Wednesday 29th November

Premiership preview: Bolton Wanderers v. Chelsea

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Chelsea sealed the 2004/5 Premiership title at the Reebok Stadium and won there again in April, and Jose Mourinho is looking forward to returning once more.

"It is a very difficult game because Bolton will have a big boost to their morale after beating Arsenal," Mourinho said. "But I can say it is my pitch, because it is the pitch where I was English champion for the first time and it is a pitch where we took a big step to becoming champions the next season."

Mourinho has no new injury concerns. Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho came through

Tuesday 28th November

Premiership: Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea

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Match reports

Daily Telegraph, Henry Winter: "This was a good point for Chelsea, one they are convinced will be a turning point in the title race. All draws are equal, but some are more equal than others.

Chelsea left Old Trafford last night with a smile and a belief that they can keep the title at the Bridge. In the noisy, self-regarding animal farm that is the Premiership, Manchester United are a creature of great beauty, but yesterday they ran into opponents whose hunger and stamina are astonishing."

The Guardian, Kevin McCarra: "An afternoon that left the top of the table undisturbed still carried portents of transformations...

Sunday 26th November

Premiership preview: Manchester United v. Chelsea

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A great deal of tosh has been uttered, written, printed and blogged in the build-up to this game.

You could understand the hype if it was the last game of the season, a title decider like 1989's Liverpool versus Arsenal clash at Anfield, but this is a game in late November, after which there is another 24 to play, and 72 points to play for.

Anybody who believes the result will decide which team lifts the Premiership trophy in May is living in cloud cuckoo land.

Jose Mourinho's only loss to Manchester United as manager of both Porto and Chelsea came in this fixture last season when a...

Friday 24th November

Bridge signs new contract

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Wayne Bridge has signed a new contract, committing himself to Chelsea for another four years.

The left-back said: "I feel as though I'm playing well this season. I believe that I will continue to get opportunities ... and I'm delighted to have signed."

Bridge, 26, joined Chelsea in 2003 and has overcome a career threatening broken leg to return to the squad after a loan spell at Fulham last season. He has made 85 appearances for Chelsea and scored three goals, most famously the Champions League quarter-final winner at Highbury in 2004. He has 24 England caps.

Bridge, who had 18 months left on his previous deal, is expected to return to the squad for Sunday's game against Manchester United having missed the

Thursday 23rd November

Champions League: Werder Bremen 1 - 0 Chelsea

6 Comments

Match reports

The Guardian, Jon Brodkin: "Chelsea went to Old Trafford last season on the back of a Champions League defeat and lost, and will hope this was not a similar omen. They had the chances to at least draw this match but were neither at their most creative or slick."

The Times, Matt Hughes: "Despite having an impressive squad, Mourinho is short of options up front, with Andriy Shevchenko lacking form and fitness after starting on the bench last night and Salomon Kalou out with a knee injury. Such is Mourinho’s predicament that Joe Cole played as an out-and-out striker in only his third start of the season last night and did not enjoy the experience,...

Wednesday 22nd November

Champions League preview: Werder Bremen v. Chelsea

9 Comments

Jose Mourinho has taken just 16 outfield players to Germany.

Missing from the squad are suspended Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho who suffered a twisted ankle against West Ham on Saturday, Salomon Kalou who is still recovering from a knee injury picked up in training, and Wayne Bridge whose wife is expecting a baby.

Mourinho took the unusual step of revealing his line-up at yesterday's pre-match press conference. There will be a starting place for Joe Cole, his first in the Champions League and just his third this season, while Michael Ballack returns after being rested at the weekend and Khalid Boulahrouz replaces the injured Carvalho.

Barcelona will be relieved that Mourinho named a strong side. The Catalans'...

Monday 20th November

Premiership: Chelsea 1-0 West Ham

15 Comments

Match reports

The Guardian, Jon Brodkin: "Chelsea beating West Ham did not even register on the Richter scale. Mourinho's players will need to raise their level in Bremen and Manchester but it felt as though they would have stepped up a gear had West Ham equalised Geremi's nicely curled free-kick."

