Before I started university I remember saying to a friend in the pub one night that it would most probably fly by. That’s exactly what has happened.

Last week I finished my second year studying journalism at the University of Kent.

This time next year I’ll be entering the big wide media world, looking for a job and aiming to ascend to the top of the greasy pole.

It’s a scary, but at the same time enticing, prospect.

For now I can enjoy a little bit of down time (and of course the World Cup), after what was a typically hectic end of term.

The highlight was my two weeks at the Independent.

Admittedly it was a little intimidating walking into a national newsroom for the first time. However, I settled in well and really enjoyed it. On my first day I was sent out to Watford to do some election vox popping and managed to get my name in the paper. Before the week was out I managed to get a few sidebars published.

At the end of the week, after being sent out to do another vox pop for the Independent on Sunday, I was invited to spend my final week there.

While a few of my ideas and articles fell by the wayside, the main story I was given to work on came off. I was tasked with finding Julie Andrews fans and their ‘favourite things’ related to the singer, ahead of her concert at the O2 Arena.

After an initially fruitless search I managed to find, with the help of Andrew Johnson – another reporter on the paper – a dozen or so and got quotes and pictures. The article appeared on pages 12 and 13 and I was absolutely ecstatic.

I was also lucky enough to be picked to work as a stringer on election night for Sky News. I was based down in Medway on the night, covering Gillingham and Rainham, where the incumbent MP Paul Clark had a majority of just 15.

Thanks to a few cans of Relentless, a keen ear and some nimble fingers, I was able to get the result back to Sky News HQ before any of the other media organisations reported it.

Away from the newsroom the football season came to its conclusion, and what a season it was for Chelsea.

Carlo Ancelotti and his players recovered from yet more Champions League heartbreak – this time against Inter Milan – to win the club’s first ever league and cup double – the most successful season in the club’s history.

Along the way I witnessed – and wrote about – some quite sensational games of football – the 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, the 7-0 victory at home to Stoke, and of course the game that wrapped up the title – Chelsea 8-0 Wigan.

You can read my thoughts on what was an historic season here.

Now it’s time for some rest and relaxation – with some work experience sandwiched in between – before I return to Kent for my last year at uni.

One of the prevailing features of modern football is the decline in atmosphere. Many causes have been identified. The move to all-seater stadiums, ticket prices and television are all cited as reasons.

At Chelsea fans are doing something about it. In 2007 Jerry Kendix, a Chelsea season ticket holder who was fed up with the lack of atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, set up The Return to the Shed campaign. Three years on I caught up with him to learn more about the campaign and how it is going.

Jerry Kendix fondly remembers the old days, before all-seater stadiums, when the atmosphere at games used to be “electric”. Since the abolition of terracing in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster he has noticed the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge getting steadily worse.

The inspiration for the campaign came on a cold December’s day back in 2006. The Blues played Newcastle at Stamford Bridge and won a tepid encounter 1-0 thanks to a late strike from Didier Drogba. The game was pretty forgettable, but Kendix has one memory of the game – the complete lack of atmosphere.

‘The abiding memory I have of that evening was that the whole game was almost witnessed in silence. I sat there and thought: “This is just too much”’.

‘The game was so poor because of a lack of atmosphere and the staleness of everything that I thought “I’m going to have a crack at doing something about this”. So that’s what gave me the idea’.

The Shed End then...

After that initial idea he set to work on laying the foundations of the campaign. He set up a forum and began to contact prominent fan websites.

‘We got together with reps of the Chelsea Supporters Group and Dave Johnson of CFCNet and the guys on Vital Football and The Shed End and we basically promoted the campaign that way and through various other channels’.

‘We got the campaign off and running and we had a forum which I called Club Shed. We invited people to participate either by reading what was going on or just having their name as volunteers or members if you like’.

And with that the campaign was born.

