You get some results, like the mid-week game against Blackburn where you can just about live with defeat because you know the players have given it their all – and then there’s games like yesterday that are just too much to stomach.
Not the defeat itself because whilst losing never comes easy, as long as you can still hold your head up and say we gave it our best shot, then it’s at least more acceptable. No, I’m on about the way we lost. Not the poor refereeing decisions because at least Webb (as bad as he was) showed up, which is more than can be said for us.
Seriously, we can moan as much as we like but whilst Richards without a doubt handled in the area and got away with it, Adebayor’s own goal might never have happened if the officials had seen the ball come off Cole and not given the corner. Maybe if Citeh had responded to that by concentrating more on the ref than the rest of the game, Adebayor wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make it a goal per side but to be fair to them, they just got on with it and deservedly went in all square at the break.
Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand Citeh and I was as gutted as the next man to see Carlos Tevez put his free-kick past the wall and Petr Cech but if Carvalho hadn’t needlessly had a second kick-out at the Argie midget’s back then we wouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.
Then came some more iffy reffing, with first Lescott wrestling John Terry to the floor in front of goal and getting away with it, then Toure with his hands all over Didier Drogba from the subsequent corner and still nothing given. In fact, it seemed the more they got away with, the more tactile they thought they’d be – and why not? – they were getting away with it all day anyway. But then, we were allowing them to get away with it as much as the officials were, we could and should have put a much better fight but Lampard’s missed (yes missed) penalty just about summed our performance.
Overall then, it’s fair to sat the mid-week exit has obviously pissed them right off, but instead of the ‘wounded animal’ you’d have expected to come out fighting after we at least battled our arses off mid-week, we turned up whingeing and whining like toothless little bitches. Ok, so Webb’s a cock of the highest order but bad decisions happen week-in-week-out in the Premier League and a side is either big enough to take it on the chin and get their heads together, or they’ll act like petulant, arrogant fuckers, and lose in the manner we did.
Both Ashley Cole and particularly Didier Drogba showed shades of their former selves most of us would rather not be reminded of - mouthing and bitching at every opportunity, Cole’s back turned to the ref, Drogba standing over an injured Bridge moaning about a nothing brush of the shoulder he’d somehow been ‘injured’ by earlier. Just embarrassing to watch really.
Fair enough, Citeh got away with fouls time and again whilst we were getting booked for some nothing challenges (oh and Carvalho’s a total dick for that needless kick on the Argie midget) but if we’re going to challenge for the title rather than fall apart like we did at exactly the same stage as last season, then our players need to drop the ‘victim’ attitude and fucking earn it.
TEAMS
CITY: Given, Richards (Onuoha 69), Toure, Lescott, Bridge (Kompany 76), De Jong, Barry, Wright-Phillips, Tevez, Robinho (Zabaleta 90), Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Johnson, Santa Cruz, Petrov.
Booked: Barry.
Goals: Adebayor 37, Tevez 56.
CHELSEA: Cech, Ivanovic, Carvalho (Belletti 63), Terry (Malouda 88), Ashley Cole, Essien, Ballack (Mikel 64), Lampard, Deco, Drogba, Anelka.
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Joe Cole, Zhirkov, Paulo Ferreira.
Booked: Terry, Carvalho, Belletti, Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Deco.
Goals: Adebayor 8 og.
Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Man City vs CHELSEA: Preview
Venue: City of Manchester Stadium
Date: Saturday, 5 December 2009
Kick-off: 1730
A trip to Manchester’s second side for us this evening and a chance to get the disappointment of our mid-week exit from the Carling Cup out of our systems.
Citeh come into the game on a high, having set up a Carling Cup semi-final tie against United courtesy of a 3-0 win over Arsenal mid-week and with a pretty unimpressive seven straight draws in the league, they’ll no doubt be pushing for the points today. Our league form, on the other hand, has seen us beat our other ‘big four’ rivals, with our last league game also seeing us hand Arsenal a 3-0 defeat.
MANAGERS’ VIEWS
Going into this game, Mark Hughes has been full of praise for his opponents, claiming “If they continue to play in the same vein as they are doing then they are absolutely (the favourites for the title). They’ve been the stand-out team up to this point. Defensively, physically and in an attacking sense, they have ticked every box. They look the real deal this season. I think they are close to being the best in Europe. That’s the size of our challenge. It’s been shown this year that you can come unstuck very quickly against them and find yourself behind in a game you haven’t really given yourself a chance to win. We don’t anticipate that happening, we will run them close, but our best might not be good enough because they’re playing as well as I’ve ever seen them play. We need to keep at that level we showed against Arsenal now, we don’t want to drop. If we get our noses in front (against Chelsea), let’s see what happens.”
Going into this game off the back of our mid-week disappointment, Carlo Ancelotti says “Every defeat normally is not good, but the priority of that game was to give minutes to the players that didn’t play against Arsenal and to give experience to young players. Our priority was that, and also a chance to give recovery to the other players. The League Cup was not so important, if we thought it was more important I would put in a different line-up. We are not disappointed, we showed good spirit, playing 60 minutes with 10 against 11, and drew in the last minute. This means we have a very good spirit, and this is important. We kept a lot of players in the training ground and they trained well, so we have a fresh team. If we continue to play like against Arsenal we have a very good possibility to arrive in first place but we have to pay attention because every game is difficult to play. There are a lot of teams in England with very good quality.” And turning his attention back to matters in hand, says “We have to play against a dangerous team, because Manchester City has a lot of players with very good technical quality, top players. They didn’t win the last seven games and they want to win against Chelsea because we are top of the list. They will have very good motivation to play against us and we have to pay attention to this.”
SQUAD NEWS
Bellamy, Ireland and Petrov (all knee) are all apparently doubtful, Weiss (tonsillitis) misses out and Shaun Wright-Phillips faces a late fitness test after a knock against Arsenal.
For Chelsea, Salomon Kalou (thigh) joins Bosingwa and Alex (hip) on the missing list.
TEAMS
MAN CITY: (from): Given, Taylor, Richards, Zabaleta, Toure, Lescott, Onuoha, Bridge, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, De Jong, Kompany, Johnson, Ireland, Barry, Robinho, Bellamy, Petrov, Adebayor, Tevez, Santa Cruz, Benjani
CHELSEA: (from): Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Ivanovic, A Cole, Zhirkov, Carvalho, Terry, Essien, Lampard, Belletti, Mikel, Ballack, Malouda, Kakuta, Deco, J Cole, Anelka, Drogba
LAST MEETING
Chelsea 1-0 Man City (15 March 2009)
PREDICTION
There’s worse sides we could face following our mid-week defeat, particularly if you look at our record against today’s opponents: 10 wins from our last 12 trips there (8 straight) and 12 clean sheets in our last 14 league meetings. City also seem to be struggling for wins of late, with seven straight draws, although having said that, they have only lost once in 17 games in all competitions this season, so they won’t necessarily be an easy side to beat. And whilst the fact that we’ve scored 17 goals without reply in our last five games in the league is pretty impressive, our vulnerability could still be around set-pieces. Draw looking likely?
REFEREE
Howard Webb
Friday, December 4, 2009
Blackburn 3-3 CHELSEA: Dreaded Penalties End Chelsea’s Fight
Didn’t expect that last night to be honest, either in terms of the result or the choice of squad but then it was always going to be an interesting night with Hilarious in goal three right-backs and a left-back.
Despite all the pre-match talk about fielding a strong first team, Ancelotti had made wholesale changes, with no Terry, Carvalho, Lampard, Essien, Anelka and Didier Drogba the only senior player on the bench.
A bit hard to go into too much detail about the game seeing as there seemed to be an almost complete blanket ban on anyone having access to it unless they were prepared to get up to Ewood Park for it.
Still, from how it sounded, our defence was the sort of confused backline you’d have expected seeing as the four of them have probably said little more than a casual hello to each other in terms of preparation and it wasn’t long before we were a goal behind. Kalou missed the obligatory sitter, so we went into the break a goal behind.
Cue Didier Drogba after the break to add a bit of attack to our game and he duly obliged within about two minutes to level the score. Just four minutes later, the Ivorian turned provider for Salomon Kalou and we found ourselves on top. Unfortunately, it all sounded a bit physical with our players going down all over the place. First Kakuta took a bang on the head and went off temporarily, Kalou wasn’t so lucky and went off with about twenty minutes remain. This time, our player didn’t re-emerge and having made 3 subs already, Carlo Ancelotti had nowhere to go in terms of a replacement.
Hilarious did his worst with what sounded like a complete nightmare to concede the equaliser and how we ever hung on for extra time is anyone’s guess. But, hang on we did and despite conceding a penalty right at the start of that, with Hilario sent the wrong way by McCarthy, we still managed to hold on right until the dying minutes before Paulo Ferreira took it to penalties with his equaliser.
I hate penalty shoot-outs, I hate going out of a game on penalties but last night was different. I think it had to be said that whatever the outcome, our players had given it everything they had – and Ancelotti will have learnt some valuable lessons.
So anyway, onto the penalties – and sadly they went like this:
McCarthy – in
Ballack – saved
Emerton – in
Drogba – in
Grella – in
Malouda – in
Kalinic – saved
Zhirkov – in
Hoilett – in
Kakuta – saved
TEAMS
BLACKBURN: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Chimbonda, Emerton, Nzonzi, Pedersen, McCarthy, Roberts, Kalinic
Subs: Brown, Givet, Grella, Diouf, Van Heerden, Hoilett, Jones.
CHELSEA: Hilario, Belletti, Ivanovic, Paulo Ferreira, Zhirkov, Mikel, Ballack,Deco, Joe Cole, Kalou, Malouda.
Subs: Turnbull, Drogba, Matic,Hutchinson, Bruma, Kakuta, Borini.
Despite all the pre-match talk about fielding a strong first team, Ancelotti had made wholesale changes, with no Terry, Carvalho, Lampard, Essien, Anelka and Didier Drogba the only senior player on the bench.
A bit hard to go into too much detail about the game seeing as there seemed to be an almost complete blanket ban on anyone having access to it unless they were prepared to get up to Ewood Park for it.
Still, from how it sounded, our defence was the sort of confused backline you’d have expected seeing as the four of them have probably said little more than a casual hello to each other in terms of preparation and it wasn’t long before we were a goal behind. Kalou missed the obligatory sitter, so we went into the break a goal behind.
Cue Didier Drogba after the break to add a bit of attack to our game and he duly obliged within about two minutes to level the score. Just four minutes later, the Ivorian turned provider for Salomon Kalou and we found ourselves on top. Unfortunately, it all sounded a bit physical with our players going down all over the place. First Kakuta took a bang on the head and went off temporarily, Kalou wasn’t so lucky and went off with about twenty minutes remain. This time, our player didn’t re-emerge and having made 3 subs already, Carlo Ancelotti had nowhere to go in terms of a replacement.
Hilarious did his worst with what sounded like a complete nightmare to concede the equaliser and how we ever hung on for extra time is anyone’s guess. But, hang on we did and despite conceding a penalty right at the start of that, with Hilario sent the wrong way by McCarthy, we still managed to hold on right until the dying minutes before Paulo Ferreira took it to penalties with his equaliser.
I hate penalty shoot-outs, I hate going out of a game on penalties but last night was different. I think it had to be said that whatever the outcome, our players had given it everything they had – and Ancelotti will have learnt some valuable lessons.
So anyway, onto the penalties – and sadly they went like this:
McCarthy – in
Ballack – saved
Emerton – in
Drogba – in
Grella – in
Malouda – in
Kalinic – saved
Zhirkov – in
Hoilett – in
Kakuta – saved
TEAMS
BLACKBURN: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Chimbonda, Emerton, Nzonzi, Pedersen, McCarthy, Roberts, Kalinic
Subs: Brown, Givet, Grella, Diouf, Van Heerden, Hoilett, Jones.
CHELSEA: Hilario, Belletti, Ivanovic, Paulo Ferreira, Zhirkov, Mikel, Ballack,Deco, Joe Cole, Kalou, Malouda.
Subs: Turnbull, Drogba, Matic,Hutchinson, Bruma, Kakuta, Borini.
Hansen claims Drogba is Premier League’s best – surely he means world’s best?
Sunday afternoon was a very good point to be a Chelsea fan. The Blues moved 8 points clear at the top of the Premier League after hammering Arsenal 3-0 on their own patch. It was a performance that showed why Chelsea’s Premier League title odds are at the level they are and why Chelsea are the team to beat this season.
Arsenal played their usual pretty football and came out fighting at the start of each half with pace and purpose. The reality though, is that Chelsea were far too strong for them in so many ways. Carlo Ancelotti’s team are physically stronger, mentally stronger and have more big-game players.
One of these being the incredible Didier Drogba. I am starting to run out of superlatives for the man this season. He is, quite simply, on a different planet. He has a history of terrorising Arsenal and Sunday was no different. The Ivory Coast striker got on the end of an Ashley Cole cross to put Chelsea ahead and then secured the win with an exquisite free-kick to seal the victory in the last ten minutes. The Arsenal defence didn’t know how to handle him in his current form and he got his rewards.
In the aftermath of the game, there has been much praise for Drogba. Not least from Alan Hansen. The Match of the Day pundit has said that the player’s performance Sunday showed by he is the best striker in the Premier League. Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres are other candidates for this accolade, but Hansen is of the opinion that Drogba’s strength, goals and ability to lead the line make him the best striker in England. I would go a step further than that though and say that he is probably the best striker in the world at the moment. The influence he has on Chelsea is phenomenal and I don’t think there is anyone else out there like him. He strikes fear into opposition defences constantly and most importantly, he ALWAYS turns it on in the big games.
Just think, under Luiz Felipe Scolari last season, Drogba looked unhappy and as though his Chelsea career was coming to an end. Now though, he is arguably performing better than ever before. I guess Chelsea fans can thank Ancelotti for that. The Italian has clearly been good for Drogba.
The most worrying thing about all of this is that Chelsea lose the 31-year-old to the African Cup of Nations next month. I’m sure Drogba won’t take it personally if Chelsea fans hope they don’t make it too far in the competition….
Blackburn vs CHELSEA: Carling Cup Preview
Carling Cup quarter-final
Venue: Ewood Park
Date: Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Kick-off: 2000 GMT
Whilst we’ve won our last four games without conceding, Blackburn go into tonight’s Carling Cup quarter-final game having failed to score in their previous two games. So, having conceded five to us in our last meeting, they’ll have to tighten up defensively if they’re seriously after a place in the semis.