Daily Telegraph, Clive Tyldesley: "Both of the title contenders have unfinished Champions League business to take care of before Sunday's showdown, but for once the greatest show on Planet Football is a bit of an unwanted distraction. While Chelsea's ultimate ambition is clearly to conquer Europe, the defence of their...

Saturday 18th November

Premiership preview: Chelsea v. West Ham United

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Struggling West Ham are today's visitors to Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho has no new injury problems to contend with. Carlo Cudicini will keep his place in goal, while John Obi Mikel is expected to figure for first time since he was sent off against Reading last month after apologising for his errant behaviour.

Meanwhile Joe Cole, one of only a handful of players to come out of England's midweek friendly with any credit, will be hoping to line up against his former club. Cole's chances increased this week when Michael Ballack said he would welcome being rested "for the odd game".

Salomon Kalou is doubtful with a knee injury picked up in training.

Alan Pardew has had to draft in Crystal...

Tuesday 14th November

Make up your own mind

11 Comments

It took a bit of time but the few Spurs supporters I am able to call friends have finally succumbed to what must have been an unbearable temptation and started crowing about last week’s result. I know, I know, we’ve moved on. But it got me thinking again about this universal antipathy to all things Chelsea. You know how it goes, Chelsea lose and the nation back their conquerors. In this case Spurs, who would now launch their assault on the so-called ‘big four’. Thus far, this launch pad for the next phase in Martin Jol’s plan for a resurgent Spurs involved losing at newly promoted Reading. Funny, but...

Monday 13th November

Premiership: Chelsea 4 - 0 Watford

3 Comments

Match reports

Sunday Telegraph, Roy Collins: "For once without a hint of controversy or histrionics, Chelsea calmly set their bid for a third successive Premiership title back on course. If their title rivals, whom some might dismiss as wishful thinkers, were hoping that last week's defeat at Tottenham might be the start of a full-blown crisis, they will have been sadly disillusioned by this ruthless return to normal service."

Independent on Sunday, Steve Tongue: "Watford's Adrian Boothroyd had been looking forward to pitting his wits against Jose Mourinho, but after all the shenanighans of last Sunday in the capital, the...

Sunday 12th November

Premiership: Drogba scores hat-trick

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Didier Drogba scored his second hat-trick of the season as Chelsea swept aside Watford 4-0 at Stamford Bridge to rejoin Manchester United at the top of the Premiership.

Drogba opened the scoring on 27 minutes when he stabbed home from six yards after Andriy Shevchenko miskicked Geremi's cross.

A good one-two with Shevchenko seven minutes later allowed the Ivorian to slide home his second from an acute angle on the edge of the six-yard box.

Shevchenko celebrated the birth of his second son with a goal of his own, his fifth of the season, on 51 minutes. Drogba turned provider, controlling Carlo Cudicini's goalkick before chipping a clever pass for the Ukranian to chest the ball round Ben Foster and tap into an empty net.

Drogba capped a superb individual performance by

Saturday 11th November

Newcastle away; and Hedman signs

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Chelsea face a trip to St. James' Park to play Newcastle United in the quarter-finals of this season's League Cup.

The full draw: Newcastle United v. Chelsea; Tottenham Hotspur v. Southend United; Liverpool v. Arsenal; Charlton Athletic v. Wycombe Wanderers.

Ties will be played on Tuesday 19th December or Wednesday 20th December.

In other news, former Celtic and Coventry goalkeeper Magnus Hedman claims he will complete a "dream" move to Chelsea this weekend.

The 33-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge on trial this week as Jose Mourinho looks to sign cover for Petr Cech.

Hedman said: "This is a dream come true.

"The last thing Jose said to me was 'See you on Tuesday'. I'm...

Saturday 11th November

Premiership preview: Chelsea v. Watford

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A busy seven days ends with a home game against newly promoted Watford.

