Chelsea begin the defence of their Barclays Premier Reserve League title at home to Sunderland.To view the full list of 2011-12 Barclays Premier League Reserves fixtures, click hereThe Blues kick off their campaign against the Black Cats at Cobham on Monday 15th August (2pm) with Arsenal then hosting Manchester United at Barnet (7pm).Chelsea won the title beating Blackburn Rovers 5-4 on penalties at Stamford Bridge following a 1-1 draw in May.Mauro Formica put the northern section winners ahead but Todd Kane fired a spectacular late strike to bring the southern section champions level and take the final to sudden-deathChelsea's opening fixture in 2011/12 will be a first competitive match for new Reserve team manager Dermot Drummy. He has succeeded Steve Holland who has been promoted to work with the first-team.Drummy's appointment will keep continuity in the development of players below the senior squad.The 50-year-old worked as Chelsea's youth team manager for a two-and-a-half seasons, winning the FA Youth Cup in 2010 and securing a semi-final appearance last season.Previously Drummy had been in charge of the Under 16s team, working with rising stars Josh McEachran, Billy Clifford and Rohan Ince.Drummy told the official club website: "It is nice that four years down the line I bump into them again."It is nice that I know those players well because that helps me when I deal with them, but it is also nice to get some new young players to work with and if they are showing promise I will be able to give them some reserve team experience."There are differences between being a reserve team manager than a youth team one because you are dealing with players who may go on loan and you are dealing with players who are establishing themselves in the reserves and trying to push on into the first team."They are becoming independent, they are getting their own flats to live in and some of them are getting their first contracts. You are trying to get their mentality right so that they are pressing on and focusing on becoming the best that they can be."Although he has previously taken temporary charge of the reserve squad, this is Drummy's first full-time appointment at that level. Prior to moving to Chelsea in 2007 he had extensive experience working in Arsenal's youth academy.Now he is looking forward to working closely with new manager Andre Villas-Boas to ensure the club develops its own young talent to complement the more established stars.He added: "I've met with Andre [Villas-Boas] and Jose [Mario Rocha], the fitness coach, and they are really friendly and positive and there are some wonderful technical training drills, all with the ball."It is a really exciting time, especially for me to see how someone like Andre works. I love it because it is a way to add to my knowledge."Adi Viveash will replace Drummy as the club's youth team coach. Over the past two years the former Swindon, Reading and Walsall defender has assisted at both youth and reserve level and coached the Under 16s having previously managed Cirencester Town.The Barclays Premier Reserve League season will follow the same format as last season with a mixture of fixtures against clubs from the south and the north.Follow Chelsea in the run up to the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong this July on the official tournament pagewww.facebook.com/BarclaysAsiaTrophy.
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