MANAGERS’ VIEWS
Sam Allardyce is still recovering from heart surgery but assistant boss Neil McDonald seems confident enough for the both of them, insisting “They (Chelsea) are very strong and have a fantastic squad, but they are not unbeatable. Wigan have beaten them, Aston Villa have beaten them and we have to draw strength from that. They were all away from home, and our home form has been fantastic, so we must continue that against Chelsea. We have worked extremely hard to get to this point. Why should we say ‘just because we are playing Chelsea that’s us out?’ We have to remain positive. It is a game of football, 11 versus 11. They (Chelsea) have some fantastic players but it is a long way for them to come on a cold Lancashire night and we have to try and use that to our advantage if we possibly can. With the crowd right behind us, it will spur us on to give a good performance. Our home form is good and we are going to have a right go at them. It will be fantastic if the crowd is bigger than what it normally is for the Carling Cup, knowing that we are playing a very good team in Chelsea. That will inspire the players to run even further and try even harder.”
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t seem have been particularly vocal ahead of tonight’s game, although assistant Ray Wilkins wonders whether the absence of Allardyce will have an effect tonight, stating “I think he would have been in touch with the guys, albeit not there, and we all wish him a speedy recovery. When you have a massive personality like Sam around the players, when he is not there you might have a slight wobble, but I am sure at home they will be an extremely tough side to beat for us. We certainly approach every game to win it and we’ll be doing the same here. We would love to be in the Final of the Carling Cup, it’s the first trophy of the season and one we want to win so we’ll be going all out to do that. Most certainly the side will be mixed up but it will be a very strong side, no question.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Blackburn, Franco di Santo is ineligible to play and David Dunn is a doubt with a calf injury. For us meanwhile, Daniel Sturridge (knee) and Jose Bosingwa (knee) remain out and Alex (hip) could also be out of action. Ashley Cole, on the other hand, is expected to be fit and Gael Kakuta could make his first start.
TEAMS
BLACKBURN (from): Robinson, Olsson, Chimbonda, Givet, Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Diouf, Pedersen, Grella, Jacobsen, Nzonzi, Emerton, Hoilett, Kalinic, McCarthy, Roberts, Brown.
CHELSEA (from): Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Ivanovic, A Cole, Zhirkov, Carvalho, Terry, Essien, Lampard, Belletti, Mikel, Ballack, Malouda, Kakuta, Deco, J Cole, Kalou, Anelka, Drogba.
LAST MEETING
Chelsea 5-0 Blackburn (24th October 2009)
PREDICTION
This will be Blackburn’s first real test of the competition, having met Gillingham, Forest and Peterborough to get to this stage. It’s worth bearing in mind they haven’t lost in the last seven at Ewood Park and they know what they’re up against having failed to beat us in our last nine league and cup meetings. Having said that though, we won’t be putting a soft side out and current form doesn’t really point to anything but a Chelsea win.
Arsenal 0-3 CHELSEA: Easy Afternoon at The Slowly Abandoned Emirates
Shame about the weather for this one, especially after Cesc had clearly taken so much time over his hair – pretty boy.
Arsenal had the better start and plenty of possession in the first twent minutes, whilst Mikel was found wanting in the concentration department and was pushed off the ball a little too easily. There seemed to be a bit too much space down left to start with and all, so we clearly weren’t getting a few things right. An Eduardo and Essien clash, sees Essien up on his feet pretty much straight away while Eduardo took a bit more pampering before he could rise. But altogether, a pretty lively start from the gunners even if they’re preference was to try to walk the ball into our area. Our passing game in the early stages left a lot to be desired and it all felt a bit frustrating. Our best move doing those early stages came from Joe Cole’s quick feet which saw him feed in Drogba who must’ve been offside by all of a blade of grass.
Penalty shout for them a minute or so later, but there really hadn’t been much of a shout to try for. We on the othet hand, had a Stonewall penalty not given when on 18 minutes, Sagna’s arm round Anelka’s waist clearly brought him down in front of goal – and United feel they’re the only side hard done by?!
Mikel was beginning to irritate with his far too casual approach which saw him caught in possession way too often. And then after the half hour it was Didier Drogba guilty of poor decision making – pushing forward, Anelka went on a blistering run and was unmarked yet Drogba makes the pass to Joe Cole who had two men on him. Argh!
Still, in the 41st minute, a beautiful ball to Drogba in the box from none other than Arsenal’s favourite Chelsea man, Ashley Cole. Drogba’s lovely finish saw it come off both bar and post – cracking goal. Then in the 44th min, another quality ball in from Ashley Cole and Vermaelen pops it in the back of the net for us, sending us into the break two goals up.
Arsenal again started the better side in the second half and thought they’d scored in the 48th – fortunately the whistle had already blown before the shot had left Arshavin’s foot courtesy of a slightly stray boot attempting to dislodge Cech’s trachea. Walcott on for them second half saw Ashley Cole less keen to get forward. Then a period of stop-start football disrupted play on the hour, with one free-kick after the other. Whilst the corner was being prepared, JT was noted to have a word with the ref about a previous corner where Vermaelen was apparently trying to see how many times he could wrap himself around the Chelsea captain with no foul given – so to all those who slate the Chelsea captain for getting into the same sought of scuffles in the box it just goes to show he clearly isn’t the only one the refs fail to see.
Just after the hour, Drogba puts ball in Lamps deflects it off his chest and it was only saved by the fingertips of Almunia, so we clearly weren’t sitting back on our lead.
You’d have to say from this game though, you could see why we have the tightest defence in the league. Deco on for Joe Cole (68 mins) to a chorus of ‘twat’ in my house. Mikel gives away a free-kick in dangerous area a minute later and managed to get himself a yellow into the bargain. Paulo Ferreira on for A Cole (71 min) – plenty of boos but then he did set up both goals in the first half, lol.
To pretty much round it all off, Cesc Fabregas brings Essien down, whinging his arse off when the foul is given, although had more reason to whinge when Didier Drogba stepped up to take the free-kick in the 85th min, banging it into the net. 3-0 and empty home seats all round, bloody lightweights.
Overall then I don’t think Arsenal necessarily did badly, they certainly pressed us hard enough and had the better of us for twenty minutes, their trouble though, apart from missing the odd big name player in their squad is that they want to walk the ball into the area and they just ain’t going to get that opportunity in games like this. Our defence isn’t the tightest in the league for nothing and JT put in an outstanding performance yesterday. Talking of outstanding performances though, Anelka and Drogba yet again made such a difference, with Anelka having another really good game – and Ashley Cole’s contribution was irony in the extreme.
Arsenal had the better start and plenty of possession in the first twent minutes, whilst Mikel was found wanting in the concentration department and was pushed off the ball a little too easily. There seemed to be a bit too much space down left to start with and all, so we clearly weren’t getting a few things right. An Eduardo and Essien clash, sees Essien up on his feet pretty much straight away while Eduardo took a bit more pampering before he could rise. But altogether, a pretty lively start from the gunners even if they’re preference was to try to walk the ball into our area. Our passing game in the early stages left a lot to be desired and it all felt a bit frustrating. Our best move doing those early stages came from Joe Cole’s quick feet which saw him feed in Drogba who must’ve been offside by all of a blade of grass.
Penalty shout for them a minute or so later, but there really hadn’t been much of a shout to try for. We on the othet hand, had a Stonewall penalty not given when on 18 minutes, Sagna’s arm round Anelka’s waist clearly brought him down in front of goal – and United feel they’re the only side hard done by?!
Mikel was beginning to irritate with his far too casual approach which saw him caught in possession way too often. And then after the half hour it was Didier Drogba guilty of poor decision making – pushing forward, Anelka went on a blistering run and was unmarked yet Drogba makes the pass to Joe Cole who had two men on him. Argh!
Still, in the 41st minute, a beautiful ball to Drogba in the box from none other than Arsenal’s favourite Chelsea man, Ashley Cole. Drogba’s lovely finish saw it come off both bar and post – cracking goal. Then in the 44th min, another quality ball in from Ashley Cole and Vermaelen pops it in the back of the net for us, sending us into the break two goals up.
Arsenal again started the better side in the second half and thought they’d scored in the 48th – fortunately the whistle had already blown before the shot had left Arshavin’s foot courtesy of a slightly stray boot attempting to dislodge Cech’s trachea. Walcott on for them second half saw Ashley Cole less keen to get forward. Then a period of stop-start football disrupted play on the hour, with one free-kick after the other. Whilst the corner was being prepared, JT was noted to have a word with the ref about a previous corner where Vermaelen was apparently trying to see how many times he could wrap himself around the Chelsea captain with no foul given – so to all those who slate the Chelsea captain for getting into the same sought of scuffles in the box it just goes to show he clearly isn’t the only one the refs fail to see.
Just after the hour, Drogba puts ball in Lamps deflects it off his chest and it was only saved by the fingertips of Almunia, so we clearly weren’t sitting back on our lead.
You’d have to say from this game though, you could see why we have the tightest defence in the league. Deco on for Joe Cole (68 mins) to a chorus of ‘twat’ in my house. Mikel gives away a free-kick in dangerous area a minute later and managed to get himself a yellow into the bargain. Paulo Ferreira on for A Cole (71 min) – plenty of boos but then he did set up both goals in the first half, lol.
To pretty much round it all off, Cesc Fabregas brings Essien down, whinging his arse off when the foul is given, although had more reason to whinge when Didier Drogba stepped up to take the free-kick in the 85th min, banging it into the net. 3-0 and empty home seats all round, bloody lightweights.
Overall then I don’t think Arsenal necessarily did badly, they certainly pressed us hard enough and had the better of us for twenty minutes, their trouble though, apart from missing the odd big name player in their squad is that they want to walk the ball into the area and they just ain’t going to get that opportunity in games like this. Our defence isn’t the tightest in the league for nothing and JT put in an outstanding performance yesterday. Talking of outstanding performances though, Anelka and Drogba yet again made such a difference, with Anelka having another really good game – and Ashley Cole’s contribution was irony in the extreme.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Arsenal vs CHELSEA: Preview
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Date: Sunday, 29 November
Kick-off 1600 GMT
A win for United yesterday put them just two points behind us so we need a result today to make that gap a little bit more respectable again – and it’s Arsenal at the Emirates.
We go into the game eight points ahead of Arsenal, although they have a game in hand to reassure them the gap between us this season isn’t quite so big. Ancelotti hasn’t done a bad job with our ‘pensioners’ since he took over and although some might point to the fact that neither did Scolari to start with last season, our wins against both Liverpool and Manchester United so far this campaign suggest the latest Chelsea boss isn’t quite as sloppy as his predecessor. Wenger meanwhile continues to put his faith in a much younger side although is yet to have his faith repaid in the absence of any silverware.
MANAGERS’ VIEWS
Going into this game, Wenger reiterates his belief in his ‘young guns’, stating “There is a period for any team to come out and show its strength. For my team, this moment has come. We have the strength and we want to show we’re strong enough to beat them. We are not anymore a team that has to be considered to be young. I believe for us the most important thing is to stick to our game, do not focus on any special individual on the other side, because you win these kind of games by dominating the game. If we focus too much on Chelsea it won’t help us.”
Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t seem to see today’s game in the same way as his opposing manager, saying “This is not a decisive match for Chelsea or for Arsenal. It’s an important match. Arsenal will want to win the game, and Chelsea also, but it’s not decisive for the title. It would be 11 points if we won, but Arsenal would have a game in hand. It’s not so important for the title. It is a very important game because Arsenal are one of the most important teams in England and Europe. They’re playing very well. I like their style - they try to play and attack to create difficulties for the other teams. It will be a very good test for us.”
SQUAD NEWS
Arsenal will be without Gibbs (metatarsal), Bendtner (groin), Djourou (knee), Van Persie (ankle) and Wilshere (ankle), with Clichy (back), Diaby (calf) and Fabianski (thigh) said to be doubtful. William Gallas is likely to return after an eye injury in the Champions League.
For us, Jose Bosingwa (knee) remains out although Frank Lampard is fit again.
TEAMS
ARSENAL: (from): Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Traore, Song, Denilson, Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Walcott, Mannone, Eduardo, Eboue, Vela, Senderos, Wilshere, Silvestre, Ramsey, Rosicky.
CHELSEA: (from): Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Ivanovic, A Cole, Zhirkov, Carvalho, Terry, Alex, Essien, Lampard, Belletti, Mikel, Ballack, Malouda, Kakuta, Deco, J Cole, Kalou, Anelka, Drogba
LAST MEETING
Arsenal 1-4 Chelsea (May 10th 2009)
PREDICTION
Arsenal have lost just one of their last 10 London derbies, although they’ve failed to beat any of the ‘Big Four’ in their last 5 attempts. We, on the other hand, have won our last five London derbies in the league and our last three against ‘Big Four’ sides, so from recent records at least, it looks favourable for us. Having said that, this time last season we sat top of the table, 8 points clear of Manchester United – and it was pretty much downhill between then and Scolari’s departure, so let’s not get too carried away with ourselves. I’m thinking the fact that today sees the strongest attack in the Premier League (Arsenal have scored 36 from 12 games) against the tightest defence (we’ve conceded 8 in 13) points to us coming away with no more than a draw although Van Persie’s absence might just shift the odds back in our favour.
REFEREE
Andre Marriner
Wenger Gets His Handbag Out Ahead Of Chelsea Game
You have to laugh at Wenger really, he always tries to give mind games a go before big games and never quite gets it right.
Bearing in mind we haven’t done much wrong in terms of our football so far this season, the sour-faced Arsenal manager has had a scrabble round and come up with some half-cocked notion that our transfer ban isn’t a punishment.
The whinging Frenchman says “It is no punishment. I believe that FIFA never stopped anybody from moving, no matter what you do. They just can suspend the player after or the club. I didn’t know that the appeal was working but maybe Chelsea has appealed and until the appeal court comes forward they can buy.”
So the fact we’ll be able to buy in the January window – where we’d be lucky to buy any players of substance and anyone we did bring is likely to be cup-tied yet by the summer, when clubs generally look to bring in the real quality, we won’t be able to – means we won’t suffer from the ban according to Wenger.
He has to concede Chelsea are perfectly entitled to use the loophole and goes on “I believe also that it’s not for us to dream that Chelsea is handicapped [when it comes to] buying players. It’s more about us turning up with proper performances. At the end of the day they will always have 11 good players.”
We’ll look out for that ‘proper performance’ tomorrow then eh?
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Porto 0-1 CHELSEA: Top Spot Secure With A Game To Spare
Well, it weren’t pretty but seeing as we’ve clinched top spot in the group, you’d have to say it was effective.
I suppose with us both having qualified for the knockout stages already, the sort of game we got was the sort of game we expected. We started off ok with efforts from Malouda, Drogba and Ballack, but to be fair, Porto had the better first half with Petr Cech at fault for giving away second chances before redeeming himself. It was just one of those nights where our attacking edge went walkabouts and appeared to have taken our passing ability with it.