Last weekend's disappointing result at White Hart Lane was followed in midweek by a demolition of Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in the League Cup.

On both occasions we played some excellent football. A similar performance this afternoon should be enough to see off the Hornets.

Jose Mourinho must decide whether to recall Henrique Hilario in place of Carlo Cudicini, who started against Villa on Wednesday.

Ashley Cole and Arjen Robben, both rested in midweek, are expected to return, as is John Terry, who missed the Villa game because of suspension.

Watford will be without striker Marlon King and defender Clarke Carlisle,...

Friday 10th November

Win a classic 1993-94 season home shirt

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1993-94 Umbro home shirt bearing Commodore's Amiga logo

Thanks to our friends at Classic Football Shirts we have this vintage 1993-94 season home shirt to give away.

Made by Umbro, it bears computer company Commodore's Amiga logo which featured on the club's shirts from 1993 until 1995.

Six years earlier, then chairman Ken Bates negotiated a £1.25m sponsorship deal with Commodore. At the time it was the biggest sponsorship deal of its kind in British football.

To be in with a chance of winning this...

Thursday 9th November

League Cup: Chelsea 4-0 Aston Villa

10 Comments

Match reports

The Guardian, Jon Brodkin: “Anyone who imagined that Sunday's defeat at Tottenham would have lasting implications for Chelsea was set straight by this rousing victory last night - one achieved without a whiff of confrontation with match officials or opponents. Their excellent second-half display was the type that ought to endear them to more neutrals, featuring three goals that swept aside a disappointing Aston Villa who never seriously threatened and could have lost more heavily.”

The Times, Matt Hughes: “Having been knocked out by Charlton Athletic at this stage last season, and seen Manchester United get...

Thursday 9th November

League Cup preview: Chelsea v. Aston Villa

1 Comments

Martin O'Neill's much improved Aston Villa side visit Stamford Bridge for the second time this season.

Just over a month ago, Villa became the first team to take a Premiership point at the Bridge since Charlton Athletic managed it back in January.

In team news, Jose Mourinho is hoping to recall Andriy Shevchenko to the starting line-up. The Ukrainian has missed the last four games with a thigh strain but is back in training and available for selection.

"I hope he can play on Wednesday," Mourinho said.

"He trained on Saturday with the team for the first time with no limitation. Now we think if everything goes in the right direction ... he can...

Wednesday 8th November

Graham Poll: Why is that *!@?#% in the black?

5 Comments

In the aftermath of Sunday’s defeat to Spurs, it feels as though the fallout from the game is likely to go on for as long as Chelsea’s spell of dominance over the boys from No Point Lane (a temporary name, of course).

Sunday’s London derbies provided enough drama and incident to keep the hacks in business until, well, next weekend at least. Over at Upton Park, Arsene Wenger put up his dukes and a solid defence of his “Sorest Loser” crown after Alan Pardew’s Hammers added their name to the growing list of teams who refuse to be dazzled by the Gunners.

Pardew’s astute tactical brain eventually found a crucial flaw in the smoke and mirrors that cloaked the East End: the visiting team hadn’t actually scored. It was a certainly a breathtaking display of beautiful, flowing football, exquisite passing and near-telepathic movement, which allowed Marlon Harewood to bundle the winner home from six yards. Foiled again,...

Wednesday 8th November

A monkey off our back; time to move on...

4 Comments

For many years, the team that we all adore, our beloved Chelsea Football Club, has paraded itself around the top tier of English football. Occasionally there have been brief sojourns into the tier below (the Championship nee Division 1 nee Division 2) and sometimes short flirtations with the unmentionable division below that, thankfully avoided due to what could well have been an injury time display of Divine Intervention. This parading we did with aplomb, strutting around like we were the dog's jacobs. Generally we were crap though, if we're honest, but this continual failure didn’t matter at heart because, like true fans, we love our club through thick and thin, be it Nimble balloon thin, Posh Spice thin, even Peter Crouch thin.