It initially started out as The Return to Shed campaign and aimed to get fans who wanted to sing and chant to sit together at matches in the Shed End. ‘I thought there were, enough people dotted around the ground who could make a difference, who would make a difference, if they were sat in the same place,’ explains Kendix.

But improving the atmosphere is not the only aim of the campaign. Kendix also wants to bring back some of the sense of community that was present back in the “old days” he refers to with so much affection. Back then, going to a match was an entire day out, you knew everyone and you all drank in the same pubs. Now he says people can just turn up five minutes before kick off and there is none of the camaraderie that characterised going to football back then.

And the Shed End now

The first game that was targeted by the campaign was the clash with Middlesbrough in February 2007 and while it was a good start, at the next game against Sheffield United there was a marked difference in atmosphere. ‘By the end of the season we’d had the makings of a success’, says Kendix.

The club began to take the campaign seriously and started to listen to their views. Season ticket holders can now sit in the Shed End. With that goal achieved, Kendix changed the name of the group to Club Shed. It now works much more closely with the club. ‘I’m part of an atmosphere committee – there are three or four reps from the supporter’s clubs who meet up with the ticket manager and Ron Gourlay.’

‘We basically push ideas through, anything atmosphere related. So the club have been willing to help on many issues, they’ve realised that it helps them if we have a better atmosphere in the ground’.

The dialogue hasn’t always been harmonious though. To Kendix’s frustration the club have rejected many of the ideas that they have put forward. Club Shed presented the club with a 10-point plan to improve the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.

‘What we did was we put up a 10 point plan and presented it to the club and said if you really want to make a difference these are the 10 things that you need to do. We didn’t say bring back terracing but we said the importance thing is to get like-minded people who are going to get behind the team to be in the same area and that either means terracing or more realistically, unreserved seating’.

To his surprise, the club didn’t completely dismiss the idea. In fact, they said they would consider trying it at a Carling Cup game this season. However, after speaking to other Premier League clubs Chelsea decided not to go ahead with it, which was a real blow, according to Kendix.

He remains convinced that unreserved seating or standing in some form would help arrest the decline in atmosphere he has witnessed down the years. But with seemingly little chance of that happening in the near future he has set his focus on other ways of reversing the trend.

‘The main problem for me is that people are still too far dispersed around the ground. What you need is hubs of people that would lead the other along. I’ve seen it in so many other grounds, especially if you go away in Europe – the grounds are really rocking. Primarily because there are 2 or 300 people in one particular section usually behind the goal who…are really sort of cheerleading if you like and leading the rest along’.

Kendix also wants to make it cheaper for younger fans to go to matches. Once you hit 16 you are classed as an adult and have to pay adult prices for season tickets, which can be as much as £800.

Of course the danger with such attempts to make a bit of noise is that it can all feel forced, contrived and stage-managed. Steve 52, who started going to Chelsea games in the 1960s, said: ‘A lot of the people who are involved don’t understand what needs to be done. Also, the younger fans aren’t really capable of recreating the atmosphere of old – different generation, different times’. Mark , 34, agrees, but thinks that it’s better than doing nothing.

Kendix understands such criticism and insists that while there has to be some element of stage-management to the whole process, the campaign doesn’t put forward ideas that are explicitly contrived. People have asked for claxons and drums at games, but they haven’t got off the ground because of this very reason. ‘You’ve got to generate it [atmosphere] somehow so there’s going to be an element of stage management of course but we all agreed that anything that was clearly forced wouldn’t progress’.

There has been a definite improvement at Stamford Bridge, but there’s still a lot to be done.

Kendix says; ‘It’s been a very interesting road that we’ve gone down. We could do so much more if we were allowed to and once we put a few things in place we would let it naturally run its course. Once you put the framework in place, i.e. get the people in the right place, coordinate things with the club, then you just let people sing and shout and do what they like’.