In terms of tempo, if the first half was a stroll, we upped it to a brisk walk in the second, with Deco shooting just wide in the 52nd minute. Michael Essien came off the bench for Ballack – who really wasn’t having one of his better nights – in the 67th minute and just two minutes later Nicolas Anelka headed us in front. Florent Malouda, whose crosses seemed to have been more miss than hit all night, picked up a Yuri Zhirkov pass and finally put in a cross the stooping Anelka could get on the end of - and that turned out to be enough to secure the win.
Overall though, a pretty even game that we just about deserved to win and were pretty lucky to get out of without adding to our injury list bearing in mind Porto weren’t exactly genteel.
Bring on Arsenal.
TEAMS
PORTO: Beto, Sapunaru, Rolando, Bruno Alves, Pereira, Belluschi, Fernando, Raul Meireles, Varela, Falcao, Rodriguez.
Subs: Nuno, Guarin, Valeri, Hulk, Maicon, Farias, Costa.
CHELSEA: Cech, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, Zhirkov, Mikel, Ballack, Malouda, Deco, Anelka, Drogba.
Subs: Turnbull, Ashley Cole, Essien, Joe Cole, Kalou, Alex, Belletti.
Chelsea To Miss Usual Liverpool Fixture
What we won’t see this season:
What we will see this season:
Yep, that’s right, ickle Stevie Me could spend the rest of this season burying his head and pretending Liverpool’s failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League isn’t such a bad thing.
After the game, the Liverpool captain tried to dress it up a bit, insisting “Of course it’s disappointing, we played fantastically well tonight and despite getting three points we don’t progress. Hopefully now we’ll be in the Europa League so we’ll try to win that. The main prize has gone and to be playing in the Europa League is disappointing but we have to accept that, move on and try to win that competition. The only consolation in this is if we go on and win the secondary one.” Wrap it up and put as many bows on it as you like Gerrard – you didn’t qualify because you’re just not good enough!
Obviously it’s devastating news for us though. Going into the knockout stages knowing we won’t be the team to knock them out this year. Knowing they won’t be scoring any of our goals for us this season. Then again, if it means we won’t be ‘conceding’ any ghost goals either, maybe it isn’t such a bad thing after all?
Getttttt Innnn!!!
What we will see this season:
Yep, that’s right, ickle Stevie Me could spend the rest of this season burying his head and pretending Liverpool’s failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League isn’t such a bad thing.
After the game, the Liverpool captain tried to dress it up a bit, insisting “Of course it’s disappointing, we played fantastically well tonight and despite getting three points we don’t progress. Hopefully now we’ll be in the Europa League so we’ll try to win that. The main prize has gone and to be playing in the Europa League is disappointing but we have to accept that, move on and try to win that competition. The only consolation in this is if we go on and win the secondary one.” Wrap it up and put as many bows on it as you like Gerrard – you didn’t qualify because you’re just not good enough!
Obviously it’s devastating news for us though. Going into the knockout stages knowing we won’t be the team to knock them out this year. Knowing they won’t be scoring any of our goals for us this season. Then again, if it means we won’t be ‘conceding’ any ghost goals either, maybe it isn’t such a bad thing after all?
Getttttt Innnn!!!
Are Chelsea Champions League favourites?
Very often during football, there is an opinion that seems to be mutually accepted regardless of how valid it is. The view Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can’t play together for England is one example and the view that the Serie A is boring is another.
Stretching this to beyond football, in this year’s X Factor it was mentioned once that contestant Danyl Johnson wasn’t likeable and suddenly everyone believed it. Word spreads as they say.
Why is this relevant to Chelsea this season I hear you ask?! Well, for one reason or another everyone seems to have decided that this is ‘Chelsea’s year’ to win the Champions League. Everyone has been tipping The Blues for success in Europe and this includes Wolves boss Mick McCarthy - and he should know after the battering they took this weekend. McCarthy was talking up the impact of Carlo Ancelotti and claims that the playing squad look as good as they did ‘under Jose Mourinho’. He describes the Chelsea team as a ‘happy bunch’ who are clearly high on confidence right now.
How valid is this opinion that it is Chelsea’s year for the Champions League then? Well, they certainly have a superb chance. A lot of the talk may be because they have come so close before. It must only be a matter of time before they go all of the way?
Another reason for this view could be the slight decline of Manchester United. They haven’t been at their best this season and have missed Cristiano Ronaldo a great deal. As for England’s other teams, Liverpool might not even qualify for the knock-out stages and question marks still remain over Arsenal’s credentials to go all the way.
So, in theory, that leaves Chelsea as the English team with the best odds to win the Champions League. Considering the Premier League is arguably the best league in the world, Chelsea are the front-runners for Champions League success, right?
Ancelotti certainly knows how to win the competition and several Chelsea players are at the peak of their career. The likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack and Nicolas Anelka will be determined to win a Champions League medal for Chelsea and this year may well be the time to do it.
Overall, there are many reasons why Chelsea are being hotly tipped for conquering Europe this season. Fans of the club will just be hoping that they manage to live up to their favourites tag and are celebrating in Madrid next May.
Stretching this to beyond football, in this year’s X Factor it was mentioned once that contestant Danyl Johnson wasn’t likeable and suddenly everyone believed it. Word spreads as they say.
Why is this relevant to Chelsea this season I hear you ask?! Well, for one reason or another everyone seems to have decided that this is ‘Chelsea’s year’ to win the Champions League. Everyone has been tipping The Blues for success in Europe and this includes Wolves boss Mick McCarthy - and he should know after the battering they took this weekend. McCarthy was talking up the impact of Carlo Ancelotti and claims that the playing squad look as good as they did ‘under Jose Mourinho’. He describes the Chelsea team as a ‘happy bunch’ who are clearly high on confidence right now.
How valid is this opinion that it is Chelsea’s year for the Champions League then? Well, they certainly have a superb chance. A lot of the talk may be because they have come so close before. It must only be a matter of time before they go all of the way?
Another reason for this view could be the slight decline of Manchester United. They haven’t been at their best this season and have missed Cristiano Ronaldo a great deal. As for England’s other teams, Liverpool might not even qualify for the knock-out stages and question marks still remain over Arsenal’s credentials to go all the way.
So, in theory, that leaves Chelsea as the English team with the best odds to win the Champions League. Considering the Premier League is arguably the best league in the world, Chelsea are the front-runners for Champions League success, right?
Ancelotti certainly knows how to win the competition and several Chelsea players are at the peak of their career. The likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack and Nicolas Anelka will be determined to win a Champions League medal for Chelsea and this year may well be the time to do it.
Overall, there are many reasons why Chelsea are being hotly tipped for conquering Europe this season. Fans of the club will just be hoping that they manage to live up to their favourites tag and are celebrating in Madrid next May.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
CHELSEA vs Wolves: Preview
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: Saturday, 21 November 2009
Kick-off: 1500
It’s been a while since we played Wolves in the Premier League and the last time we did do that at Stamford Bridge, we battered them 5-2 courtesy of a Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink hat-trick.
Mind you, that was back in 2004 and Jimmy Floyd won’t be up front for us this time, unfortunately though neither will Didier Drogba because his is one of the names on our ever-increasing injury list. Mind you, the one positive to come from today’s injury-enforced changes could be opportunities for some of our younger players, with the likes Fabio Borini, Nemanja Matic and Gael Kakuta making today’s bench.
MANAGERS’ THOUGHTS
With our midfield and first choice striker missing, Carlo Ancelotti has concentrated on boosting our defence’s confidence ahead of today’s game, stating “From the start of the season the defensive line did very well. With Alex, Ivanovic, Terry, Carvalho, I think Chelsea has the best central defence in the world at the moment. It is the same level as I had at Milan. I was very happy with [Alessandro] Nesta and [Paolo] Maldini there in the past and also I am happy to train the Chelsea defenders. No-one has four central defenders with this quality. They can play in any team in the world.” Not that he’s suggesting Wolves will be a doddle though, insisting “I know them and they have played a lot of games with very good play. They have good strikers and I think Kevin Doyle tomorrow will be hungry because of what happened Wednesday with Ireland. We have to pay attention.”
Mick McCarthy appears full of praise for his opposing number ahead of the game, stating “I have been impressed, but he wasn’t a rookie manager was he? He has won the Champions League twice so I am not surprised with what he has done. He has got a good group of players and they look to me like they were under Jose Mourinho when he first arrived. They look a really happy bunch together and there is no tittle tattle coming out of there anymore. If they end up being the best team in the Premier League they will not be far away from being one of the winners in Europe.” And as for how he plans to ‘stop’ us today, says “It is a hugely enviable task as everyone wants to be doing it. All those teams in the Championship would like to be doing exactly the same. How do we stop them? We go and play against them. I always take the view that they will lose a game. I said the same thing before we played Arsenal and I still say if we had scored when we were on top at the start of the game who knows what would have happened. We would have been 1-0 up and that would have changed the course of the game and changed the way that it is played. We are second bottom, we are playing the best team and we are not fancied. They may be the best team in the world with the best players, with the best manager against a whole load of rookies that have just come up with a manager who has been in the Premier League once, gone down and got the sack. All those things are against us but this is a game of football and you know what, we might just get a handball and win it. That is football. I can’t give anyone a game plan about how I am going to beat Chelsea so don’t even ask me. Don’t be so barmy to ask me how are we going to stop them, how are we going to do this and that because they can come up with something brilliant out of nothing against far better teams than us. But it is a game of football and Hull weren’t fancied to beat Tottenham or Arsenal last season.”
SQUAD NEWS
Thanks largely to the international break and Johny Evans’ studs, Chelsea will be missing Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Deco and Didier Drogba through injury. John Terry is a doubt although could play a part if he comes through a late fitness test. Ashley Cole should be fit to return although Jose Bosingwa remains out long-term.
For Wolves, Iwelumo, Jones and Ward miss out. Kevin Foley could feature although Michael Mancienne is ineligible and Ronald Zubar is a doubt.
TEAMS
CHELSEA (from): Cech, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, Alex, A Cole, Essien, J Cole, Anelka, Kalou, Borini, Matic, Kakuta, Hilario, Ferreira, Mikel Obi, Malouda.
WOLVES (from): Hennessey, Hahnemann, Zubar, Foley, Stearman, Berra, Craddock, Elokobi, Kightly, Halford, Henry, Milijas, Castillo, Edwards, Jarvis, Ebanks-Blake, Keogh, Maierhofer, Doyle.
LAST MEETING
Chelsea 5-2 Wolves (27 March 2004)
PREDICTION
Wolves have struggled for goals this season and that might not bode well against the best defence in the Premier League. Having said that, with our midfield depleted and Didier Drogba missing up front, the Wolves defence might not exactly be overrun either.
Date: Saturday, 21 November 2009
Kick-off: 1500
It’s been a while since we played Wolves in the Premier League and the last time we did do that at Stamford Bridge, we battered them 5-2 courtesy of a Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink hat-trick.
Mind you, that was back in 2004 and Jimmy Floyd won’t be up front for us this time, unfortunately though neither will Didier Drogba because his is one of the names on our ever-increasing injury list. Mind you, the one positive to come from today’s injury-enforced changes could be opportunities for some of our younger players, with the likes Fabio Borini, Nemanja Matic and Gael Kakuta making today’s bench.
MANAGERS’ THOUGHTS
With our midfield and first choice striker missing, Carlo Ancelotti has concentrated on boosting our defence’s confidence ahead of today’s game, stating “From the start of the season the defensive line did very well. With Alex, Ivanovic, Terry, Carvalho, I think Chelsea has the best central defence in the world at the moment. It is the same level as I had at Milan. I was very happy with [Alessandro] Nesta and [Paolo] Maldini there in the past and also I am happy to train the Chelsea defenders. No-one has four central defenders with this quality. They can play in any team in the world.” Not that he’s suggesting Wolves will be a doddle though, insisting “I know them and they have played a lot of games with very good play. They have good strikers and I think Kevin Doyle tomorrow will be hungry because of what happened Wednesday with Ireland. We have to pay attention.”
Mick McCarthy appears full of praise for his opposing number ahead of the game, stating “I have been impressed, but he wasn’t a rookie manager was he? He has won the Champions League twice so I am not surprised with what he has done. He has got a good group of players and they look to me like they were under Jose Mourinho when he first arrived. They look a really happy bunch together and there is no tittle tattle coming out of there anymore. If they end up being the best team in the Premier League they will not be far away from being one of the winners in Europe.” And as for how he plans to ‘stop’ us today, says “It is a hugely enviable task as everyone wants to be doing it. All those teams in the Championship would like to be doing exactly the same. How do we stop them? We go and play against them. I always take the view that they will lose a game. I said the same thing before we played Arsenal and I still say if we had scored when we were on top at the start of the game who knows what would have happened. We would have been 1-0 up and that would have changed the course of the game and changed the way that it is played. We are second bottom, we are playing the best team and we are not fancied. They may be the best team in the world with the best players, with the best manager against a whole load of rookies that have just come up with a manager who has been in the Premier League once, gone down and got the sack. All those things are against us but this is a game of football and you know what, we might just get a handball and win it. That is football. I can’t give anyone a game plan about how I am going to beat Chelsea so don’t even ask me. Don’t be so barmy to ask me how are we going to stop them, how are we going to do this and that because they can come up with something brilliant out of nothing against far better teams than us. But it is a game of football and Hull weren’t fancied to beat Tottenham or Arsenal last season.”
SQUAD NEWS
Thanks largely to the international break and Johny Evans’ studs, Chelsea will be missing Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Deco and Didier Drogba through injury. John Terry is a doubt although could play a part if he comes through a late fitness test. Ashley Cole should be fit to return although Jose Bosingwa remains out long-term.
For Wolves, Iwelumo, Jones and Ward miss out. Kevin Foley could feature although Michael Mancienne is ineligible and Ronald Zubar is a doubt.
TEAMS
CHELSEA (from): Cech, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, Alex, A Cole, Essien, J Cole, Anelka, Kalou, Borini, Matic, Kakuta, Hilario, Ferreira, Mikel Obi, Malouda.
WOLVES (from): Hennessey, Hahnemann, Zubar, Foley, Stearman, Berra, Craddock, Elokobi, Kightly, Halford, Henry, Milijas, Castillo, Edwards, Jarvis, Ebanks-Blake, Keogh, Maierhofer, Doyle.
LAST MEETING
Chelsea 5-2 Wolves (27 March 2004)
PREDICTION
Wolves have struggled for goals this season and that might not bode well against the best defence in the Premier League. Having said that, with our midfield depleted and Didier Drogba missing up front, the Wolves defence might not exactly be overrun either.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
NOW IT’S OUR TURN
The support staff at Cobham are not only workers in football, but football lovers as well, as is shown in a weekly ritual. Old Blue Eyes has been known to be among them.