During this extended period of crapness we had brief spells of glory: a Division One championship in 1955 before most of us were probably even alive, the odd FA Cup, League Cup, a couple of European Cup Winners' Cups (which I always...

Monday 6th November

Premiership: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Chelsea

13 Comments

Match reports

The Independent, Glenn Moore: "Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Tottenham fans will never forget it as they finally lifted the hex Chelsea have held over them since the pre-Premiership era."

Daily Telegraph, Henry Winter: "The 'bangs' reverberating around the Lane after this epic match could have been Jose Mourinho breaking the sound barrier looking for Graham Poll. The Hertfordshire official should have given Hossam Ghaly a red card, rather than yellow, for a nasty elbow on Michael Essien, and John Terry was unfortunate to be singled out for a second...

Monday 6th November

About us

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Carefree, wherever you may be, we are the famous CFCB...

Established in early 2004, the Chelsea Blog is an unofficial collaborative fansite dedicated to the world's greatest football club, the mighty Chelsea FC. Taking the format of a 'traditional' weblog, it's a frequently updated, chronologically ordered collection of articles and commentary interspersed with a healthy amount of hypertext links. Discover more about the people behind it here.

In June 2008 Chelsea Blog became part of OleOle, the world's leading social media website for football fans. You can discover more about OleOle by clicking on the links at...

Sunday 5th November

Football's Jedi Knights are a grass stain on the game

11 Comments

It’s not often one can quote Terry Wogan to illustrate a point about football, so I’ll take the opportunity while I can.

The blarney-spouting bard from Limerick once said that every day, there are thousands of people sitting in front of their TV’s and radios, just waiting to be offended.

It’s true. If there was no bad guy, the British public would have very little to complain about. Question Time would be replaced with a programme containing a panel of meteorologists fielding questions about the weather. The Daily Mail wouldn’t exist. Life would be almost perfect.

Let’s clear one thing up. The bad guys are always more interesting than the good guys.

Look at Hollywood’s take on good and evil. Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker? Yes, I know who won in the end, but that’s Tinseltown for you.

First, there’s old D.V. Mortals quake at the sound of his voice....

Sunday 5th November

Premiership: Tottenham Hotspur v. Chelsea

17 Comments

It is fair to say Chelsea are Tottenham's nemesis in the Premiership. Not since they triumphed 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on 10th February 1990, 32 games ago, have Spurs taken all three points in the League. Beating north London's perennial under-achievers is something us Blues never tire of.

Jose Mourinho has more than done his bit to maintain the record, guiding Chelsea to three wins and a draw since his arrival in the summer of 2005. William Gallas's injury time winner in last season's game at the Bridge is the most memorable moment from Mourinho's games in charge. It was certainly the best way imaginable to consign a team on a 16-year losing streak to yet another defeat.

In team...

Saturday 4th November

Drogba signs new contract

2 Comments

Didier Drogba has signed a new four-year contract which will keep him at Chelsea until 2010. The 28 year-old striker put pen to paper at Cobham this afternoon.

"I am playing well because I feel good and I am happy to train with my friends," Drogba told Chelsea TV immediately after signing.

"I want to say thank you to Jose for believing in me since the beginning and now we will be together for a long time. The best period of my career I think."

Thursday 2nd November

The all-new flexible Chelsea

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Kevin McCarra writes in today's Guardian about the emergence of a new, more flexible Chelsea side in the aftermath of Tuesday night's epic encounter with Barcelona. Read the full article here.

Wednesday 1st November

Champions League: Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea

19 Comments

Match reports

The Times, Matt Dickinson: "If talent prevails ”” and the gods of football are feeling truly mischievous ”” these teams will meet in Athens in May for a Champions League final of such explosive possibility that it might shake the ancient columns of the Parthenon. Uefa would not know whether to fear the mayhem or to welcome the drama."

The Guardian, Kevin McCarra: "When the action was over, though, it did feel as if the current Chelsea had shown themselves to be a side of greater potential than Mourinho's previous versions. Even with Andriy Shevchenko absent because...