He concludes: ‘But until such time as we get either unreserved seating or an area behind the goals where we can put the 16-21s, people we can actually harness and get them to continue the good work then our work isn’t done. We’ll still crack on in the hope that we can get there one day. We keep banging away at the club, it’s just a case of watching this space really’.

You can read my write-up of the game here.

I also wrote two post match reaction pieces:

Portsmouth manager Paul Hart refuses to criticise players after Stoke City loss

Stoke City’s Tony Pulis disappointed with performance but pleased with Portsmouth win in ‘difficult conditions’

Tomorrow I’ll be doing the live commentary on Liverpool’s crucial Champions League encounter at Hungarian side Debrecen.

Kakuta finally got the chance to showcase his skills against Wolves this afternoon

Over the last few months Gael Kakuta has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The precocious 18-year-old was banned for four months by Fifa in September as a result of his move to West London in 2007 from French side Lens.

It was the first time many people had heard of him. But for keen followers of Chelsea the buzz surrounding the Frenchman has been apparent and burgeoning long before Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Chamber sanctioned him. And it seemed as if that ban would delay his inevitable breakthrough into the Chelsea first team.

That was until the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the ban, pending a final decision on the case.

This turn of events, combined with the Blues’ injury problems – the likes of Michael Ballack, Deco, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard are all currently out of action – to present Kakuta with his big chance against Wolves at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.

And he grabbed it with both hands.

Those massed inside the stadium gave the youngster a thunderous reception as he took to the pitch, and he soon showed them what he could do.

His first action was to leave his defender for dead with a lightning quick turn and shot that had fans up off their seats.

Kakuta proceeded to display all of the attributes you would want in a winger – an eye for goal as well as a pass, the ability to deliver a telling cross and pace in abundance.

It was reminiscent of Arjen Robben’s debut for Chelsea against Blackburn in 2004, and some will be tempted to compare the two.

The cameo in Chelsea’s 4-0 win will undoubtedly leave Carlo Ancelotti beaming with delight. The Italian was gushing with his praise for him in the build up to today’s game.

“At that age I have never seen a player with his talent,” said Ancelotti.

“Technically he is fantastic. He is a No10, like Joe Cole or Deco. Physically he is not yet strong enough to be a first-team regular but technically he is certainly ready to come on [as a substitute].

Carlo Ancelotti wil have to manage the precocious youngster carefully

“He can be a big player for Chelsea with his quality, and his character is very good too.”

That is heady praise indeed, and it will increase the pressure on the youngster’s shoulders.

After today’s performance people will sit up and take note. The question is, will he kick on from here and make this the start of something special?

Ancelotti will have to ensure he manages Kakuta carefully. Plenty of youngsters have shown early promise before fading away into obscurity. For a case in point Ancelotti doesn’t have to look very far.

Scott Sinclair had many Blues fans purring with his displays for their youth and reserve sides not so long ago but he failed to make the step up and is currently out on loan yet again.

If Ancelotti gets it right with Kakuta, however, he could have quite a player on his hands.

Ashley Cole celebrates his goal, which set Chelsea on their way to a 3-0 win. Photo from the Daily Telegraph

Recent clashes between these two London rivals have been the stage for many Chelsea defenders to make themselves unlikely heroes: Juliano Belletti scored has scored twice against Spurs and both William Gallas and Ricardo Carvalho have hit memorable winning goals.

Yesterday Ashley Cole added his name to that list. The left back stooped low to head beyond Carlo Cudicini just past the half hour mark to set Carlo Ancelotti’s side on their way to a win that keeps them top of the Premier League and maintains their 100% start to the season.

But to pretend this was all plain sailing for the home side would be wrong. Harry Redknapp’s team looked the most likely to take the lead before Cole scored, and Robbie Keane was adamant he had won a penalty minutes into the second half which could have changed the complexion of the game.

Jose Bosingwa came the closest of any Chelsea player to opening the scoring with seven minutes on the clock, hitting the angle between post and bar, but apart from that it was Spurs who could lay claim to creating the best chances.