Walking through a park on a Sunday morning, or along the beach on a summer's afternoon, there can be few football fans who can see a game of football going on and not want to be at least in some way involved.
The sights and sounds of that ball flying back and forth make it very hard to resist, so spare a thought for the staff at Cobham, who have to endure day after endless day of witnessing some of the finest footballers of their generation strutting their stuff merely yards away.
It all breeds just a little bit of envy in the various offices, corridors and groundsmen's sheds of the training ground, so every now and then when the pros have departed, everybody else dons a pair of boots and gathers together what kit they can to try and replicate what they see on the training field.
Of course the coaching staff like to be involved too, and while Carlo Ancelotti is yet to be seen in action, his assistants Ray Wilkins and Paul Clement are often keen to show that their years of studying the game have not gone to waste.
There is talent too in the lesser-known participants. Reserve coach Steve Holland has a bag of tricks you would pay to watch, while video analysts James Melbourne and Christy Fenwick were YTS players at Grimsby and Cheltenham respectively, not forgetting chief scout Michael Emenalo played in a World Cup for Nigeria.
Not everyone has such impressive credentials, but as in any group, there are declarations of trials here or there among other staff, while others claim serious injury robbed them of a real shot at the pro game. Said injuries appear to have healed by the time the weekly staff match comes around.
Clement, who never actually played professionally, often takes the role of player-ref, allowing him to rein in the competitive edge of some individuals, while also bending the rules for his own side's benefit, gaining advantage wherever it can be harnessed.
As with all impromptu matches, numbers vary from game to game, but the will to win never wavers.
There are of course odd flashes of brilliance and occasional interest from players who are still hanging around, yet youngster Fabio Borini perhaps best summed up the all-round appeal of the spectacle on offer.
Sat at the side one day after treatment on an injury and offered the whistle-blowing opportunity of a lifetime, he simply said: 'I am not sitting through this!' and promptly left.
As anyone in the game, professional or otherwise will tell you though, it's not the performances but the three points that count.
Walking through a park on a Sunday morning, or along the beach on a summer's afternoon, there can be few football fans who can see a game of football going on and not want to be at least in some way involved.
The sights and sounds of that ball flying back and forth make it very hard to resist, so spare a thought for the staff at Cobham, who have to endure day after endless day of witnessing some of the finest footballers of their generation strutting their stuff merely yards away.
It all breeds just a little bit of envy in the various offices, corridors and groundsmen's sheds of the training ground, so every now and then when the pros have departed, everybody else dons a pair of boots and gathers together what kit they can to try and replicate what they see on the training field.
Of course the coaching staff like to be involved too, and while Carlo Ancelotti is yet to be seen in action, his assistants Ray Wilkins and Paul Clement are often keen to show that their years of studying the game have not gone to waste.
There is talent too in the lesser-known participants. Reserve coach Steve Holland has a bag of tricks you would pay to watch, while video analysts James Melbourne and Christy Fenwick were YTS players at Grimsby and Cheltenham respectively, not forgetting chief scout Michael Emenalo played in a World Cup for Nigeria.
Not everyone has such impressive credentials, but as in any group, there are declarations of trials here or there among other staff, while others claim serious injury robbed them of a real shot at the pro game. Said injuries appear to have healed by the time the weekly staff match comes around.
Clement, who never actually played professionally, often takes the role of player-ref, allowing him to rein in the competitive edge of some individuals, while also bending the rules for his own side's benefit, gaining advantage wherever it can be harnessed.
As with all impromptu matches, numbers vary from game to game, but the will to win never wavers.
There are of course odd flashes of brilliance and occasional interest from players who are still hanging around, yet youngster Fabio Borini perhaps best summed up the all-round appeal of the spectacle on offer.
Sat at the side one day after treatment on an injury and offered the whistle-blowing opportunity of a lifetime, he simply said: 'I am not sitting through this!' and promptly left.
As anyone in the game, professional or otherwise will tell you though, it's not the performances but the three points that count.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Ancelotti denies Italy claim
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has denied media reports in Italy which claimed he could become the next manager of the national team.
The 50-year-old former Reggiana, Parma and Juventus coach is reported to be the preferred candidate of officials in Italy to replace current international boss Marcello Lippi when his contract with the Azzurri expires at the end of next summer's World Cup Finals.
But after ending his eight-year reign at AC Milan to take over at Chelsea last summer, Ancelotti is in no rush to return to Italy.
He explained: "I won't be Azzurri coach next year.
"I'm Chelsea coach and we I want to see how this beautiful adventure will end."
Meanwhile, Ancelotti expects the reigning world champions to again be a prominent force in South Africa next summer, but stopped short of declaring them favourites for a second successive World Cup triumph.
"The World Cup is a fantastic spectacle and I'll see it live," he continued.
"It will be a balanced competition. I don't see a team that could stand out over the others.
Top headlines, outrageous puns and crazy stories. It's all here in What the Papers Say...
"In South Africa the climate will be fresh, and theoretically, it's an advantage for the game."
Ghana launch investigation after Chelsea's Michael Essien and former Portsmouth star Sulley Muntari go AWOL
The Ghana Football Association will investigate the absence of Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, Inter Milan's ex-Portsmouth ace Sulley Muntari and Rennes striker Asamoah Gyan from the squad which travelled to Luanda for Wednesday's friendly against Angola.
The trio were not part of the group which left Accra on Monday for the game at the Coqueiros Stadium, but did not have the consent of head coach Milovan Rajevac to leave the squad.
A statement on the GFA website from general secretary Kofi Nsiah read: 'In accordance with prescribed FIFA regulations for the release of players for national team matches, the FA wrote to and secured the release of 20 players to honour the World Cup qualifying match against Mali on November 15 and the international friendly against Angola on November 18.
'Unfortunately, three players, namely Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan, did not travel with the team to Angola on Monday night.
'The players stayed out without the permission of the head coach, Mr Milovan Rajevac.
'The FA views this act with great concern and will investigate the matter further to inform its next course of action.'
The trio were not part of the group which left Accra on Monday for the game at the Coqueiros Stadium, but did not have the consent of head coach Milovan Rajevac to leave the squad.
A statement on the GFA website from general secretary Kofi Nsiah read: 'In accordance with prescribed FIFA regulations for the release of players for national team matches, the FA wrote to and secured the release of 20 players to honour the World Cup qualifying match against Mali on November 15 and the international friendly against Angola on November 18.
'Unfortunately, three players, namely Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan, did not travel with the team to Angola on Monday night.
'The players stayed out without the permission of the head coach, Mr Milovan Rajevac.
'The FA views this act with great concern and will investigate the matter further to inform its next course of action.'
Ghana launch investigation after Chelsea's Michael Essien and former Portsmouth star Sulley Muntari go AWOL
The Ghana Football Association will investigate the absence of Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, Inter Milan's ex-Portsmouth ace Sulley Muntari and Rennes striker Asamoah Gyan from the squad which travelled to Luanda for Wednesday's friendly against Angola.
The trio were not part of the group which left Accra on Monday for the game at the Coqueiros Stadium, but did not have the consent of head coach Milovan Rajevac to leave the squad.
A statement on the GFA website from general secretary Kofi Nsiah read: 'In accordance with prescribed FIFA regulations for the release of players for national team matches, the FA wrote to and secured the release of 20 players to honour the World Cup qualifying match against Mali on November 15 and the international friendly against Angola on November 18.
'Unfortunately, three players, namely Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan, did not travel with the team to Angola on Monday night.
'The players stayed out without the permission of the head coach, Mr Milovan Rajevac.
'The FA views this act with great concern and will investigate the matter further to inform its next course of action.'
The trio were not part of the group which left Accra on Monday for the game at the Coqueiros Stadium, but did not have the consent of head coach Milovan Rajevac to leave the squad.
A statement on the GFA website from general secretary Kofi Nsiah read: 'In accordance with prescribed FIFA regulations for the release of players for national team matches, the FA wrote to and secured the release of 20 players to honour the World Cup qualifying match against Mali on November 15 and the international friendly against Angola on November 18.
'Unfortunately, three players, namely Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan, did not travel with the team to Angola on Monday night.
'The players stayed out without the permission of the head coach, Mr Milovan Rajevac.
'The FA views this act with great concern and will investigate the matter further to inform its next course of action.'
Zhirkov risks injury for Russia and blames pain on London climate
Chelsea new boy Yuri Zhirkov is ready to risk aggravating his unexplained knee injuries by playing in discomfort for Russia tonight.
The £18m summer signing from CSKA Moscow has been told a change in climate or even diet could be the reason for swelling that has limited him to about 90 minutes of football for the Blues this season.
Injury to left-back Ashley Cole could give Zhirkov the chance to make his mark at Stamford Bridge, but the 25-year-old must first come through the second-leg of Russia's World Cup qualification play-off in Slovenia.
Mind the knee: Yuri Zhirkov rides a challenge when lining up for Russia against Slovenia at the weekend
'I will not hide that my right knee continues to bother me,' said Zhirkov in the run-up to the game in Maribor, for which Russia hold a 2-1 lead.
'The pain goes away and then reappears. Hopefully I will be all right.
'I am always happy to help the (national) team. Before the match at the Luzhniki I said that I was ready. Fortunately, the coaches trusted me with a place in the team.
'Of course, I want very much to play as soon as possible for Chelsea. I'll do everything I can.'
Zhirkov hurt his right knee in pre-season against AC Milan, though it is thought the problem may have been the result of playing for years on the artificial pitch at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
He has since felt pain in both knees and suffered swelling after playing for less than 20 minutes as a substitute against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last month.
Frustration: Zhirkov has struggled to be fit for Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti (right)
Chelsea doctors have been so baffled that they have consulted experts in France and Germany while working on a number of theories as to the source of the problem.
Out of action: Ashley Cole is set for a spell on the sidelines
'The English doctors see my problems as a reaction of the body to drastic changes: in the climate, lifestyle, training work and in everything else,' he said.
'And no one can tell me what the medical predictions of my rehabilitation are.
'The British physicians even consulted with German specialists regarding me.
'They sent them my X-rays together with the detailed description of the problem but, as far as I understand, they failed to diagnose the problem.
'I try to remain optimistic: many players have had such difficulties. I am not the first, not the last. It is a pity that the problems coincided with my move to a new club.
'But if I keep being distressed the situation will not change. I must work and believe that everything is going to straighten out soon.
'In Chelsea the team is very good, all of them understand my situation. My case is not the first one, many newcomers of Chelsea were sidelined in the first months at the club.'
Chelsea in sight of record £50m deal for Atletico Madrid star Sergio AgueroFerguson predicts two-horse race for title between Man United and ChelseaKalou disciplined by Ivory Coast after Chelsea star kicks team-mate MeiteIrish are out to make France midfielder Diarra pay for World Cup insultCHELSEA FC
Chelsea’s Latest Casualty
Michael Ballack is the latest international casualty, with the German midfielder pulling out of tomorrow’s game against Ivory Coast.
It seems Ballack has a knee injury and the Germany coach confirms “We can definitely say that Michael Ballack will not play on Wednesday. He has an infection in the back of the knee and there has been a reaction. After consultation with the doctors - I also spoke to Michael Ballack - I have decided that he will not play. He needs two or three days of rest. It makes no sense to take risks, also in terms of Chelsea as they have quite a few games leading up to Christmas and afterwards.”
The rate we’re going we’ll be fielding our backroom staff against Wolves.
Petr Cech Offers Carlo Support
As I’m sure we all know by now, our ex-keeper Carlo Cudicini had a right nasty accident last week that left him in a pretty bad way.
Initial reports suggested he’d broken both wrists and his pelvis, so it really wasn’t sounding too good for the Italian. Well, the good news is he didn’t break his pelvis – although it seems he needed surgery on it anyway – unfortunately though, he did break both wrists, with one much worse than the other.
Anyway, our current keeper – who knows all about career-threatening injuries, thanks to the thug who cracked his skull – has been to visit Cudicini already and says “It is very sad but sometimes life brings unfortunate situations. Carlo has always been a great character and you can see he is coping. He is doing well and I think everybody should keep their fingers crossed for him to get well soon.”
TheChelseaBlog wishes him a speedy recovery.
Ancelotti In A Spot Of Bother
Tut, tut, it seems that while Carlo Ancelotti was taking a nice little rest during the international break, he should have been over in Italy – appearing in court. Our forgetful boss has now failed to turn up not once, but twice and the judge is threatening to send the police after him.
Ancelotti is meant to be testifying in the match-fixing trial relating to his time at AC Milan while all that dodgy stuff was going on in Serie A and whilst he wasn’t actually charged with anything at the time, it seems he could be now if he doesn’t get his backside over there in a hurry.
The Italian Judge warns “This is the second time Ancelotti has not turned up - tell him I will send the carabinieri to fetch him.”
Amnesia plea?
Ancelotti is meant to be testifying in the match-fixing trial relating to his time at AC Milan while all that dodgy stuff was going on in Serie A and whilst he wasn’t actually charged with anything at the time, it seems he could be now if he doesn’t get his backside over there in a hurry.
The Italian Judge warns “This is the second time Ancelotti has not turned up - tell him I will send the carabinieri to fetch him.”
Amnesia plea?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Chelsea Injuries: Should We Be Risking JT?
Our injury list has steadily increased lately, first Ashley Cole, then Jose Bosingwa, then Ashley Cole again – who it turned out had just about dragged himself through the pain barrier to play against United anyway.
This week, we heard that not only had Didier Drogba had suffered slightly more than the bruised ribs we first suspected after Evans’ kung-fu kick, and he’ll be out for a while. Not only that but Frank Lampard fell foul of the dreaded international friendlies – or maybe even the travel arrangements, who knows because he didn’t make it past the first training session. And it seems our captain didn’t fare much better in training for the game against Brazil either because having blocked a shot from Jermain Jenas, he aggravated his Achilles. By all accounts, in usual JT style, he was still prepared to play although fortunately Fabio Capello chose not to risk him.
Initial reports suggested the Chelsea captain could be out for a couple of weeks, although Terry is hopeful that won’t be the case, saying “I left my leg out and blocked a shot the other day. It clipped my Achilles which is still bit tender. It was touch and go. I gave it a go and it just wasn’t right. Will I be OK for next weekend? Fingers crossed. We will have to wait and see when I get back in the pool and start doing some work.”
Personally, I’d be happy to see him rested against Wolves rather than risking him ahead of Arsenal.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
GOURLAY CONSIDERS RENAMING GROUND TO PLEASE ROMAN
Yesterday, on his fourth day in charge, Ron Gourlay, Chelsea’s new Chief Executive, announced that the club would consider the naming rights for Stamford Bridge, provided that the words Stamford Bridge were also kept in the title.
