming from a sports-centered university like Duke, being a passionate fan is something that’s easy to understand. Everyone is familiar with the feeling that their team can do no wrong. Luckily for everyone (soccer fans and non-fans alike), Chelsea Daft has taken this feeling and put it into a blog. Chelsea Daft advertises itself as a Chelsea Fan’s Blog for Chelsea Fans. Since its inception in March 2009, Chelsea Daft has been growing in popularity. According to the site’s most recent statistics, it has now hit over 29 million views, averaging about 1.5 million views per month.

Chelsea photo

In the photo above, Chelsea players celebrate after a 2014 victory, photo courtesy of CNN.

What sort of a blog is it? If you’re looking for an unbiased opinion, I’ll admit, this might not be the right site for you. The author himself admits that the blog is a way for him to share his “rose colored” view of his favorite team. However, if you are a Chelsea fan, there’s no better place to look.

So what kind of a person would be interested in Chelsea Daft? Well, if you don’t know very much about soccer, this probably would not be a very good fit. There is an inherent assumption, made by the Chelsea fan who writes the blog, that his readers will already be soccer fans, if not Chelsea fans. That means that if you’re not already up on the most basic information about  Chelsea, players, plans, and news, this blog will be going a bit over your head. However, if you have a basic knowledge of the sport and Chelsea, the blog is definitely worth a read.  Its language is simple, breaking down otherwise complicated topics for the average reader. As an example, I would point out the article, “Chelsea’s Youth Stockpiling: Is the club’s academy being used for financial purposes?”  This article does a spectacular job of explaining the financial motivations behind Chelsea’s youth academy, and pointing out potential flaws in this system. Moreover, because the article is more about the Academy than it is about soccer, it places the reader’s expected knowledge relatively low, and therefore the article is practical even for the least qualified reader.

Occasionally, the blog also includes photos of Chelsea’s losses, though I do believe they try to avoid it.

Can non-Chelsea fans find something to read here, too? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. As previously mentioned, the blog does have an inherent bias–and they’re not trying to hide that. However, the authors do their best to check their preconceived notions at the door…unless you’re looking in their opinions section. Here, posts like “Does Mourinho have a point about a ‘campaign’ against Chelsea, or is it more mind games?” run rampant. This article in particular discusses the referees in Chelsea games over the Christmas holidays, and how the media affected those referees. Naturally, the slant in the article is in Chelsea’s favor, which is why it has been delegated to the opinions column. However, the non-Chelsea fan can find a wealth of information from a relatively critical point of view in the seven other categories available on Chelsea Daft.

What should a reader look out for? Well, that depends upon what you’re looking for. For the visual learners, there is a Video feature, which includes game clips and highlights, as well as statements from the team. This part would also be particularly appealing to a non-Chelsea fan, as video footage of the game tends to be less biased than a written account of the match might be. Moreover, this page on the blog showcases game highlights more than any other part of Chelsea Daft, making it the most visually appealing. For those who would rather read, however, this site offers pages for updates on different leagues and tournaments, including Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Premier League. Finally, for the younger reader, there is the Academy page. This offers information on Chelsea’s development teams, and the younger players who could potentially end up as Chelsea players. Additionally, it provides player profiles for rising starts in the soccer world. Anyone who is trying to keep an eye on up-and-comers would really enjoy the Academy page on Chelsea Daft!

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This photo was taken during the FA Cup, which has its own page on Chelsea Daft.

Is this the blog’s only medium? No! One of the best things about Chelsea Daft is its accessibility. Linked at the top of the page, the reader can find Chelsea Daft’s twitter and facebook pages. These offer an even more succinct summary of Chelsea news and game highlights, perfect for a fan on the go. As a warning, the facebook page is a bit lengthy, and it may make more sense to simply read the blog than go to the facebook page, as the blog gives more context to the story than the facebook posts usually do.

Should I read it? I would recommend this Chelsea blog to any number of fans. While its target audience is undoubtedly Chelsea Fans with a thorough knowledge of the sport, there seems to be a bit of something for everyone visiting the site. I do strongly caution the reader that having some soccer knowledge will go a long way…unless you have a soccer dictionary handy, its better to be sport savvy going in.

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