Wilson Palacios put Jermain Defoe through for the away side’s first opportunity, but the England striker’s shot was blocked by Cech. Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas also came close to finding the net – demonstrating why Spurs had a 100% record before last weekend’s meeting with Manchester United.

Then with just over 30 minutes gone Chelsea took the lead. Those inside Stamford Bridge could hardly believe the sight of Cole wheeling away in celebration, having headed in from Didier Drogba’s cross. The former Arsenal man has now scored in consecutive league games.

Drogba had the last chance of the first half, firing a free kick into the Spurs wall.

Two minutes into the second period it should have been 2-0, Drogba pulled the ball back for Lampard in the penalty area and everyone expected the net to bulge. However, the usually clinical midfielder shot wide when many would have put money on him scoring.

Ledley King – who had gone down injured in the course of the move – was forced off, and Alan Hutton replaced him.

The game then turned decisively on 54 minutes. Robbie Keane raced into the box and appeared to be caught by Carvalho but no penalty was given. The striker was incredulous, running to remonstrate with referee Howard Webb. A spot kick could have given Spurs a way back into the game, but minutes later Chelsea doubled their lead.

Didier Drogba powers home Chelsea's third. Photo from the official Chelsea web site.

Lampard turned provider after Cudicini had parried Drogba’s shot, and Michael Ballack was on hand to put the ball into the net.

Five minutes later it was three. Cole played a high ball over the top and Drogba held off Vedran Corluka and bore down on goal. The Croatia defender attempted to nick the ball away from the Ivorian, but in doing so only diverted the ball past his keeper, and Drogba smashed the ball in for good measure.

Chelsea could have had a penalty of their own soon afterwards. The ball struck Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s arm from a Lampard free kick, but it wasn’t spotted by Howard Webb.

Substitute Peter Crouch came close to scoring for Tottenham, sending a shot from 25 yards out not far over the bar.

John Obi Mikel – who replaced Ballack – sent in a volley that squirmed under Cudicini and was then pushed round the post by the Italian stopper.

An injury apiece on either side then broke up the play and gave everyone a chance to catch their breath. First Sebastian Bassong fell awkwardly when challenging with Nicolas Anelka, and then Drogba went down after slicing a shot.

His replacement, Salomon Kalou, struck the post as eight minutes of injury time were signaled. He was joined up top by 18-year-old Fabio Borini, who made his first team debut.

This is the club’s 11th successive league win. Life continues to be good for Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea.

The penalty handed down yesterday by the organisation’s Dispute Resolution Chamber isn’t completely unprecedented – Roma were banned from signing players during the January 2006 transfer window as a result of their pursuit of Auxerre’s Philippe Mexes – but there is no doubt the Blues are the most high profile victims to fall foul of Fifa’s attempt to stamp out club’s questionable practices in poaching young talent.

As I digested the news yesterday afternoon, my overriding emotion was not, as you might think, anger. In all honesty I agree with Fifa’s decision. Something should be done to stop big clubs taking young talent from abroad with seemingly little disregard for the rules.

However, my support will waver if this isn’t followed up with further action to combat a problem that is endemic in football – and not just with youth players.

Chelsea may be more guilty than most clubs when it comes to breaking the rules, but to pretend that they are the only club which has tapped up players is despairingly naive.

Arsenal have faced questions regarding their pursuits of Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini and also their links to the Ivorian side Beveren. Tottenham recently faced criticism for the manner in which they signed Peter Crouch and John Bostock.

Allegations surrounding the transfers of Owen Hargreaves, Dimitar Berbatov and Federico Macheda to Manchester United have been made in the last three years. The Premier League champions could very well be the next to feel the wrath in Fifa’s crackdown.

The Red Devils are in hot water over their conduct in securing Paul Pogba from Le Harve. According to a number of newspapers this morning, the French side intend to take their case to Fifa, seeking a similar punishment to the one handed down to Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Fifa should also be mindful of extending their remit to punishing clubs from other countries as well.