This was met with obvious discontent, and we at CFCnet decided to run a poll to gauge the reaction and are not surprised that the huge majority hate the idea, we are overwhelmingly (yet unfortunately from the clubs perspective insignificantly) opposed to any name change, and feel that the true impact of such a name change hasn’t been considered.
Stamford Bridge, the only place us Chelsea fans have ever called home, is a stadium that pre-dates the club. Since it’s inception in the mid eighteen seventies, the ground was used for athletics, until Chelsea founder Gus Mears bought the leasehold in 1904.
We do have history, especially where it matters and that’s in the very origins of our club, we’ve always been called Chelsea Football Club, and we’ve ALWAYS played at Stamford Bridge.
Ron Gourlay, who at the last Fans Forum managed to keep a straight face when declaring to us that he was a Glasgow Rangers fan first, and a Chelsea fan second, rightly points out that with other clubs expanding their capacity and in order for us to keep up with domestic and European competition we need extra ways of revenue.
“What we are not prepared to happen, and I am sure our fans will appreciate this, is allow our rival clubs in England and Europe to gain a competitive advantage over us in terms of the revenue they can generate through either expanding the capacity of their existing stadia or moving to a new stadium and then invest that upside in their team or the club,”
The commercial and financial value of a new name has clearly been given serious consideration, but there seems to be a complete disregard for the comical and farcical aspects that also comes with it.
Whilst we should all be aware of the need to increase revenue, and economically there is obviously pressure from Roman breathing down on Gourlay, we cannot believe that this is really the strongest possibility being considered.
Just as the club claimed to explore every avenue to expand the current stadium (yet the Fans Forum Minutes omit a suggestion from Cliff from the CSG that to ease congestion there could be a Walkway alongside West Brompton – a point that was discussed in the meeting) it seems that true to form there have not been alternate avenues explored first, Gourlay has gone for a quick win in the eyes of the owner, with seemingly complete disregard for the attachments the fans place on our name.
The obvious point isn’t really valid, that we will always call it Stamford Bridge regardless of it’s corporate name, and only Richard Keys will call it by it’s new name. This devalues the price of the stadium further making less business sense, and whilst we’d like to see it perceived as being more prestigious because for us it’s groundbreaking (no pun intended), the truth is it isn’t, and corporates won’t see it this way either.
Gourlay, was also quick to point out that there has been ‘subsidised or free travel to a significant number of away games.’, something that yes, we are grateful for and always make a point of thanking them in the Fans Forum and other committees, but we have never asked for free travel, just that a break even figure was identified. They’ve taken the hit on that much more then the fans expected.
It was also mentioned by Ron Gourlay himself at the last Fans Forum, that a few years ago the Fans Forum raised bigger points (i.e. reverting back to the old badge), and that now the discussions are about smaller issues. Well, if this is the case Mr Gourlay, then how about using the Fans Forum as a platform to offer new ideas such as renaming our ground.
The next Forum (Dec 12th) is strictly on ticketing, an area that although headed by Graham Smith is a meeting that last season Gourlay also intended and got actively involved in. So I assume that he will be at this one, although we won’t be given the platform to discuss fans feelings on a potential name change (although the cynics amongst us will likely feel that it’ll be in place by then).
Here’s three quick ways I believe we could have avoided pondering a ground name change:
* Supported our managers. Our most successful ever manager had a contract until 2010 which he should still be seeing out, but instead we chose to sack him, promote Grant, offer him a four year deal and a then sack him just eight months later. His replacement, Big Phil, came in on a fat wage and lasted even less time. The figure for the their pay offs comes to about a quarter of the £100m figure being touted around.
* Not hiring unproven people such as Arneson, AND lining Spurs with £10m in the process, and watch him sign players who aren’t making significant headway. Then promote him onto the board that sits below the PLC, and just months later give him more responsibility as Sporting Director.
* Put a wage structure in place instead of breaking the barrier for players who offer far less a contribution then the likes of JT and Lamps.
This was met with obvious discontent, and we at CFCnet decided to run a poll to gauge the reaction and are not surprised that the huge majority hate the idea, we are overwhelmingly (yet unfortunately from the clubs perspective insignificantly) opposed to any name change, and feel that the true impact of such a name change hasn’t been considered.
Stamford Bridge, the only place us Chelsea fans have ever called home, is a stadium that pre-dates the club. Since it’s inception in the mid eighteen seventies, the ground was used for athletics, until Chelsea founder Gus Mears bought the leasehold in 1904.
We do have history, especially where it matters and that’s in the very origins of our club, we’ve always been called Chelsea Football Club, and we’ve ALWAYS played at Stamford Bridge.
Ron Gourlay, who at the last Fans Forum managed to keep a straight face when declaring to us that he was a Glasgow Rangers fan first, and a Chelsea fan second, rightly points out that with other clubs expanding their capacity and in order for us to keep up with domestic and European competition we need extra ways of revenue.
“What we are not prepared to happen, and I am sure our fans will appreciate this, is allow our rival clubs in England and Europe to gain a competitive advantage over us in terms of the revenue they can generate through either expanding the capacity of their existing stadia or moving to a new stadium and then invest that upside in their team or the club,”
The commercial and financial value of a new name has clearly been given serious consideration, but there seems to be a complete disregard for the comical and farcical aspects that also comes with it.
Whilst we should all be aware of the need to increase revenue, and economically there is obviously pressure from Roman breathing down on Gourlay, we cannot believe that this is really the strongest possibility being considered.
Just as the club claimed to explore every avenue to expand the current stadium (yet the Fans Forum Minutes omit a suggestion from Cliff from the CSG that to ease congestion there could be a Walkway alongside West Brompton – a point that was discussed in the meeting) it seems that true to form there have not been alternate avenues explored first, Gourlay has gone for a quick win in the eyes of the owner, with seemingly complete disregard for the attachments the fans place on our name.
The obvious point isn’t really valid, that we will always call it Stamford Bridge regardless of it’s corporate name, and only Richard Keys will call it by it’s new name. This devalues the price of the stadium further making less business sense, and whilst we’d like to see it perceived as being more prestigious because for us it’s groundbreaking (no pun intended), the truth is it isn’t, and corporates won’t see it this way either.
Gourlay, was also quick to point out that there has been ‘subsidised or free travel to a significant number of away games.’, something that yes, we are grateful for and always make a point of thanking them in the Fans Forum and other committees, but we have never asked for free travel, just that a break even figure was identified. They’ve taken the hit on that much more then the fans expected.
It was also mentioned by Ron Gourlay himself at the last Fans Forum, that a few years ago the Fans Forum raised bigger points (i.e. reverting back to the old badge), and that now the discussions are about smaller issues. Well, if this is the case Mr Gourlay, then how about using the Fans Forum as a platform to offer new ideas such as renaming our ground.
The next Forum (Dec 12th) is strictly on ticketing, an area that although headed by Graham Smith is a meeting that last season Gourlay also intended and got actively involved in. So I assume that he will be at this one, although we won’t be given the platform to discuss fans feelings on a potential name change (although the cynics amongst us will likely feel that it’ll be in place by then).
Here’s three quick ways I believe we could have avoided pondering a ground name change:
* Supported our managers. Our most successful ever manager had a contract until 2010 which he should still be seeing out, but instead we chose to sack him, promote Grant, offer him a four year deal and a then sack him just eight months later. His replacement, Big Phil, came in on a fat wage and lasted even less time. The figure for the their pay offs comes to about a quarter of the £100m figure being touted around.
* Not hiring unproven people such as Arneson, AND lining Spurs with £10m in the process, and watch him sign players who aren’t making significant headway. Then promote him onto the board that sits below the PLC, and just months later give him more responsibility as Sporting Director.
* Put a wage structure in place instead of breaking the barrier for players who offer far less a contribution then the likes of JT and Lamps.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
STICKING MY NECK OUT
With Sunday’s game satisfactorily out of the way, I am going to make a bold prediction – if we win the next three games we are home and dry as far as the Premiership is concerned. Forget the defection of the African boys in January, forget any potential blips and forget any signings in January (and I will come to this later) – the league will be as good as ours.
I don’t say this lightly but the next three games, one of which is a home banker against Wolves, will decide the season for us. Following the Wolves game we have two away games at Arsenal and Man City. In the meantime the OT Whingers are at home to Everton and away to Portsmouth and West Ham, an easy nine points for them if ever there were any. Especially with Everton’s propensity to lie down and allow themselves to be steamrolled whenever they play United, FA Cup semi finals excepted. The Arse, who play us at home, have Sunderland away and Stoke at home, that’s six points if not actually in the bank, certainly on their way there.
If, and that is not only an if with a capital I but also a capital F, we get nine points from these next three games, we will have a five point lead over Man U and eight on Arsenal, who will still have a game in hand.
And then the fun begins. We have Everton, Portsmouth, Fulham, Sunderland and Birmingham at home and West Ham, Hull, Sunderland and the Brummies again away. Both Arsenal and United have some tricky looking fixtures in the meantime, including playing against each other on the 30th January, Sky permitting, who will probably move the game to the next day.
Hopefully by the time we meet Arsenal on the 6th February (make that the 7th because of Sky) we will be home and dry. It may all sound like wishful thinking but hey, in a world stricken by a recession, terrorism and Simon Cowell, I see nothing wrong in indulging in a bit of day dreaming.
For all United’s whinging and whining I thought Sunday’s was a fair result. Except for a few minutes here and there after our goal I felt we were comfortable all through the game. And for all the controversy kicked up Sir Red Nose, by far the worst decisions must have been the non-sending off of Jonny Evans (twice because I thought kicking out at players like he did to Carvalho is a straight red in the real world) plus Drogba’s yellow card for getting kicked in the chest. It will be interesting to see if the FA intervene in the matter. The rules are so convoluted with retroactive punishment that I doubt the bigwigs in the FA understand them themselves. All I can say is that Michael Essien had got a two match ban in Europe for a foul that had gone unpunished during a game against Liverpool in the Champions League some years ago.
Finally to the transfer ban and its subsequent suspension until the case is finally decided. Am I the only one who thinks that it might not be such a good thing after all? At the moment we have the best squad in England, possibly Europe. All the players that have come in when one or more of the regular first eleven has been missing have done well. We have four players who can play right back, four great central defenders (plus Mancienne if need be) and both Ivanovic and Ferreira do well when employed on the left. We have eight players challenging for four places in midfield. Without Drogba, we might be a bit light in attack, but then we can always go to 4-3-3 with Joe Cole and Malouda/Zhirkov out wide.
While we will be without the four African guys in January, in reality Mikel and Kalou will be no great loss. Essien’s place was ably filled up by Belletti quite a few times and Ballack did it in pre-season America. I can also see Michael Mancienne doing a good job there if need be. Up front, Drogba is irreplaceable the way he is playing at the moment so I think we would be better off changing the system with Anelka alone up front. Our January fixtures consist of 2 rounds of the FA Cup, home games against Sunderland and Birmingham and away games at Burnley and Hull, not exactly daunting stuff I dare say.
My point is that if we had sleeping dogs lie with the ban, we would have at least gotten one transfer window ban out of the way when we don’t really need strengthening and then fight tooth and nail to get the ban reduced to one window. I do have a feeling that the ban will be reduced. If that were the case then we would have been free to buy players next summer, which is always a better time to do business than in January.
But then who am I to make such a suggestion when we have people paid millions of pounds a year to run the club who think that it is acceptable to call our beloved home Stamford Samsung Mobile Phones, Fridges and Freezers, Microwaves Bridge. And they make washing machines and dishwashers too by the way.
I don’t say this lightly but the next three games, one of which is a home banker against Wolves, will decide the season for us. Following the Wolves game we have two away games at Arsenal and Man City. In the meantime the OT Whingers are at home to Everton and away to Portsmouth and West Ham, an easy nine points for them if ever there were any. Especially with Everton’s propensity to lie down and allow themselves to be steamrolled whenever they play United, FA Cup semi finals excepted. The Arse, who play us at home, have Sunderland away and Stoke at home, that’s six points if not actually in the bank, certainly on their way there.
If, and that is not only an if with a capital I but also a capital F, we get nine points from these next three games, we will have a five point lead over Man U and eight on Arsenal, who will still have a game in hand.
And then the fun begins. We have Everton, Portsmouth, Fulham, Sunderland and Birmingham at home and West Ham, Hull, Sunderland and the Brummies again away. Both Arsenal and United have some tricky looking fixtures in the meantime, including playing against each other on the 30th January, Sky permitting, who will probably move the game to the next day.
Hopefully by the time we meet Arsenal on the 6th February (make that the 7th because of Sky) we will be home and dry. It may all sound like wishful thinking but hey, in a world stricken by a recession, terrorism and Simon Cowell, I see nothing wrong in indulging in a bit of day dreaming.
For all United’s whinging and whining I thought Sunday’s was a fair result. Except for a few minutes here and there after our goal I felt we were comfortable all through the game. And for all the controversy kicked up Sir Red Nose, by far the worst decisions must have been the non-sending off of Jonny Evans (twice because I thought kicking out at players like he did to Carvalho is a straight red in the real world) plus Drogba’s yellow card for getting kicked in the chest. It will be interesting to see if the FA intervene in the matter. The rules are so convoluted with retroactive punishment that I doubt the bigwigs in the FA understand them themselves. All I can say is that Michael Essien had got a two match ban in Europe for a foul that had gone unpunished during a game against Liverpool in the Champions League some years ago.
Finally to the transfer ban and its subsequent suspension until the case is finally decided. Am I the only one who thinks that it might not be such a good thing after all? At the moment we have the best squad in England, possibly Europe. All the players that have come in when one or more of the regular first eleven has been missing have done well. We have four players who can play right back, four great central defenders (plus Mancienne if need be) and both Ivanovic and Ferreira do well when employed on the left. We have eight players challenging for four places in midfield. Without Drogba, we might be a bit light in attack, but then we can always go to 4-3-3 with Joe Cole and Malouda/Zhirkov out wide.
While we will be without the four African guys in January, in reality Mikel and Kalou will be no great loss. Essien’s place was ably filled up by Belletti quite a few times and Ballack did it in pre-season America. I can also see Michael Mancienne doing a good job there if need be. Up front, Drogba is irreplaceable the way he is playing at the moment so I think we would be better off changing the system with Anelka alone up front. Our January fixtures consist of 2 rounds of the FA Cup, home games against Sunderland and Birmingham and away games at Burnley and Hull, not exactly daunting stuff I dare say.
My point is that if we had sleeping dogs lie with the ban, we would have at least gotten one transfer window ban out of the way when we don’t really need strengthening and then fight tooth and nail to get the ban reduced to one window. I do have a feeling that the ban will be reduced. If that were the case then we would have been free to buy players next summer, which is always a better time to do business than in January.
But then who am I to make such a suggestion when we have people paid millions of pounds a year to run the club who think that it is acceptable to call our beloved home Stamford Samsung Mobile Phones, Fridges and Freezers, Microwaves Bridge. And they make washing machines and dishwashers too by the way.
BLUES LOOK TO FORGE WALSALL AND CREWE RELATIONSHIPS
This week two stories have emerged concerning Chelsea and potential partnerships with lower league clubs. League One outfit Walsall and League Two side Crewe have both been touted as teams the Blues are looking to work with going forwards, and it’s largely due to two employees in the Reserve team setup.
Reserve Manager Steve Holland spent over a decade and a half at Crewe, starting out as a youth coach and becoming Academy Director before a spell in charge of their first team. Now at Chelsea, the Railwaymen are looking towards their former employee for potential help, and ex-Blue Dario Gradi, a bastion of youth development if ever there was one, is hopeful of being able to benefit from Holland’s new employers in any way he can. The BBC are reporting that an informal relationship could be struck where Chelsea send youngsters to Gresty Road for development, and whilst League Two is currently bereft of a club loanee, Tom Taiwo spent time there last season and there are a number of graduates of the academy plying their trade in the division. Crewe centre-back Harry Worley is one such player and after a torrid spell where he failed to settle at Leicester or at Luton, he is looking to get his career back on track at a club which has a long-standing reputation for developing talent.
Meanwhile, Holland’s assistant, Adrian Viveash, has been looking into the possibility of a deal with Midlands side Walsall. Express and Star report that Viveash, who was promoted to the Reserve setup during the summer, has touted some of the club’s youngsters to his former team and whilst the likes of Liam Bridcutt, Jacob Mellis and Tom Taiwo have landed elsewhere in the division, there is the opportunity for some of the players in need of a loan (particularly somebody like Michael Woods) to benefit from a strong relationship between clubs. As Viveash mentions in the E&S piece, Walsall play good football and look to develop their own young talents, with the rise of the temperamental Ishmel Demontagnac preceding the current crop including hot-shot Troy Deeney and defender Netan Sansara. The Saddlers also have a former Chelsea product in well-travelled striker Sam Parkin.
Whether either of the clubs end up in partnership with Chelsea, officially or unofficially, remains to be seen but even if the club is able to share its ideas lower down the football league ladder then there’s a benefit. Looking towards the more fruitful end of the scale, having a trustworthy club to send burgeoning talent to has long been beneficial for many clubs, and with the Blues’ involvement with Westerlo seemingly now solely down to Emmanuel Sarki, a satellite club could prove very useful.
Reserve Manager Steve Holland spent over a decade and a half at Crewe, starting out as a youth coach and becoming Academy Director before a spell in charge of their first team. Now at Chelsea, the Railwaymen are looking towards their former employee for potential help, and ex-Blue Dario Gradi, a bastion of youth development if ever there was one, is hopeful of being able to benefit from Holland’s new employers in any way he can. The BBC are reporting that an informal relationship could be struck where Chelsea send youngsters to Gresty Road for development, and whilst League Two is currently bereft of a club loanee, Tom Taiwo spent time there last season and there are a number of graduates of the academy plying their trade in the division. Crewe centre-back Harry Worley is one such player and after a torrid spell where he failed to settle at Leicester or at Luton, he is looking to get his career back on track at a club which has a long-standing reputation for developing talent.
Meanwhile, Holland’s assistant, Adrian Viveash, has been looking into the possibility of a deal with Midlands side Walsall. Express and Star report that Viveash, who was promoted to the Reserve setup during the summer, has touted some of the club’s youngsters to his former team and whilst the likes of Liam Bridcutt, Jacob Mellis and Tom Taiwo have landed elsewhere in the division, there is the opportunity for some of the players in need of a loan (particularly somebody like Michael Woods) to benefit from a strong relationship between clubs. As Viveash mentions in the E&S piece, Walsall play good football and look to develop their own young talents, with the rise of the temperamental Ishmel Demontagnac preceding the current crop including hot-shot Troy Deeney and defender Netan Sansara. The Saddlers also have a former Chelsea product in well-travelled striker Sam Parkin.
Whether either of the clubs end up in partnership with Chelsea, officially or unofficially, remains to be seen but even if the club is able to share its ideas lower down the football league ladder then there’s a benefit. Looking towards the more fruitful end of the scale, having a trustworthy club to send burgeoning talent to has long been beneficial for many clubs, and with the Blues’ involvement with Westerlo seemingly now solely down to Emmanuel Sarki, a satellite club could prove very useful.
LOOKING BACK TO THE FUTURE
The summer of 2004 was one which will live in the minds of Chelsea fans everywhere. A year after Roman Abramovich’s takeover, the club had just finished second in the Premiership and reached the Semi Finals of the European Cup, for arguably its most successful season in history, even if there was no trophy at the end of it. But it wasn’t enough. Manager Claudio Ranieri was sacked, and the effervescent, young and confident Jose Mourinho was hired. The rest, as they say, is history.
Five years on, and it is history worth looking at. Chelsea currently find themselves in something of a similar position, and by looking back, they can learn from successful, positive decisions made in 2004 which would benefit the club right now. We’ll start with the manager. Whilst Carlo Ancelotti isn’t Mourinho, he comes to the club with a Champions League winners medal and multiple domestic title successes. He turns 50 in a week, slightly younger than Avram Grant was and considerably more sprightly than Luiz Felipe Scolari. He’s not as young as the Special One, but he’s young enough to have played at the top level in the 1990s and managed in European club football in the following era. In short, he comes to Chelsea with many of the same questions being asked of him as Mourinho had – can he be successful in England, what will he do with Abramovich’s generous budget, and can he win the big one for Chelsea?
The squad Mourinho inherited had, shall we say, its fair share of dead wood. It was only a year since the club was saved from financial peril, and a bloated squad assembled by Ranieri was added to in the first twelve months of Roman’s reign with a mish-mash of good and bad signings. Jose arrived, and oversaw something of a cull. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Boudewijn Zenden, Emmanuel Petit, Marco Ambrosio, Jurgen Macho and Mario Melchiot were all sent packing on free transfers. All were considered past their peak or expendable, and they were joined by the sale of the inconsistent Jesper Gronkjaer and the eventual release of the troubled Adrian Mutu.
Juan Sebastian Verón and Hernán Crespo were expensive arrivals under Ranieri, but neither had settled and more importantly neither suited Mourinho’s philosophy. They were cast aside on loans back to Italy, whilst young but inconsistent strikers Mikael Forssell and Carlton Cole were allowed to further their footballing educations on domestic loans. Such a mass exodus naturally left holes to fill, and not only were they filled, they were filled with players who would shape Chelsea’s most successful ever era, and players who shape the team today.
Mourinho could consider himself lucky to have come into a situation where the club had already signed 22 year-old goalkeeper Petr Cech and 20 year-old dazzling winger Arjen Robben. When he got his own hands on Chelsea’s warchest, he went back to FC Porto to get 25 year-old Paulo Ferreira and 26 year-old Ricardo Carvalho. With something of a gap up front to fill with Crespo and Hasselbaink gone, the signatures of 25 year-old Mateja Kezman and 26 year-old Didier Drogba were secured, and just for good measure, Mourinho returned to get another of his former Portuguese charges, in the 23 year-old midfielder Tiago.
What the club now had was a young, dynamic squad, one which hadn’t yet experienced success, and one which was very, very hungry for it. With Robben and Duff on the wings, there was elite pace and directness to hurt teams, which paid immediate dividends with a prolific run of results early in Mourinho’s tenure at which the duo were at the heart of. The squad was capable of playing at least two systems, had the depth to survive injury to Drogba (with Gudjohnsen in superb form), and was growing into their manager’s philosophies.
Come back to the current day, and look at the Chelsea squad. Whilst there’s not the same level of dead wood, it’s more a generation thing. Without being too harsh to the names mentioned, the likes of Michael Ballack, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Juliano Belletti would all have been possibly cast aside by the ruthless Mourinho. Salomon Kalou could be this team’s Gronkjaer, whilst even Ferreira and Drogba could have been considered for the chop if you were being really harsh. There’s a startling lack of youth in the squad, and in terms of style, there’s a gaping lack of skill, pace and verve in the mould of Robben, Duff and Gudjohnsen at their free-flowing best.
The club needs a backup goalkeeper it can mould for the future. Now sure, Cech is secure in his role as number one and considered one of the league’s best – but so was Carlo Cudicini when Cech was signed. It was thought Cech would have to bide his time to earn his way into the team, but he played from day one, and turned into the world class stopper he has largely been. Arguments could be made that some of his most uncertain form in a Chelsea shirt has been since Cudicini left. So, to provide some extra competition, Ancelotti could do a lot worse than sign someone who could genuinely take his place if he earned it. Since this is a speculative piece, why not name-drop, and go for someone like Piet Velthuizen. He’s the same age as Cech was when he was signed, coming from a developmental league in Holland (as Cech did from France) and comes very highly rated.
There’s a vacancy for cover at left-back and competition on the left wing for the revitalised Florent Malouda (and who knows how he’ll perform post-Hiddink). Yury Zhirkov fits the bill for both positions, and is a good age at 25 to be a key figure for the next five years. Michael Mancienne can fill any positional depth at centre and/or right-back in a similar manner to that of Robert Huth under Mourinho – a club-developed defender capable of filling in and doing a good job.
The midfield is undeniably getting older. Ballack and Deco are on the wrong side of their careers and Ancelotti has to consider a young, dynamic attacking player for the future. Frank Lampard can be considered a constant due to his fabulous physical conditioning but not lining up someone for the future who can play neat, intricate football would be naive. Once again, we turn to a name which has been linked regularly with the club, and another Russian in Alan Dzagoev. He has the benefit of fitting this particular bill, being young enough to not command an immediate starting place, but of sufficient ability to play his way into a regular role.
Then we take a look at the attack. Like it or not, the team simply doesn’t have a Robben or a Duff right now, and such was their game-changing ability it’s been sorely missed since Duff suffered numerous injury problems and Robben never quite got over them. To target new wingers is an incredibly hard job – Ashley Young and Franck Ribery have oft been linked, but they don’t quite fit the Robben and Duff mould which was so dangerous. Searing pace, the ability to play off either wing, and chip in with ten goals a season. Answers on a postcard for potential names, but this position more than any other will change games at the drop of a hat.
And the focus shifts to the attack. Drogba and Anelka are both on the wrong side of 30, although only just in Nico’s case. Whilst it’s premature for them to move aside, it’s never too soon to look to the next five years and who will be filling their spots. Mourinho signed one expensive goalscorer and one relatively cheap ‘gamble’ (which in Kezman’s case failed), whilst allowing his young strikers to get valuable loan experience (both have since become full internationals).
So, who do we look at? Real Madrid’s chase of David Villa is expected to be rivalled by Chelsea, but with the Valencia man’s inclination to stay in Spain, you turn to Plan B. Villa signing for Real Madrid would bring about the availability of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. His detractors may point out that he could be another Kezman, but such doubts are tempered by Huntelaar’s record in Spain this season, being the most prolific striker in terms of goals per minutes on the pitch. He’ll be 26 by the time the 09/10 season kicks off, the same age as Drogba was.
For the other spot, you want someone with the potential to mature into a lethal finisher at something of a bargain fee. Eyes turn to France, where PSG’s Guillaume Hoarau fits the bill. He has fantastic size, pace and athletic ability, skill, and 20 goals in 42 appearances for a team which returned to the top end of the French league this season, in no small part due to his goals. He wouldn’t cost the world – like Edin Dzeko might – and would be able to learn from two native tongues in the current incumbent goalscorers at the Bridge.
So there’s a potential squad. I’m not saying it’s perfect, and it’s perhaps short on English players with the inevitable onset of 6+5 over the coming years, but it’s not entirely about the personnel. You can make your own lists – the most important thing here is to learn the lessons of history, of five years ago, of a summer which shaped Chelsea’s most successful ever period. The squad is in desperate need of regeneration, and now is the perfect time to do so. Passing this opportunity over simply provides another year to allow the competition to get closer (in Liverpool’s case) or further away (in Man Utd’s). That’s before even mentioning the holy grail for Mr Abramovich, the European Cup.
Over to you, shall we say, Mr Ancelotti?
Five years on, and it is history worth looking at. Chelsea currently find themselves in something of a similar position, and by looking back, they can learn from successful, positive decisions made in 2004 which would benefit the club right now. We’ll start with the manager. Whilst Carlo Ancelotti isn’t Mourinho, he comes to the club with a Champions League winners medal and multiple domestic title successes. He turns 50 in a week, slightly younger than Avram Grant was and considerably more sprightly than Luiz Felipe Scolari. He’s not as young as the Special One, but he’s young enough to have played at the top level in the 1990s and managed in European club football in the following era. In short, he comes to Chelsea with many of the same questions being asked of him as Mourinho had – can he be successful in England, what will he do with Abramovich’s generous budget, and can he win the big one for Chelsea?
The squad Mourinho inherited had, shall we say, its fair share of dead wood. It was only a year since the club was saved from financial peril, and a bloated squad assembled by Ranieri was added to in the first twelve months of Roman’s reign with a mish-mash of good and bad signings. Jose arrived, and oversaw something of a cull. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Boudewijn Zenden, Emmanuel Petit, Marco Ambrosio, Jurgen Macho and Mario Melchiot were all sent packing on free transfers. All were considered past their peak or expendable, and they were joined by the sale of the inconsistent Jesper Gronkjaer and the eventual release of the troubled Adrian Mutu.
Juan Sebastian Verón and Hernán Crespo were expensive arrivals under Ranieri, but neither had settled and more importantly neither suited Mourinho’s philosophy. They were cast aside on loans back to Italy, whilst young but inconsistent strikers Mikael Forssell and Carlton Cole were allowed to further their footballing educations on domestic loans. Such a mass exodus naturally left holes to fill, and not only were they filled, they were filled with players who would shape Chelsea’s most successful ever era, and players who shape the team today.
Mourinho could consider himself lucky to have come into a situation where the club had already signed 22 year-old goalkeeper Petr Cech and 20 year-old dazzling winger Arjen Robben. When he got his own hands on Chelsea’s warchest, he went back to FC Porto to get 25 year-old Paulo Ferreira and 26 year-old Ricardo Carvalho. With something of a gap up front to fill with Crespo and Hasselbaink gone, the signatures of 25 year-old Mateja Kezman and 26 year-old Didier Drogba were secured, and just for good measure, Mourinho returned to get another of his former Portuguese charges, in the 23 year-old midfielder Tiago.