That is unless they want to give further credence to the idea of there being some sort of anti-English conspiracy after Arsenal’s Eduardo was banned for two matches in a bid to combat another endemic problem in modern football – diving.

I certainly won’t be holding my breath. Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping Chelsea’s latest indiscretion won’t damage his chances winning either the Premier League or the Holy Grail – the Champions League.

For those inside Stamford Bridge it seemed reminiscent of many a home game under Luiz Felipe Scolari last season. The Blues were dominating possession and creating plenty of chances, but they just couldn’t put the ball into the net.

Nicolas Anelka wasted a golden opportunity for the home side after just six minutes when he was clean through on goal after dispossessing Andre Bikey. The Frenchman tried to go around Jensen but the Burnley keeper was able to grab the ball.

But Burnley were far from overawed, and should have taken a shock lead three minutes later. Frank Lampard was careless in possession, presenting the ball to Tyrone Mears, who fed the ball to Martin Paterson in acres of space. But the midfielder only managed to screw his shot wide of Petr Cech’s right hand post.

With the amount of chances Chelsea were creating, it seemed a question of when they would score, not if. Jensen however, had other ideas, keeping out shots from Michael Ballack, John Terry and Lampard.

The crowd began to voice their frustration, but a trio of goals seven minutes either side of half time had them grinning from ear to ear. Anelka gave Carlo Ancelotti’s side the lead, sliding in to convert a Didier Drogba cross.

Lampard stood the ball up for Ballack to nod home the second, and the England midfielder was involved in Chelsea’s third, playing a one two with left back Ashley Cole, who volleyed a fantastic finish past Jensen for only his third goal in Chelsea colours.

A goal fest seemed on the cards. Anelka almost added a fourth but he hit the bar from Ballack’s pass.

The tempo dropped noticeably after that flurry of goal mouth action, with Burnley seemingly resigned to their fate and Chelsea relaxed, safe in the knowledge that three points had been secured.

Michael Essien did his best to add his name to the scoresheet, first calling Jensen into action in the 66th minute and then again with 14 minutes left on the clock.

Substitute Salomon Kalou was inches away from scoring his first goal of the season as the game edged towards stoppage time, but his poked shot was cleared off the line by Mears with Jensen stranded.

The 100% start to the season continues for Ancelotti’s men and they go top of the Premier League on goal difference. Burnley, meanwhile, have been brought back down to Earth after shock wins over Manchester United and Everton.

The Blues continued where they left off against Sunderland in midweek, spraying the ball across the pitch and dominating possession. Fulham’s players found themselves chasing shadows for much of this contest. But despite Chelsea’s seemingly iron grip on possession, Mark Schwarzer was an untroubled spectator for the majority of the first half.

It was Fulham that had the first notable effort of the match – Clint Dempsey turning and hitting a shot over Petr Cech’s crossbar.

A foul by Aaron Hughes presented Chelsea with their first opportunity. Drogba – who scored from a set piece in the Blues’ opening day win over Hull – lurked with intent but it was Michael Ballack who struck. The German’s shot was always rising and didn’t trouble Schwarzer.

The away side’s next two efforts came from unlikely sources – John Obi Mikel and John Terry both trying their luck from range.

Ancelotti would have no doubt been pleased that his side was exerting such a stranglehold on the game, but they had nothing tangible to show for their efforts.

Drogba changed that seven minutes before the break. The Ivorian, judged to be onside, latched on to Anelka’s through ball and dispatched his shot past Schwarzer for his third goal in as many league games.

For the first time this season Chelsea had opened the scoring in a Premier League encounter, and Ancelotti could breathe a sigh of relief as he made his way back to the dressing room.

The second half was a near mirror image of the first, but there was a spell when Fulham put some pressure on Chelsea and the home crowd found their voice. At 1-0 there was still danger for the Blues.