What the club now had was a young, dynamic squad, one which hadn’t yet experienced success, and one which was very, very hungry for it. With Robben and Duff on the wings, there was elite pace and directness to hurt teams, which paid immediate dividends with a prolific run of results early in Mourinho’s tenure at which the duo were at the heart of. The squad was capable of playing at least two systems, had the depth to survive injury to Drogba (with Gudjohnsen in superb form), and was growing into their manager’s philosophies.
Come back to the current day, and look at the Chelsea squad. Whilst there’s not the same level of dead wood, it’s more a generation thing. Without being too harsh to the names mentioned, the likes of Michael Ballack, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Juliano Belletti would all have been possibly cast aside by the ruthless Mourinho. Salomon Kalou could be this team’s Gronkjaer, whilst even Ferreira and Drogba could have been considered for the chop if you were being really harsh. There’s a startling lack of youth in the squad, and in terms of style, there’s a gaping lack of skill, pace and verve in the mould of Robben, Duff and Gudjohnsen at their free-flowing best.
The club needs a backup goalkeeper it can mould for the future. Now sure, Cech is secure in his role as number one and considered one of the league’s best – but so was Carlo Cudicini when Cech was signed. It was thought Cech would have to bide his time to earn his way into the team, but he played from day one, and turned into the world class stopper he has largely been. Arguments could be made that some of his most uncertain form in a Chelsea shirt has been since Cudicini left. So, to provide some extra competition, Ancelotti could do a lot worse than sign someone who could genuinely take his place if he earned it. Since this is a speculative piece, why not name-drop, and go for someone like Piet Velthuizen. He’s the same age as Cech was when he was signed, coming from a developmental league in Holland (as Cech did from France) and comes very highly rated.
There’s a vacancy for cover at left-back and competition on the left wing for the revitalised Florent Malouda (and who knows how he’ll perform post-Hiddink). Yury Zhirkov fits the bill for both positions, and is a good age at 25 to be a key figure for the next five years. Michael Mancienne can fill any positional depth at centre and/or right-back in a similar manner to that of Robert Huth under Mourinho – a club-developed defender capable of filling in and doing a good job.
The midfield is undeniably getting older. Ballack and Deco are on the wrong side of their careers and Ancelotti has to consider a young, dynamic attacking player for the future. Frank Lampard can be considered a constant due to his fabulous physical conditioning but not lining up someone for the future who can play neat, intricate football would be naive. Once again, we turn to a name which has been linked regularly with the club, and another Russian in Alan Dzagoev. He has the benefit of fitting this particular bill, being young enough to not command an immediate starting place, but of sufficient ability to play his way into a regular role.
Then we take a look at the attack. Like it or not, the team simply doesn’t have a Robben or a Duff right now, and such was their game-changing ability it’s been sorely missed since Duff suffered numerous injury problems and Robben never quite got over them. To target new wingers is an incredibly hard job – Ashley Young and Franck Ribery have oft been linked, but they don’t quite fit the Robben and Duff mould which was so dangerous. Searing pace, the ability to play off either wing, and chip in with ten goals a season. Answers on a postcard for potential names, but this position more than any other will change games at the drop of a hat.
And the focus shifts to the attack. Drogba and Anelka are both on the wrong side of 30, although only just in Nico’s case. Whilst it’s premature for them to move aside, it’s never too soon to look to the next five years and who will be filling their spots. Mourinho signed one expensive goalscorer and one relatively cheap ‘gamble’ (which in Kezman’s case failed), whilst allowing his young strikers to get valuable loan experience (both have since become full internationals).
So, who do we look at? Real Madrid’s chase of David Villa is expected to be rivalled by Chelsea, but with the Valencia man’s inclination to stay in Spain, you turn to Plan B. Villa signing for Real Madrid would bring about the availability of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. His detractors may point out that he could be another Kezman, but such doubts are tempered by Huntelaar’s record in Spain this season, being the most prolific striker in terms of goals per minutes on the pitch. He’ll be 26 by the time the 09/10 season kicks off, the same age as Drogba was.
For the other spot, you want someone with the potential to mature into a lethal finisher at something of a bargain fee. Eyes turn to France, where PSG’s Guillaume Hoarau fits the bill. He has fantastic size, pace and athletic ability, skill, and 20 goals in 42 appearances for a team which returned to the top end of the French league this season, in no small part due to his goals. He wouldn’t cost the world – like Edin Dzeko might – and would be able to learn from two native tongues in the current incumbent goalscorers at the Bridge.
So there’s a potential squad. I’m not saying it’s perfect, and it’s perhaps short on English players with the inevitable onset of 6+5 over the coming years, but it’s not entirely about the personnel. You can make your own lists – the most important thing here is to learn the lessons of history, of five years ago, of a summer which shaped Chelsea’s most successful ever period. The squad is in desperate need of regeneration, and now is the perfect time to do so. Passing this opportunity over simply provides another year to allow the competition to get closer (in Liverpool’s case) or further away (in Man Utd’s). That’s before even mentioning the holy grail for Mr Abramovich, the European Cup.
Over to you, shall we say, Mr Ancelotti?
ANCELOTTI UNEARTHS A DIAMOND
Without a competitive ball kicked it’s an impossible task to pass any meaningful judgement but, what the hell, so far so good for Carlo’s brief tenure. Firstly kudos for his use of English. It was painful at times to hear Big Phil struggle in the press conferences, never mind a tactical team talk, but Carlo has a good base of the language, even offering a bit of humour to the jaded hacks. It was far better than expected given the reports that he spoke no English and Fabio’s struggles in the early days as England boss. Secondly he has so far squatted away Mark Hughes’ deluded persistence of JT with authoritive aplomb. Thirdly he has been quick to put his own individual stamp on the side.
It looks as though Carlo will be switching to a midfield diamond with two upfront and overlapping full backs. It is something we’ve seen before, with limited success in the past, but this fluid kind of system may just bring the very best out of our attacking talent. Furthermore Ancelotti is looking to develop a high pressure game, pressing the ball and winning it back in the opponents half, as so expertly demonstrated by Barcelona last season. With so many teams mirroring our familiar 4-3-3 line up this change could definitely upset a few teams tactics in the early part of the season. As Scolari found out though he may need a plan B to fall back on but it is with some excitement we can look forward to Drogba and Anelka linking up consistently. How we shuffle around the midfield to accommodate the players effectively is the big question mark at the moment. Still, it beats the costly dilemma of Man City and Real Madrid and which system can mathematically fit in their assortment of strikers.
Another interesting move within the club has seen the promotion of Frank Arnesen to director of football. Having his office next to Ancelotti’s hints at a close working relationship for the future. This could be seen as worrying as Arnesen’s scouting project hasn’t exactly delivered the desired impact on the first team. Furthermore it may mean Roman and board gently extending their influence across transfer policies with this appointment. Ancelotti was notoriously relaxed about a similar set up in Milan and subsequently did well with some of the duff cards Berlusconi dealt him. The thought of Kenyon having a say in transfers may send a shiver down the spine but it may a far more considered appointment than this. Plenty of the players have hinted of a role for Guus Hiddink to return to at the club and I wager Frank is merely sharpening the pencils for the main man’s return. Once Russia’s World Cup is over it would come as no surprise to see Hiddink return for a senior role at the club. With the structure already in place it would mean Carlo’s feathers would not be ruffled.
Finally City’s laughable pursuit of Terry seems to be never ending, much as Inter’s attempt for Super Frank last close season. Then Frank signed up his future to Chelsea, went on to have one of his greatest seasons and proved to be the undoubted hero as he picked up yet more silverware. The sooner JT signs up and does the same the sooner we can put the tabloid transfer nonsense to bed. Much like Lampard last season a contract extension may well be the best bit of business we do all summer.
It looks as though Carlo will be switching to a midfield diamond with two upfront and overlapping full backs. It is something we’ve seen before, with limited success in the past, but this fluid kind of system may just bring the very best out of our attacking talent. Furthermore Ancelotti is looking to develop a high pressure game, pressing the ball and winning it back in the opponents half, as so expertly demonstrated by Barcelona last season. With so many teams mirroring our familiar 4-3-3 line up this change could definitely upset a few teams tactics in the early part of the season. As Scolari found out though he may need a plan B to fall back on but it is with some excitement we can look forward to Drogba and Anelka linking up consistently. How we shuffle around the midfield to accommodate the players effectively is the big question mark at the moment. Still, it beats the costly dilemma of Man City and Real Madrid and which system can mathematically fit in their assortment of strikers.
Another interesting move within the club has seen the promotion of Frank Arnesen to director of football. Having his office next to Ancelotti’s hints at a close working relationship for the future. This could be seen as worrying as Arnesen’s scouting project hasn’t exactly delivered the desired impact on the first team. Furthermore it may mean Roman and board gently extending their influence across transfer policies with this appointment. Ancelotti was notoriously relaxed about a similar set up in Milan and subsequently did well with some of the duff cards Berlusconi dealt him. The thought of Kenyon having a say in transfers may send a shiver down the spine but it may a far more considered appointment than this. Plenty of the players have hinted of a role for Guus Hiddink to return to at the club and I wager Frank is merely sharpening the pencils for the main man’s return. Once Russia’s World Cup is over it would come as no surprise to see Hiddink return for a senior role at the club. With the structure already in place it would mean Carlo’s feathers would not be ruffled.
Finally City’s laughable pursuit of Terry seems to be never ending, much as Inter’s attempt for Super Frank last close season. Then Frank signed up his future to Chelsea, went on to have one of his greatest seasons and proved to be the undoubted hero as he picked up yet more silverware. The sooner JT signs up and does the same the sooner we can put the tabloid transfer nonsense to bed. Much like Lampard last season a contract extension may well be the best bit of business we do all summer.
ANCELOTTI NEEDS OUR SUPPORT
Whatever you think about Ancelotti, and there’s a significant minority who are against his appointment, we’ve got to get behind him. If nothing less, he deserves our respect for what’s he’s achieved at AC Milan and we should be proud that he’s chosen our Club.
Let’s go through some of the concerns:
1. His English is poor: If management is all about communication then he’s already up against his first hurdle. Scolari suffered with his English and there’s no question Mr Ancelotti needs to spend the next month sitting in a darkened room with an English teacher. Concern rating – 8 out of 10.
2. One Serie A Title in 8 years: At the elite level of European football that’s pretty poor by anyone’s standards. It would be a bit rich for us to complain when our team has historically won a title once every half century but Chelsea (post Abramovich) will expect to win a title at least once every 3 years. However, don’t forget that during Ancelotti’s AC Milan reign there was a significant period of corruption and scandal with Juve bribing referees to win the Championship in the Calciocaos affair – hardly a level playing field. Concern rating – 7 out of 10.
3. Liverpool’s Istanbul comeback: Carlo my son, if we were 3-0 up in a Champions League final against Liverpool only to promptly lose it, you’d be out on your ear quicker than you could say ‘Blue Flag’. It would be the end. Don’t even think of pulling a stunt like that on us against those Scouse idiots. It was probably the worst capitulation in the history of European football. Concern rating – 11 out of 10.
OK, let’s look at some of the pro’s:
1. Man Management par excellence: Apparently Mr Ancelotti is revered amongst his players, staff, fans and the Italian public alike. In this respect he’s similar to Guus Hiddink and it’s instructive that Hiddink told his players that Ancelotti’s ‘like me’. David Beckham spoke out last month and said, quote, “Ancelotti is one of the greats. His man-management skills are exceptional, he’s a brilliant coach.” Beckham continued, “Milan players are pleading with him to stay”, adding that “every one of Milan’s players adores him.” Pro rating – 10 out of 10.
2. European pedigree: Unlike Scolari, Ancelotti’s got day to day management experience in one of the toughest leagues in the world. He’s won the European Cup twice playing for one of the best sides ever to grace the world stage – the late 90’s AC Milan with Van Basten, Rijkaard, Gullit and Baresi. He’s also won two European Cups as manager. His experience at every level is perfect. Pro rating – 10 out of 10.
3. Tactical awareness: Serie A is the hardest league in the world for breaking down defences and scoring goals. Ancelotti, as a defender and manager for AC Milan, is as astute a tactician as Guus Hiddink. At the top level this is imperative – just look at Ferguson’s failings in Europe last week. Fergie was made a fool out of, just as he should have been against us last year and against Bayern in 1999. Being lucky is not great management. Pro rating: 10 out of 10.
4. English: Carlo’s no fool and his English will be OK by August. Don’t forget that he’s already been interviewed in English and one of his assistants is Ray Wilkins who already talks fluent Italian and played for AC Milan himself. Getting across his message shouldn’t be a problem. Pro-rating: 5 out of 10.
So there you have it. Concerns – 26 points, Pro’s – 35.
Welcome Mr Ancelotti and don’t listen to the fools talking about ‘Brazilian football’. Arsenal do that already and whilst it’s easy on the eye, there’s still no silver in the Emirates trophy room. As we all know, it’s about the results, the fantasy football can come later.
Let’s go through some of the concerns:
1. His English is poor: If management is all about communication then he’s already up against his first hurdle. Scolari suffered with his English and there’s no question Mr Ancelotti needs to spend the next month sitting in a darkened room with an English teacher. Concern rating – 8 out of 10.
2. One Serie A Title in 8 years: At the elite level of European football that’s pretty poor by anyone’s standards. It would be a bit rich for us to complain when our team has historically won a title once every half century but Chelsea (post Abramovich) will expect to win a title at least once every 3 years. However, don’t forget that during Ancelotti’s AC Milan reign there was a significant period of corruption and scandal with Juve bribing referees to win the Championship in the Calciocaos affair – hardly a level playing field. Concern rating – 7 out of 10.
3. Liverpool’s Istanbul comeback: Carlo my son, if we were 3-0 up in a Champions League final against Liverpool only to promptly lose it, you’d be out on your ear quicker than you could say ‘Blue Flag’. It would be the end. Don’t even think of pulling a stunt like that on us against those Scouse idiots. It was probably the worst capitulation in the history of European football. Concern rating – 11 out of 10.
OK, let’s look at some of the pro’s:
1. Man Management par excellence: Apparently Mr Ancelotti is revered amongst his players, staff, fans and the Italian public alike. In this respect he’s similar to Guus Hiddink and it’s instructive that Hiddink told his players that Ancelotti’s ‘like me’. David Beckham spoke out last month and said, quote, “Ancelotti is one of the greats. His man-management skills are exceptional, he’s a brilliant coach.” Beckham continued, “Milan players are pleading with him to stay”, adding that “every one of Milan’s players adores him.” Pro rating – 10 out of 10.
2. European pedigree: Unlike Scolari, Ancelotti’s got day to day management experience in one of the toughest leagues in the world. He’s won the European Cup twice playing for one of the best sides ever to grace the world stage – the late 90’s AC Milan with Van Basten, Rijkaard, Gullit and Baresi. He’s also won two European Cups as manager. His experience at every level is perfect. Pro rating – 10 out of 10.
3. Tactical awareness: Serie A is the hardest league in the world for breaking down defences and scoring goals. Ancelotti, as a defender and manager for AC Milan, is as astute a tactician as Guus Hiddink. At the top level this is imperative – just look at Ferguson’s failings in Europe last week. Fergie was made a fool out of, just as he should have been against us last year and against Bayern in 1999. Being lucky is not great management. Pro rating: 10 out of 10.
4. English: Carlo’s no fool and his English will be OK by August. Don’t forget that he’s already been interviewed in English and one of his assistants is Ray Wilkins who already talks fluent Italian and played for AC Milan himself. Getting across his message shouldn’t be a problem. Pro-rating: 5 out of 10.
So there you have it. Concerns – 26 points, Pro’s – 35.
Welcome Mr Ancelotti and don’t listen to the fools talking about ‘Brazilian football’. Arsenal do that already and whilst it’s easy on the eye, there’s still no silver in the Emirates trophy room. As we all know, it’s about the results, the fantasy football can come later.
CARLO ANCELOTTI – 100 DAYS IN OFFICE
By Barry Connor • on October 9, 2009
Today marks the 100th day since Carlo took the reigns at our club, so here’s a look back thus far at the man at the helm. If we want to talk approval ratings, Ancelotti’s percentage can’t be far off his amount of days in charge, can it?
Who can forget that belter when he announced he wasn’t sure if John Terry would be captain this season. If ever you quickly want to warm to a manager, lines like that make it all the easier.
A successful summer tour was followed by a match against Reading, whereby we practiced scoring late goals. A week later a Community Shield victory over Man United allowed Carlo to achieve something only Vialli had done thus far at Chelsea, he won some silverware within his first 100 days at the helm. Albeit technically a friendly, they all count.
After the recent instability of his predecessors, Carlo found one way to survive the Stamford Bridge hotseat, by cunningly replacing it against Hull with a Gatorade coolbox, and the result almost set the tone for another erratic season. A scrappy game saw us go a goal down, us scoring a free kick is somewhat a rarity but Drogba did just that in first half added time, and with the result destined for a draw, the second half stoppage time saw a Drogba mis-hit drift over Myhill and into the net, something the Ivorian admitted was a cross. But again, they all count, and at 3pm on the first day of the season, we were three points clear at the top of the league.
Sunderland away was a superb performance, with the home fans applauding Deco off the pitch, and Bruce in awe of the way we played that day. A convincing win against Fulham kept us top, and like last season a blip at the end of September saw us take second place for one weekend. Last season though we didn’t take top spot past November, this time we play Arsenal in the last game of November again, but last season we were at home for the fixture.
Carlo has this week said he targeted one loss all season, and that’s been, it was just after the international break in Mourinho’s first season that we lost our only game that season, so what’s to say we can’t again? Why can’t we have the gun to tape finish being touted about by the media?
Carlo has also done his bit for the club off the pitch. The Kings Road was always known for it’s style, highlighted by us back in the 60’s and 70’s, the nineties saw Hoddle and Gullit bring it back on the pitch, as did Vialli, although his cashmere sweaters let him down off it. With José style off the pitch was restored, although not always as aesthetically pleasing on it. When he departed came an undertaker impressionist followed by a tracksuit manager, Guus restored a dress sense and credibility, but only now has the Gliteratti returned to Stamford Bridge.
Ancelotti has one of the biggest and most closely watched monitored jobs in the country, and similar to our Prime Minister, The Italian wasn’t the choice of the fans, but unlike our Prime Minister, he does now have the support of the people he is responsible for. More then anything, the songs against Blackburn last season were to remonstrate that we wanted to keep Guus, Ancelotti could have been any manager in the world, except a certain Special someone and perhaps a fellow countryman who’se current team awfully mix their blue with some claret.
Ancelotti spent eight years at Milan, so will have no intention of a brief stay like some of his predecessors. So far the footballs flowed at times, and we’ve a great strikeforce, the most versatile midfield in the league and a watertight defence as any.
Hopefully the team we lost to under a fornight ago will spend the last day of the season seeing their opponents lifting the Premiership title. Similary, hopefully the team we beat under a week ago will be the team we win the title against.
One hundred days and so far so good. Good luck Carlo, keep up the great work, we’re all behind you.
Today marks the 100th day since Carlo took the reigns at our club, so here’s a look back thus far at the man at the helm. If we want to talk approval ratings, Ancelotti’s percentage can’t be far off his amount of days in charge, can it?
Who can forget that belter when he announced he wasn’t sure if John Terry would be captain this season. If ever you quickly want to warm to a manager, lines like that make it all the easier.
A successful summer tour was followed by a match against Reading, whereby we practiced scoring late goals. A week later a Community Shield victory over Man United allowed Carlo to achieve something only Vialli had done thus far at Chelsea, he won some silverware within his first 100 days at the helm. Albeit technically a friendly, they all count.
After the recent instability of his predecessors, Carlo found one way to survive the Stamford Bridge hotseat, by cunningly replacing it against Hull with a Gatorade coolbox, and the result almost set the tone for another erratic season. A scrappy game saw us go a goal down, us scoring a free kick is somewhat a rarity but Drogba did just that in first half added time, and with the result destined for a draw, the second half stoppage time saw a Drogba mis-hit drift over Myhill and into the net, something the Ivorian admitted was a cross. But again, they all count, and at 3pm on the first day of the season, we were three points clear at the top of the league.
Sunderland away was a superb performance, with the home fans applauding Deco off the pitch, and Bruce in awe of the way we played that day. A convincing win against Fulham kept us top, and like last season a blip at the end of September saw us take second place for one weekend. Last season though we didn’t take top spot past November, this time we play Arsenal in the last game of November again, but last season we were at home for the fixture.
Carlo has this week said he targeted one loss all season, and that’s been, it was just after the international break in Mourinho’s first season that we lost our only game that season, so what’s to say we can’t again? Why can’t we have the gun to tape finish being touted about by the media?
Carlo has also done his bit for the club off the pitch. The Kings Road was always known for it’s style, highlighted by us back in the 60’s and 70’s, the nineties saw Hoddle and Gullit bring it back on the pitch, as did Vialli, although his cashmere sweaters let him down off it. With José style off the pitch was restored, although not always as aesthetically pleasing on it. When he departed came an undertaker impressionist followed by a tracksuit manager, Guus restored a dress sense and credibility, but only now has the Gliteratti returned to Stamford Bridge.
Ancelotti has one of the biggest and most closely watched monitored jobs in the country, and similar to our Prime Minister, The Italian wasn’t the choice of the fans, but unlike our Prime Minister, he does now have the support of the people he is responsible for. More then anything, the songs against Blackburn last season were to remonstrate that we wanted to keep Guus, Ancelotti could have been any manager in the world, except a certain Special someone and perhaps a fellow countryman who’se current team awfully mix their blue with some claret.
Ancelotti spent eight years at Milan, so will have no intention of a brief stay like some of his predecessors. So far the footballs flowed at times, and we’ve a great strikeforce, the most versatile midfield in the league and a watertight defence as any.
Hopefully the team we lost to under a fornight ago will spend the last day of the season seeing their opponents lifting the Premiership title. Similary, hopefully the team we beat under a week ago will be the team we win the title against.
One hundred days and so far so good. Good luck Carlo, keep up the great work, we’re all behind you.
THE PREMIER LEAGUE X FACTOR
“Give a little, Take a little… Let your poor heart break a little.” Sound advice from our boy Dean to newlyweds, and so I knew I had a responsibility to watch the X Factor on Sunday evening after my wife had let me listen to the Chelsea game for the entire duration of our drive back to London.
Yes, I know that sounds like the tired excuse of a man caught desperately fumbling the remote saying, “I’ve just turned it on, it was on this channel, I don’t even know who Dwayne Lamonte is…” But whatever, you watched it too.
But it got me thinking, the four judges in the X Factor (and for those of you who persist with faux-naivety, they are Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, the lovely Dannii Minogue and the lovelier still Cheryl) could be, from a Sunday evening frame of mind, seen to represent the notorious ‘big four’.
In a nutshell:
Simon Cowell as Man United.
He’s a tool. A right proper tool. And yet somewhere in amongst all that toolishness you have to hand it to him: at least he’s consistent. There really is no denying his success, and although it comes at a terrible global price and cheapens life on this planet, like Genghis Kahn, you can’t help but be impressed.
Simon, like Man U, has recognised that the ill-educated fanbase, and money, that lies in the States is worth plundering, and so he’s ostensibly emigrated there. Also, there’s an unfortunate smugness that radiates from both Simon and Man U that makes it difficult for normal human beings to look at them for more than four seconds without bleeding along the lower eyelids. It’s lonely at the top. Poor, lonely Simon Cowell.
Cheryl Cole as Arsenal.
She’s young, she’s easy on the eye, and when it comes down to it, she’s really only there to make up the numbers. But nobody minds because there’s nothing wrong with a bit of eye-candy. Also this season, Arsenal could help out Chelsea by giving Man U a good spanking. Which Cheryl could do to our left back, to the same effect.
Dannii Minogue as Liverpool.
Obviously she’s mutton dressed as lamb who snuck through on an ancient reputation, but then you think, hang on, what reputation? Name me one Dannii Minogue hit. So you start thinking, what are they doing in the big four anyway? But then you remember you had an FHM Dannii Minogue calendar at university that was on the kitchen wall for two years straight, which is more loyalty than you’d get from a bloodhound with a nectar card. She stays.
Which leaves Louis Walsh as Chelsea:
Well, it’s tenuous, but he’s been the foil for Simon’s evil genius for the past six years, a sort of permanent supporting act that we’ve wanted to see win, but who’s only really had two golden moments, both with Irish Boybands. Which brings to mind Damian Duff in his prime.
Some say he’s too charming, that he lacks the necessary ruthlessness, others that he’s just been unlucky. All I can say is, if this comparison is accurate and Miss Frank win at Christmas, Chelsea are a shoe-in.
And finally we have Dermot as Man City.
He sort of hangs around, not really contributing much but often being mentioned at crucial moments, and there’s always far more bodily contact than is either reasonable or required.
But what does the future hold for this big four? Simon seems to be living on a reputation from a bygone era. Rather like Big Brother, the days of X Factor are numbered. The series has been around for six years but how many of those winners can you name? See? People are starting to realise that the prize isn’t as life-changing as Simon says. Which will inevitably lead to the fall of a once mighty British staple. His days at the top are numbered.
And that’s enough dubious comparison between X Factor and the Premier League.
As an aside, has anyone else noticed the expression ‘stonewall penalty’ cropping up increasingly on MotD and in post match interviews? I always thought stonewalling meant delaying, or stalling. Stonewall tactics were used by politicians to dodge a question. Now it seems to mean obvious, as in: as clear as a stone wall. You could see it from space. But if you’re going that way, why stop at a wall? They’re not that obvious, I know one that’s so covered in moss you don’t see it until it’s wedged between your axles. Why not choose something that really stands out? A sore thumb penalty, a dodgy-prawn penalty, or a fresh-turd-in-a-friend’s-baby’s-nappy penalty. Now that’s a penalty.
Yes, I know that sounds like the tired excuse of a man caught desperately fumbling the remote saying, “I’ve just turned it on, it was on this channel, I don’t even know who Dwayne Lamonte is…” But whatever, you watched it too.
But it got me thinking, the four judges in the X Factor (and for those of you who persist with faux-naivety, they are Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, the lovely Dannii Minogue and the lovelier still Cheryl) could be, from a Sunday evening frame of mind, seen to represent the notorious ‘big four’.
In a nutshell:
Simon Cowell as Man United.
He’s a tool. A right proper tool. And yet somewhere in amongst all that toolishness you have to hand it to him: at least he’s consistent. There really is no denying his success, and although it comes at a terrible global price and cheapens life on this planet, like Genghis Kahn, you can’t help but be impressed.
Simon, like Man U, has recognised that the ill-educated fanbase, and money, that lies in the States is worth plundering, and so he’s ostensibly emigrated there. Also, there’s an unfortunate smugness that radiates from both Simon and Man U that makes it difficult for normal human beings to look at them for more than four seconds without bleeding along the lower eyelids. It’s lonely at the top. Poor, lonely Simon Cowell.
Cheryl Cole as Arsenal.
She’s young, she’s easy on the eye, and when it comes down to it, she’s really only there to make up the numbers. But nobody minds because there’s nothing wrong with a bit of eye-candy. Also this season, Arsenal could help out Chelsea by giving Man U a good spanking. Which Cheryl could do to our left back, to the same effect.
Dannii Minogue as Liverpool.
Obviously she’s mutton dressed as lamb who snuck through on an ancient reputation, but then you think, hang on, what reputation? Name me one Dannii Minogue hit. So you start thinking, what are they doing in the big four anyway? But then you remember you had an FHM Dannii Minogue calendar at university that was on the kitchen wall for two years straight, which is more loyalty than you’d get from a bloodhound with a nectar card. She stays.
Which leaves Louis Walsh as Chelsea:
Well, it’s tenuous, but he’s been the foil for Simon’s evil genius for the past six years, a sort of permanent supporting act that we’ve wanted to see win, but who’s only really had two golden moments, both with Irish Boybands. Which brings to mind Damian Duff in his prime.
Some say he’s too charming, that he lacks the necessary ruthlessness, others that he’s just been unlucky. All I can say is, if this comparison is accurate and Miss Frank win at Christmas, Chelsea are a shoe-in.
And finally we have Dermot as Man City.
He sort of hangs around, not really contributing much but often being mentioned at crucial moments, and there’s always far more bodily contact than is either reasonable or required.
But what does the future hold for this big four? Simon seems to be living on a reputation from a bygone era. Rather like Big Brother, the days of X Factor are numbered. The series has been around for six years but how many of those winners can you name? See? People are starting to realise that the prize isn’t as life-changing as Simon says. Which will inevitably lead to the fall of a once mighty British staple. His days at the top are numbered.
And that’s enough dubious comparison between X Factor and the Premier League.
As an aside, has anyone else noticed the expression ‘stonewall penalty’ cropping up increasingly on MotD and in post match interviews? I always thought stonewalling meant delaying, or stalling. Stonewall tactics were used by politicians to dodge a question. Now it seems to mean obvious, as in: as clear as a stone wall. You could see it from space. But if you’re going that way, why stop at a wall? They’re not that obvious, I know one that’s so covered in moss you don’t see it until it’s wedged between your axles. Why not choose something that really stands out? A sore thumb penalty, a dodgy-prawn penalty, or a fresh-turd-in-a-friend’s-baby’s-nappy penalty. Now that’s a penalty.
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