Chelsea weathered the storm and continued their search for the goal that would kill the game. Lampard and Malouda both screwed efforts wide, and Drogba forced Schwarzer into action from a tight angle.

When the second goal arrived, it was a role reversal of the first. This time Drogba turned provider for Anelka, who took the ball past Schwarzer and then tapped it into the net.

Erik Nevland, on as a substitute for Bobby Zamora, hit a shot over the bar as Ancelotti’s side ran down time on a comfortable victory.

Sterner tests are sure to come, but the early signs look promising for Carlo Ancelotti.

Picture courtsey of the Daily Telegraph

As far as new dawns go, the early days of life under Carlo Ancelotti have gone swimmingly for Chelsea.

A trophy in the cabinet at the first opportunity with a first penalty shootout victory in over 10 years and six points from six in the Premier League. You could hardly ask for more.

Didier Drogba appears revitalised, Frank Lampard his usual self.

Even the much-maligned Deco is playing well. He was in scintillating form in the Blues’ 3-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, so much so that the Portuguese midfielder got a standing ovation from the home fans when he was substituted.

With both Liverpool and Manchester United slipping to early season defeats – to Tottenham and Burnley respectively – many are tipping Ancelotti’s men to take the title back to West London for the first time in three years.

But history makes me cautious. I can’t help but feel a sense of deja vu.

Last season also began well for Chelsea, hammering Portsmouth 4-0 at Stamford Bridge. Deco followed up his well-taken finish in that game to give his side a 1-0 victory over Wigan with a brilliant free kick.

Us Chelsea fans thought we had a real star on our hands, and pundits couldn’t see any other outcome than Luiz Felipe Scolari winning the league in his maiden season at the club. I’ll admit to getting slightly carried away during the early part of last season. I was practically purring at the football we were playing. The match reports I filed for games against the likes of Aston Villa (2-0) and Middlesbrough (5-0) reflect this.

Then things began to unravel. Teams began to fathom the secret to Scolari’s briefly dazzling Brazilian blend.

Once Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole were neutralised, Chelsea began to run into problems. They had no width. Faced with a defensively resolute side Scolari’s team appeared lacking in ideas and points were soon dropped. Deco’s form took a remarkable nosedive and he bore no resemblance to the midfielder that won the player of the month award for August.

The squad that Ancelotti has at his disposal is basically the same, and watching the Hull City game I couldn’t get over how much it reminded me of so many games under the Brazilian last season.

Bosingwa and Cole were relied upon for the width, and frustration soon ensued when Hull looked like they would hold firm for a draw. A fortunate Drogba goal – his second of the match – ensured Ancelotti began with three points, but the Italian was minutes away from making a very inauspicious start to life in England.

Manchester United – Chelsea’s main title rivals over the past four years – have been written off by many due to the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. It appeared as if these claims have been given further weight by last night’s shock 1-0 loss to Burnley. But Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are notoriously slow starters domestically.

The league is contested over 38 games. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Of course there are differences between Scolari and Ancelotti and their teams.

Ancelotti has top level European experience with AC Milan, winning a league title and two Champions League trophies. Scolari had a World Cup on his CV but no experience in Europe.

One crucial difference in terms of personnel is Ancelotti has a fully fit and motivated Drogba to call upon right from the off, and is willing to pair him up front with Nicolas Anelka, which is something that Scolari seemed reluctant to do.

The brooding striker has been talismanic for Chelsea since his arrival from Marseille in 2004 and it is hard to see him being anything but during the season ahead. He could prove the key difference between the reigns of the two. If Ancelotti can call on a fit Drogba for most of the season then he may well succeed where Scolari failed.

Without the benefit of a crystal ball it is hard to predict how the rest of the season will pan out. Things look good for the Blues at the moment, but I think it is worth bearing in mind that Blues fans felt exactly the same a year ago.

As the old saying goes, “once bitten, twice shy”. Only time will tell if my caution is warranted.